California State University – Northridge and Southwestern Law School are finally seeing the fruits of their partnership, with students graduating from the jointly formed accelerated legal program.The program, called Success in Six, allows students to graduate with a bachelor’s and law degrees in six years rather than the usual seven. Its first group of students graduated in 2020 and are landing top jobs in the field, according to CSUN’s Bruce Zucker, criminology and justice studies professor.“I am proud of our students who succeed through both the CSUN and Southwestern Law School portions of the program,” Zucker said in a statement. “By design, they are essentially the only students who start an American Bar Association-accredited law school without already having a four-year college degree, and they are required to quickly acclimate to graduate school while other students are still finishing their bachelor’s degrees.”Zucker mentioned recent graduate Kimberly Casper, who passed the bar exam in 2020 and is currently working with Los Angeles defense attorney Mark Geragos, whose prominent clientele have included former Congressman Gary Condit, former first brother Roger Clinton and actress Winona Ryder.High school seniors and CSUN freshmen who have completed at least one semester with compatible majors such as political science, criminology or justice studies can apply to the program, the university said.Once accepted, students face a grueling 90 units of study in three years. Major and general education requirements are met at the same time. If students pass the Law School Admissions Test, or LSAT, they transfer to Southwestern to complete their studies.
CSUN Legal Program’s Success in Six
