Susan Freiwald, dean of the University of San Francisco School of Law. Photo by Jason Doiy/ALM

The new dean at the University of San Francisco School of Law is a familiar face.

Officials this week named Susan Freiwald as dean, starting July 1. She has served as the interim dean of the law campus since last July, when former dean John Trasviña stepped down. That interim appointment was originally supposed to last for two years. Not only does Freiwald bring a year of dean experience to the job, but she will become the first women to lead the law school in a permanent capacity since its 1912 founding, adding yet another name to the lengthening list of female dean appointments this year.

“Susan's strong record of accomplishment, especially in curricular reform during her time as associate dean, was a key factor when I appointed her last year to the interim role,” said provost Don Heller in an announcement of the appointment. “For the past year, thanks to her leadership, the school has made significant advances in support of student success, bar exam preparation, and operations.”

As interim dean, Freiwald has been working to bring up the law school's bar pass rate and has previously said that she is hopeful those efforts will soon bear fruit. (San Francisco posted the third-lowest first-time pass rate on the July 2018 California bar, at 33%.)

The school has restructured its first-year curriculum to place more emphasis on the core subjects tested on the bar. Last fall, core classes, including contracts, civil procedure and property went from four credits over one semester to six credits over two semesters. Additionally, the school has made criminal procedure mandatory and added a required legal drafting course intended to provide practice on bar exam essay questions. Some students are required to participate in academic counseling and San Francisco now has numerous bar prep offerings available.

“I'm honored to lead the school of law into the next phase of its 107-year history,” Freiwald said. “With the help of strong faculty, dedicated staff, accomplished alumni who give back to their school and communities, and hardworking students, my goal is to enhance and develop programs that meet the needs of the next generation of lawyers and the world in which they will practice.”

In an email Friday, Freiwald said she will continue to implement reforms meant to help students pass the bar, become ethical attorneys, and fulfill their career ambitions.

Freiwald, an expert in cyber and internet law, joined that law school's faculty in 1997 and served as associate dean for academic affairs before becoming interim dean. She brought a somewhat unusual resume to San Francisco. She's a former software developer with a law degree from Harvard who taught for several years at the University of Pennsylvania's famed business school before entering the legal academy.

Before teaching, she was for several years an associate at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton.