The school's academic programs, while providing an all-encompassing legal education, are also on the cutting edge of the field, and include the new Business Law Emphasis Program, LL.M. degrees in taxation and entertainment law, as well as joint-degree programs that enable qualified students to earn a JD/MBA at Chapman's Argyros School of Business or a JD/MFA at Chapman's Dodge College of Film and Media Arts.

Helmed by Dean Tom Campbell, a former U.S. congressman, UC Berkeley dean and Stanford Law professor, the law faculty include four former Supreme Court clerks, a Nobel laureate, several former law deans and a host of scholars and veteran practitioners who have published in such noteworthy journals that include the Harvard Environmental Law Review, the Georgetown Journal of Law and Policy, the Minnesota Law Review, the Wisconsin Law Review, and the Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy. And with one of the lowest national faculty-to-student ratios, professors not only provide personalized classroom instruction, but are also accessible enough to offer intellectual partnership as well as academic and career advice.

In addition to providing much needed legal services for the community, Chapman's clinical programs offer a wide range of subject areas that give students the opportunity to work on real cases, make court appearances, perform hands-on field work, write briefs, and interact with clients.  Furthermore, externships with legal offices, judges, government agencies, and corporations enhance the student's on-the-job training as they prepare to enter the workforce. Several students have argued before the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals well before graduation.

In part due to the implementation of innovative early bar preparation and academic achievement programs, first time bar exam pass rate numbers have risen steadily and are comparable to better law schools in the state. Chapman alumni have accepted clerkships for the United States District Courts in California, Nevada and the Virgin Islands, U.S. Bankruptcy Courts, the Minnesota State Court of Appeals, the Colorado State Court of Appeals and the U.S. Department of Labor. Graduating students have also taken positions at Bonne Bridges Mueller, O'Keefe & Nichols, Bryan Cave, California Court of Appeal, Chistensen Miller Fink Jacobs Glasser Weil & Shapiro, Jackson DeMarco & Peckenpaugh, Kirkland & Ellis, Morrison & Foerster, MyCFO, O'Melveny & Myers, Orange County District Attorney, Orange County Public Defender, Public Law Center, Rutan & Tucker and the United States District Court.