With just 60 years under its belt, the UCLA School of Law is the youngest of the top-tier law schools. Like most upstarts, UCLA Law skews slightly unconventional academically--the school strives to incorporate current practical issues, such as minority issues and labor rights, into the traditional legal curriculum. UCLA Law connects the world of academia with society by offering joint degrees in fields like Afro-American studies and urban planning. It also developed the unique critical race studies specialization, a concentration for JDs interested in working with primarily minority clients or inequality disputes.

The school houses several centers committed to minority issues and the law, including the Williams Institute, which researches sexual orientation policy. UCLA Law also offers a specialization in public interest law through a separate admissions process. Though their courses may sound unconventional, their methods are not. UCLA Law's teaching approach is Socratic, the workload is tough and most of the curriculum hews to the standard law school format. Students are required to complete a substantial analytical writing project in their second or third years, but are otherwise free to choose their own classes.