The academic program is designed to take students on a structured, challenging and intellectually interesting journey from complete novices to J.D. graduates who are prepared for practice. In three years of courses, students acquire a firm grounding in basic legal concepts, a mastery of subjects necessary for the bar exam, and an introduction to a number of legal specialties. Along the way, they also acquire essential research, writing, and legal practice skills.
First Year
The first year consists of required courses in the recognized building blocks of the law: contracts, torts, property, civil procedure, criminal law, and constitutional law. In addition to providing a foundation in the substance and procedure of the law in these bedrock subjects, the courses provide a grounding in basic legal methods and tools. A year-long course in Legal Research and Writing introduces skills essential for any lawyer.
Full-Time Program: Students attend full-time, taking 16 credits in the fall and spring semesters, and complete required first-year courses in spring semester.
Transitional Program: The Transitional Program provides a more gradual — and less intense — start to law school. Transitional first-year students take 9 credits in the fall semester — currently Contracts, Civil Procedure, and Legal Research and Writing. They can then choose to transition to full-time status in the spring semester. By doing so and taking two courses in the summer of the first year, currently Torts and Property II, transitional students complete the required first-year courses by summer semester. They are then free to continue as full-time students for the rest of their studies, and typically graduate in three years. Transitional students who follow this program are fully eligible for Law Review and Moot Court in their second year.
Part-Time Evening Program: Students in the part-time evening program typically take 9-10 credits a semester and complete their first-year required courses in two years.
Second and Third Years
The second and third years (and fourth for part-time students) consist of a combination of a few more required courses, a set of recommended courses, and a wide range of electives and clinics. Students may fashion their own combination of these courses each semester.
Required courses: In addition to the first-year required courses, students must successfully complete Evidence and Legal Ethics. They must also satisfy a requirement of two upper-level research and writing projects under faculty supervision. These projects allow students to enhance the legal research and writing skills learned in the first year and to learn more about a field of interest. Each student must also complete two credits in a designated professional skills course. Some skills courses simulate an area of law practice, while clinics and externships (see page __) provide experience in actual legal settings.
Recommended courses: Although not required for graduation, a number of upper-level courses cover subjects that tend to be tested on the Ohio and other state bar examinations and are recommended for the second and third years. These include: Business Associations, Trusts and Estates, Criminal Procedure – Investigations, Commercial Paper and Secured Transactions. In addition, we recommend Federal Income Tax and Administrative Law as advisable preparation for law practice.
Electives: Elective courses cover a large variety of more specialized courses. Some, such as Environmental Law and International Law, provide the foundation for certificates in those fields.
Flex Courses: These one- and two- credit courses meet outside of regular course hours, often on weekends or during semester breaks. Experienced practitioners and academics from around the country and the world visit to share their expertise in specialized areas of law. Recent flex courses have included Art Law, Intellectual Property Litigation, Electronic Discovery, and Terrorism and International Law — among many others. Flex courses also serve to help working students with their course scheduling.
Certificates of Concentration
The College offers five Certificates of Concentration designed for a student to focus in a particular field of interest:
Each Certificate has its own set of required and elective courses, described on the College of Law web site. Although not required for graduation, the Certificates of Concentration are excellent preparation for the practice of law in these specialty areas.
