  Excited states of $^{38}_{17}$Cl$_{21}$ were populated in grazing reactions
during the interaction of a beam of $^{36}_{16}$S$_{20}$ ions of energy 215 MeV
with a $^{208}_{82}$Pb$_{126}$ target. The combination of the PRISMA magnetic
spectrometer and the CLARA $\gamma$-ray detector array was used to identify the
reaction fragments and to detect their decay via $\gamma$-ray emission. A level
scheme for $^{38}$Cl is presented with tentative spin and parity assignments.
The level scheme is discussed within the context of the systematics of
neighboring nuclei and is compared with the results of state-of-the-art shell
model calculations.
