Monterey College of Law

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Monterey College of Law Monterey College of Law (MCL) is a private, non-profit law school founded in 1972 providing an accredited part-time evening 4yr J.D. program, a 2yr MLS (MA) degree, and a 1yr LLM.

Located on the former Fort Ord Army base in historic Monterey Bay, The Monterey College of Law not only offers part-time degrees for those wishing to practice the law but an additional MA degree for those who have an interest in the law but wish to use the knowledge in other professions. Monterey College of Law (MCL) is a private, non-profit law school founded in 1972 in Monterey, California, and the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California accredits its degree programs.

The school is the first California-accredited law school to be granted authority to offer a two-year Master of Legal Studies (M.L.S.) degree for individuals who want to study law but do not wish to pursue a traditional law degree. The Committee of Bar Examiners authorized the law school to offer a one-year LL.M. in International Law starting in Fall 2011.

The school opened its second building, a Certified LEED Platinum Community Justice Center, in April 2010. By achieving LEED Platinum certification, it is only the second law school in the US to open a LEED Platinum facility. The new courtroom and Mediation Center meet the highest US Standards for environmentally sustainable design, engineering, and construction.

In the Fall of 2015, the law school opened its first branch campus in San Luis Obispo, its second branch in Kern County in 2017, and its third branch campus in Santa Rosa in July of 2022. It also launched its hybrid online enrollment option in 2018.

Alums are community leaders, judges, lawyers, and business professionals representing the broad spectrum of individuals, organizations, and industries that define the area. Because the faculty remains actively involved in the legal community, students benefit from their knowledge of legal theory and legal practice.

Some conversations are hard to start and even harder to get right. This workshop gives you a plan for both.Monterey Coll...
10/09/2026

Some conversations are hard to start and even harder to get right. This workshop gives you a plan for both.

Monterey College of Law is offering Difficult Conversations, a two-session live workshop on practical skills for navigating workplace, client-facing and community communication.

SESSION 1 | Monday, Nov. 2
• Deep listening: tuning in to what is beneath the words to help others feel heard
• A 3-step framework for preparing for a difficult conversation
• Communication patterns that emerge when tensions rise

SESSION 2 | Monday, Nov. 16
• Applying the 3-step framework through case studies and role plays
• Paired and small-group practice, with debrief
• Troubleshooting real world application

The case studies come from conversations public-facing staff navigate every day, and the skills carry over to conversations with colleagues, neighbors and family.

Your trainer, Caitlin Meredith, is a mediator, trainer and conflict coach, and a mediator for the Geneva-based UN Ombuds and Mediation Services. She teaches Core Mediation, Intro to Negotiation and Difficult Conversations at Monterey College of Law.

📅 Mon., Nov. 2 & Mon., Nov. 16, 2026
🕛 12:00–2:00 pm PT (2 hours each session)
💻 Live on Zoom
💲 $120 covers both sessions. $20 discount for non-profits, government agencies, and Monterey College of Law alumni.

This is one series: signing up means committing to both dates. Space is limited to 25 participants.

Register here: https://bit.ly/mgc_dc

Presented in partnership with Center for Dispute Resolution (CDRSLO) and the Mandell Gisnet Center for Conflict Management.

San Luis Obispo College of Law

This Friday - join us here at the Community Justice Center. A public law school expelled a student over an antisemitic s...
09/28/2026

This Friday - join us here at the Community Justice Center.

A public law school expelled a student over an antisemitic social media post calling for violence. He sued, saying it was protected political speech. The university says it crossed the line into threats and disruption. A court ordered him reinstated. Now the case is on appeal.

At this year’s Heisler Moot Court, four MCL student advocates, Allyson Cruz, Ryan LaFreniere, Ethan Hammond, and Farrah Von Sothen, will argue both sides. Free speech, campus safety, and how far a public university’s authority reaches.

Come watch the next generation of lawyers work through one of the hardest questions in constitutional law.

🗓 Friday, October 2 | 7 PM
📍 Community Justice Center at Monterey College of Law

The MCL store is open.Monterey College of Law gear, all in one place.Hoodies for late-night study sessions. Mugs for the...
09/24/2026

The MCL store is open.

Monterey College of Law gear, all in one place.

Hoodies for late-night study sessions. Mugs for the morning after. Something to wear on the day you pass the bar.

https://shopmcl.online/

Two hundred thirty-nine years ago today, something got signed that would end up shaping your life without you ever choos...
09/17/2026

Two hundred thirty-nine years ago today, something got signed that would end up shaping your life without you ever choosing it.

The U.S. Constitution was signed in Philadelphia by thirty-nine of the fifty-five delegates who helped write it, and it's still the oldest written national constitution in use anywhere in the world.

At Monterey College of Law, we've been part of that story since 1972, accredited by the State Bar of California since 1981. Our students learn to read that document not as history, but as something they'll actually use.

Happy Constitution Day.

This week, we mark 239 years since the U.S. Constitution was signed. 🇺🇸 At Monterey College of Law, we're marking the o...
09/14/2026

This week, we mark 239 years since the U.S. Constitution was signed. 🇺🇸 At Monterey College of Law, we're marking the occasion by taking a closer look at the Bill of Rights and what its first ten amendments mean today. ⚖️

The Bill of Rights, plainly. ⚖️
What do the first ten amendments actually protect?
From freedom of speech and religion to due process, privacy, jury trials, and the powers reserved to the states and the people, the Bill of Rights establishes some of the most fundamental protections in American law.

Swipe through for a plain-language look at each amendment and save this post for a quick refresher. 🇺🇸

Which amendment do you think is most misunderstood?

Three days into your first week. How’s it going?Here’s what actually helps right now.👉👉👉 Brace for your first co...
08/19/2026

Three days into your first week. How’s it going?

Here’s what actually helps right now.
👉👉👉



Brace for your first cold call. It doesn’t have to be a good answer. It just has to be an answer. Nobody remembers who fumbled it by week two.

Start your outline the first night, not the week before finals. Every note you take from day one is the thing you’ll actually be studying in December.

Save one classmate’s number before you leave the building. You will text them “wait, what page is she on” before the month is out. Better to have the number already.

Academic Regalia. The stole, the hood, the tam. This is what it looks like when the hard work pays off.1Ls. Are you read...
08/10/2026

Academic Regalia. The stole, the hood, the tam. This is what it looks like when the hard work pays off.

1Ls. Are you ready? Your journey starts in 1 week.

Continuing student? Let’s go!

Bring your will to learn, and we’ll take it from there!

You have thought about it for years. The degree. The career change. The thing you keep putting off because the timing wa...
08/05/2026

You have thought about it for years. The degree. The career change. The thing you keep putting off because the timing was never right.

Monterey College of Law was built for people who stopped waiting for perfect timing. Evening classes. Four campuses across California. A hybrid program that lets you stay exactly where you are.

Spring 2027 applications are open.
Apply at montereylaw.edu — link in bio.

Address

100 Colonel Durham Street
Seaside, CA
93955

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 6pm
Tuesday 9am - 6pm
Wednesday 9am - 6pm
Thursday 9am - 6pm

Telephone

+18315824000

Website

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