Since its founding in 1911, Southwestern Law School has provided educational opportunities for those who were traditionally barred from attending law school. It has been in the forefront of encouraging the enrollment of women and minorities, and continues to promote diversity among the student body and faculty through a variety of avenues. Indeed, the school's first graduate in 1915 was Ms. Betty Trier Berry, a woman of considerable accomplishments. Additionally, the first female African-American judge in California and the first female African-American appellate justice in the nation were graduates of Southwestern.

The approximately 980 students enrolled at Southwestern come from virtually every state in the nation as well as a dozen foreign countries and represent over 240 undergraduate institutions. Nearly half have earned academic honors, while many are fluent in one or more foreign language including Arabic, Armenian, Chinese, Farsi, French, German, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese. About two-thirds have prior work experience or have already completed advanced degrees in diverse disciplines from accounting to urban planning. The student body is equally divided between men and women and minorities represent over 37%.

The Southwestern faculty also represents a variety of backgrounds and interests. Of the more than 50 full-time faculty members, over a third are women and 20% percent are minorities. This distinguished group of legal scholars includes nationally recognized experts on antitrust, bankruptcy, criminal law and procedure, entertainment and sports law, evidence, family law, housing and community development, international law and labor law.

Southwestern has received formal recognition for its emphasis on diversity from such organizations as the California Minority Counsel, which awarded the law school the LEXIS-NEXIS Law School Racial and Ethnic Diversity Award, citing Southwestern's "long history of encourag