Berkeley, Irvine law schools to hold classes remotely in the fall

UC Berkeley School of Law and UC Irvine School of Law announced Friday most or all of their classes will be taught online this fall.

Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky said no in-person classes will be held as the logistical difficulties and health risks make doing so impossible.

"I am convinced we can provide an excellent education via remote learning this semester and frankly a better education than we can through a limited number of in-person classes taught in a hybrid fashion," he wrote. "I also believe it is the safest course for the health of our faculty, staff and students."

The traditional letter grading system will be used for fall classes, he added, saying the faculty preferred that option and students did not reach a consensus.

Most UC Irvine law students will also take all their classes remotely, Dean L. Song Richardson said in a message.

"Although there is a possibility that first-year students will be able to take one or two of their fall courses with an in-person component, the public health situation means that class sessions will otherwise be online," Richardson wrote.

Harvard Law School announced earlier its fall classes would be held remotely.

Berkeley Law is holding all classes online even though the university is planning for a "hybrid" semester for undergraduates, with most classes taught online but smaller classes of 25 students or less possibly taught in person.

That option didn't help the law school, because that restriction on the number of students, the need to disinfect rooms between classes and limits on restrooms would create major disruptions in the class schedule. There are not many classrooms large enough to be used under the campus guidelines, Chemerinsky wrote.

Other law schools are still planning a mix of online and in-person classes. Stanford Law School is planning that, though students will leave at Thanksgiving and finish up remotely.

UCLA Law School Dean Jennifer Mnookin said the school "hopes to offer a limited number of courses on site or in a hybrid format in the fall semester."

USC Gould School of Law spokesperson Leslie Ridgeway said the school plans a mix of in-person classes, online classes and hybrid classes, though students will have the option of taking all their classes remotely.

UC Hastings College of the Law, in San Francisco, has not made a decision about fall classes.

In related news, a 1st District Court of Appeal panel on Thursday reversed a lower court demurrer and will allow a Berkeley neighborhood group to pursue a complaint against the university for approving a long-range plan that allowed more students to attend. Save Berkeley's Neighborhoods v. The Regents of the University of California et al., A157551 (1st Dist., filed June 25, 2020).