The University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law was established in 1973 as the first public law school in the state of Hawaii. The school was founded by the University of Hawaii Board of Regents, and its first dean was Professor Richard W. Pollack, who served from 1973 to 1977. The school was originally located on the Manoa campus, but moved to its current location on the Downtown/Chinatown campus in 2001. Over the years, the school has produced a number of distinguished alumni who have gone on to successful careers in government, private practice, and public service. Notable alumni include former Hawaii governor George Ariyoshi and Supreme Court Justice Steven Levinson. In addition to providing a high-quality legal education for students, the law school plays an important role in providing legal advice and assistance to local communities throughout Hawaii and beyond. Since its founding, it has been committed to social justice issues such as protecting civil rights and promoting access to justice for all people regardless of their race or economic status.
University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law is located in the state of Hawaii. As one of the leading law programs, University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law has a high average LSAT score of 153-158 when recruiting new students. As a return, the median starting salary for law graduates reaches $71,000 per year. See the following table for detailed admissions information and career profiles of University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law.
Admissions: University of Hawaii–Manoa (Richardson)
The University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law is a top-tier law school located in Honolulu, Hawaii. The school has an acceptance rate of 59%, which means that out of every 100 applicants, 59 are accepted into the program. The school has consistently ranked highly by US News & World Report in the past few years, and is currently ranked 89th in the nation overall. In addition to its competitive admissions rate, the school also offers a diverse student body with students coming from around the world to attend classes at the university. The average LSAT score for applicants is 156 and the average GPA is 3.5. Students also have access to an extensive alumni network that offers valuable networking opportunities and career advice. Furthermore, students can take advantage of internships and externships both in and outside of Hawaii as well as clinical programs through which they can gain experience working with actual clients on real cases.
Fall 2019 Admissions and Enrollment Statistics
Total number of full- and part-time applicants
1,151
Total number of full- and part-time acceptances
269
Overall acceptance rate
23.4%
Total number of full- and part-time first-year students enrolled
124
Number of full-time program applicants
1,098
Number of full-time program acceptances
224
Full-time acceptance rate
20.4%
Number of first-year full-time students enrolled
87
Number of part-time program applicants
318
Number of part-time program acceptances
45
Part-time acceptance rate
14.2%
Number of first-year part-time students enrolled
37
Fall 2019 GPA and LSAT Scores
25th-75th percentile GPA scores for all students
3.18-3.68
25th-75th percentile LSAT scores for all students
153-158
25th-75th percentile undergraduate GPA for full-time students
3.21-3.68
25th-75th percentile LSAT scores for full-time students
155-160
25th-75th percentile undergraduate GPA for part-time students
3.02-3.61
25th-75th percentile LSAT scores for part-time students
147-154
Careers: University of Hawaii–Manoa (Richardson)
Bar Statistics (Winter and Summer 2018 administrations)
State where the greatest number of first-time test takers took the bar
HI
School’s bar passage rate for first-time test takers
86.5%
Statewide bar passage rate for first-time test takers
87.6%
Class of 2018 Graduates
Total graduates
98
Graduates employed at graduation
70.7%
Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation
100.0%
Starting Salaries of 2018 Graduates Employed Full-time
25th percentile private sector starting salary
$55,000
Median private sector starting salary
$71,000
75th percentile private sector starting salary
$80,000
Percent in the private sector who reported salary information
75%
Median public service starting salary
$55,200
Areas of Legal Practice (Class of 2018)
Percent employed in academia
7.0%
Percent employed in business and industry
9.0%
Percent employed in government
19.0%
Percent employed in all judicial clerkships
24.0%
Percent employed in law firms
37.0%
Percent employed in public interest
4.0%
Percent employed in an unknown field
0.0%
Percent employed in a judicial clerkship by an Article III federal judge
0.0%
2018 Graduates Employment Location
Graduates employed in-state
85%
Graduates employed in foreign countries
3%
Number of states where graduates are employed
8
New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT)
2.0%
Middle Atlantic (NY, NJ, PA)
1.0%
East North Central (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI)
0.0%
West North Central (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD)
1.0%
South Atlantic (DE, DC, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV)
0.0%
East South Central (AL, KY, MS, TN)
0.0%
West South Central (AR, LA, OK, TX)
1.0%
Pacific (AK, CA, HI, OR, WA)
91.0%
Mountain (AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WY)
1.0%
Employment location unknown
0.0%
Career Services
(Data appear as originally submitted by this school)
Career services operations
Director of Career services, programs include networking opportunities, panels on career choices, interviewing workshops. On campus interviews in the fall and spring, career and networking activities throughout the year. APEX (Advising for Professional Excellence) is a program offered to all students which provides additional opportunities for networking and skill development.
Job Type
Bar admission required or anticipated (e.g., attorney and corporate counsel positions, law clerks, judicial clerks)
78.0%
J.D. preferred, law degree enhances position (e.g., corporate contracts administrator, alternative dispute resolution specialist, government regulatory analyst, FBI special agent)
18.0%
Professional/other (jobs that require professional skills or training but for which a J.D. is neither preferred nor particularly applicable; e.g., accountant, teacher, business manager, nurse)
3.0%
Nonprofessional/other (job that does not require any professional skills or training or is taken on a temporary basis and not viewed as part of a career path)
