The opening of the new campus of Thomas Jefferson School of Law, 1155 Island Ave. in the East Village, doesn’t just mark a physical relocation, but a rededication to the school’s core mission of educating the next generation of local law students and being an integral part of their neighborhood. The school opened in 1969, originally inhabiting part of an old Trailways Bus terminal downtown, then moved to San Diego Avenue near Old Town in 1983. The plans are to expand from a student body of 850 to a new maximum of 1,025 students eventually, according to Chris Saunders, the school’s communications specialist. The new campus also represents a significant investment in new classroom technology and “green” architecture. “Each classroom is, in effect, a studio,” Saunders said. “Students have the ability to link with any other classroom.” Students will be able to do presentations from their seats, download recorded lectures, watch lectures taking place in other classes, and even at other schools. The East Village has been remaking itself since the construction of Petco Park in 2004, and the law school is seeking to take an active role in this blossoming community. Besides public spaces such as a café and law library, the school also plans to open a public law clinic in the fall to help local small businesses. “The law clinic will be part self help, counseling part. The focus will be entrepreneurship and helping people take the right steps to set up a business, and protect their intellectual property,” Saunders said. The decision to include a legal clinic was made after a study conducted by marketing students at San Diego State University demonstrated a need for low cost legal help for small business in the East Village, Saunders said. The new $90 million campus is now in operation, although there are still some maintenance and miscellaneous items to move.