Empire College School of Law

What Empire College School of Law does

Empire College School of Law is a private, California Accredited Law School (CALS) founded in 1973 and headquartered at 3035 Cleveland Avenue Suite 201, Santa Rosa, California. It operates within the broader Empire College organization, which was established in 1961 and has more than 11,000 graduates across its history. The institution specializes in evening law school programs designed for working adults and second-career students, providing accessible and affordable legal education that prepares students for the California State Bar Examination. Approximately 25 percent of the Sonoma County Bar are alumni, and 18 alumni serve as judges in California and Arizona, demonstrating strong regional outcomes and embedding within the North Bay legal community.

The business model is tuition-driven, with annual billing and revenue generated from student enrollment fees — no specific pricing is publicly disclosed. The institution does not sell technology products; its core offering is human-led legal instruction delivered through a small 15-employee operating team. In 2020, Empire College discontinued its School of Business to focus exclusively on legal education, and in July 2022 it partnered with Monterey College of Law to operate as a branch campus under the name Empire College of Law, expanding the shared CALS mission of providing access to high-quality, affordable legal education throughout California. The go-to-market motion is sales-led, with direct outreach through toll-free admissions lines, virtual appointments, and a website that serves as the primary inquiry and scheduling hub. The customer base is a long-tail of individual prospective students rather than enterprise accounts, with no disclosed enterprise customers or institutional partners beyond the Monterey College of Law arrangement. There is no evidence of venture capital or institutional investment backing, and the institution operates as a private educational nonprofit-style entity.

Name

Empire College School of Law

Legal name

Empire College School of Law

Website

https://law.empcol.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Empire College School of Law is a California Accredited Law School in Santa Rosa, founded in 1973, offering evening legal education programs for working adults and second-career students preparing for the California State Bar Examination.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAHAIAB

Non-ABA / State-Accredited JD-Granting Law Schools

Education/Higher Education (Colleges & Universities)/Law Schools

SECONDARYEDAHAIAE

Online / Hybrid Law Schools & Programs

Education/Higher Education (Colleges & Universities)/Law Schools

Keywords

• Legal education
• Night law school
• Bar exam preparation
• Law degree programs
• California accredited law school

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Rosa

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Tuition and enrollment fees: Revenue generated from student tuition and enrollment fees for law school programs. The institution operates as a California Accredited Law School (CALS) offering night law school instruction.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Empire College School of Law is a California Accredited Law School (CALS) that provides legal education through a night-format law degree program, primarily serving working professionals and second-career students pursuing bar admission in California. Founded in 1973 and operating as a branch of Monterey College of Law since July 2022, the school emphasizes affordable, accessible legal instruction with evening classes designed to accommodate full-time employment.

Product overview

Empire College School of Law is a single educational institution offering law degree programs. Founded in 1973 and established as a branch of Monterey College of Law, it provides evening law school education with a focus on accessibility and affordability. The school operates its main campus in Santa Rosa, California, and does not offer multiple distinct products or modules — it is a unified law school program.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Empire College School of Law Night Law Degree Program A California Accredited Law School (CALS) night-format law degree program offering legal education through evening classes, designed for working professionals, second-career candidates, and aspiring attorneys seeking preparation for the California State Bar Examination. Founded in 1973 and now operating as a branch of Monterey College of Law, the program emphasizes affordable, accessible legal instruction and real-world experience.

Quantifiable outcome

• Approximately 25 percent of the Sonoma County Bar are Empire College School of Law alumni
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Monterey College of LawcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2022In July 2022, Empire College School of Law partnered with Monterey College of Law to open a new branch campus in Santa Rosa named Empire College of Law. This partnership expands the shared mission of California Accredited Law Schools (CALS) 'opportunity law schools' that provide access to high-quality and affordable legal education throughout California. Empire College of Law operates as a branch of Monterey College of Law.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• McGeorge School of Law (University of the Pacific): ABA-accredited Sacramento-area law school offering part-time/evening tracks and certificates. A nearby California competitor for working-adult JD students, with broader prestige and alumni reach than Empire.
• Southwestern Law School: ABA-accredited law school in Los Angeles offering a well-established evening/Part-Time Day JD program. Competes with Empire for the working-professional segment but offers broader prestige, ABA portability, and a much larger portfolio of programs.
• Santa Clara University School of Law: ABA-accredited Bay Area Jesuit law school located within driving distance of Empire's Santa Rosa campus. Competes for the same North Bay applicant pool but with ABA portability and significantly higher prestige.
• UC Law SF (formerly UC Hastings): ABA-accredited public law school in San Francisco. A nearby incumbent competitor for the same Northern California applicant pool, particularly career-changers and working professionals, with much broader bar-passage and employment outcomes.
• University of San Francisco School of Law: ABA-accredited Bay Area law school with part-time/evening JD options. Competes with Empire for working professionals in Northern California while offering ABA credentialing and substantially broader recruiting networks.

Direct peers

• People's College of Law: California Accredited Law School in Los Angeles offering a non-ABA JD program aimed at working adults and career-changers — comparable regulatory status, target market, and access-oriented value proposition to Empire.
• Monterey College of Law: Parent/partner institution of Empire College School of Law since July 2022 and a fellow California Accredited Law School. Operates a similar night-school, accessibility-focused JD model targeting working adults in California.
• Northwestern California University School of Law: California-based distance-learning JD program approved by the California Bar. Represents an alternative CALS pathway and a partial competitor for Empire's working-professional and geographic-non-restricted student segments.
• CalNorthern School of Law: California Accredited Law School based in Chico, CA, with a comparable 'opportunity law school' mission of accessible, affordable legal education for working professionals in Northern California — directly competing for the same CALS student segment.
• Trinity Law School: California Accredited Law School (formerly in Santa Ana, CA) operated by Trinity International University, offering a non-ABA JD with an accessibility-focused mission closely paralleling Empire's positioning.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/empire-college-school-of-law

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Empire College School of Law