Law Schools

Kamala Harris's Law School Hopes Her Presidential Campaign Will Boost Applications

Can the historic presidential candidate's political star power help her law school alma mater when it comes to increasing applications?

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(Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign is off to a great start, and her law school alma mater — the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco (f/k/a the University of California Hastings College of the Law) —  is hoping to capitalize on the excitement that she’s generating among voters.

As noted by Reuters, after Harris was elected to office in 2020, UC Law San Francisco enjoyed a 33% increase in applications. Can her political star power do it again? It certainly sounds like things are going in the right direction at the law school thus far:

A mention of Harris at a new student orientation last week for some of the school’s incoming class generated a roar of appreciation, suggesting that students are energized by the prospect of an alumna in the White House, law dean David Faigman said.

Faigman said he expected the connection to Harris, as a presidential candidate, to provide “a greater bump going forward” to the school’s reputation.

An influx of applicants would allow UC Law San Francisco to be more selective about whom it accepts. It’s not yet clear if they will need to add admissions staff to wade through more applications, said [UC Law San Francisco] spokesperson John Kepley. A profile boost from Harris could also help bolster donations and job opportunities for its graduates, he said.

If anything, UC Law SF is sure to gain a reputational boost from its alumna’s race to the White House, over a school like Yale Law, which boasts Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance as an alumnus. “We have a reputation for being a little scrappy,” Faigman said.

Best of luck to UC Law San Francisco in its quest for an applications surge — and best of luck to Kamala Harris in her historic presidential run!

Kamala Harris’ law school alma mater looks for PR boost from candidate’s run [Reuters]

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Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on X/Twitter and Threads or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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