Each of our professors has distinct experience and expertise, allowing the law school to offer more than 100 courses and seminars in specialized areas of law. Our faculty not only teaches the law, but the intellectual tools and skills necessary to a successful legal career. Great emphasis is placed upon gaining experience in analyzing cases, statutes, and other legal materials, and in synthesizing from these materials general notions of the structure and operation of the legal system.
First-Year J.D. Curriculum
Enrollment in these important courses is arranged so that each student will take at least one of them in a small section of approximately 30 students. Small sections provide opportunities for more individual expression by the student, a closer teacher-student relationship, and greater opportunities for writing and testing. The course in Basic Legal Skills introduces students to essential professional skills—writing, research and oral advocacy—by means of exercises that simulate the work of practicing attorneys.
New students enter only in the Autumn Quarter and must take the full-time load of required first-year courses. Because of the heavy course load, first-year students are strongly discouraged from attempting to work on even a part-time basis. The student's first-year requirements are as follows:
Second- and Third-Year J.D. Curriculum
Although first-year J.D. courses are prescribed, 2Ls and 3Ls may design a program suited to their goals and interests.Students
have the opportunity of either sampling classes across a broad section of
the curriculum or emphasizing a particular course of study. Students should be
mindful to prepare for the subjects tested on the state bar exam that they
intend to take. J.D. candidates in upper-level courses also may take selected courses along with Ph.D. and LL.M. students, most of who are already practicing professionals.
To graduate, a student must complete the following requirements during their second and third years of law school:
Practice Skills Courses
Success in the legal field requires refined practical skills in addition to theoretical knowledge. We offer a variety of courses and co-curricular activities to help students develop these skills. Research courses, public-interest law clinics, moot course opportunities, and judicial, agency or public-interest externships all help to develop competencies in interviewing, counseling, negotiation, legal drafting, alternative dispute resolution, and trial and appellate advocacy.