Juris Doctor

Required Courses

The J.D. requires a minimum of 90 semester hours; joint-degrees students must earn a minimum of 83 law semester hours. Candidates for the degree must complete the program with a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.00 on a 4.00 scale. A description of the courses can be viewed here.

All degree requirements for full-time students must be met within five calendar years from the date of entry into the law school. Part-time students have a maximum of six years to complete their degree requirements. Exceptions to the time limit are granted only in extraordinary circumstances (e.g., unexpected active duty service in the United States military).

Candidates for the J.D. degree must meet the residency, unit, grade, and course requirements in effect at the time of their admission. Students who withdraw and later re-enter the law school will be bound by the requirements in effect at the time of their readmission. A waiver of certain new or changed requirements may be granted for good cause shown.

The nature, content, and number of units awarded for courses are subject to change without notice. Elective courses are offered according to faculty availability and student enrollment.

Curriculum

Full-time Program

First Year Required Courses

Fall Semester (16 hours)

LAW 511 Christian Foundations of Law (3)
LAW 521 Contracts I (3)
LAW 541 Torts I (2)
LAW 551 Civil Procedure I (2)
LAW 552 Legal Analysis, Research & Writing I (3)
LAW 561 Property I (3)

Spring Semester (15 hours)

LAW 522 Contracts II (3)
LAW 542 Torts II (3)
LAW 553 Legal Analysis, Research & Writing II (3)
LAW 554 Civil Procedure II (3)
LAW 562 Property II (3)

Part-time Program

First-Year

Fall Semester (10-12 hours)

LAW 511 Christian Foundations of Law (3)
LAW 552 Legal Analysis, Research & Writing I (3)

Students will pick 2 of the following courses in the first semester:

LAW 521 Contracts I (3)
LAW 541 Torts I (2)
LAW 551 Civil Procedure I (2)
LAW 561 Property I (3)

Spring Semester (9-12 hours)

LAW 553 Legal Analysis, Research & Writing II (3)
Students will complete the second semester of the sequenced courses begun in the first semester:
LAW 522 Contracts II (3)
LAW 542 Torts II (3)
LAW 554 Civil Procedure II (3)
LAW 562 Property II (3) Spring 1L Part-Time Students may also elect to add LAW 531 Criminal law (3) or LAW 683 Constitutional Law I (3)

Note: In the second year, part-time students will take the remaining first year courses. In addition, part-time students may take selected upper-level required courses with permission of the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs.

Upper Level Required Courses for Full-Time and Part-Time Programs

(1) Common Core (27 hours required).

LAW 602 Business Associations (4)
LAW 631 Constitutional Criminal Procedure (3)
LAW 683 Constitutional Law I (3)
LAW 684 Constitutional Law II (3)
LAW 531 Criminal Law (3)
LAW 652 Evidence (4)
LAW 691 Professional Responsibility (3)
LAW 621 UCC I (2)
LAW Professional Skills Practicum (2)

(2) First set of limited electives (9 hours required).

Students must take at least three of the following four courses.

Honor Students (see below) are exempted from this requirement.

LAW 622 UCC II (Secured Transactions) (3)
LAW 627 UCC III (Negotiable Instruments/Payment Systems) (3)
LAW 661 Family Law (3)
LAW 684 Wills, Trusts & Estates (3)

(3) Second set of limited electives (3 hours required).

Students must take at least one of the following six courses.

Honors Students (see below) are exempted from this requirement.

LAW 746 Virginia Procedure** (3)
LAW 671 Individual Federal Income Tax (3)
LAW 722 Remedies (3)
LAW 781 Administrative Law (3)
LAW 783 Conflict of Laws (3)
LAW (the unselected course from list (2) above) (3)

*Honors Students (see below) are exempted from this course requirement.

** Virginia Procedure is required for any student, except Honors Students, to be certified by the Law School to take the Virginia Bar Examination. Non-Honors students who declare they do not plan to take the Virginia Bar Examination may substitute any of the other courses in list (3) for Virginia Procedure.

As noted above, Honors Students are exempted from the requirement to take the Professional Skills Practicum and from the requirements in lists (2) and (3) above. The following students are considered Honors Students for purposes of these exemptions:

1. Any student who

a. Scored 160 or higher on the LSAT; and

b. Is a full-time student in the top 25% of the class at the end of

the first year (end of spring semester of second year for part-

time students)

2. Any full-time student who is in the top 15% of the class at the end

of the first year (end of spring semester of second year for part-

time students).

Written and Oral Skills Requirement: Students must take at least one oral skills course and one written skills course from the list below. No course can be used to satisfy more than one of the requirements, other than LAW 753 Appellate Advocacy.

Oral and Rigorous Written Skills Requirements

Students must take at least one oral skills course and one rigorous written skills course from the lists below. No one course can be used to satisfy both the oral and written skills requirements other than LAW 650 Appellate Advocacy.

Oral Skills

LAW 667 Family Mediation (4)
LAW 656 General Mediation (3)
LAW 658 Litigation Clinic (3)
LAW 655 Negotiations (3)
LAW 654 Trial Practice (4)
LAW 660 Client Interviewing and Counseling (3)

Rigorous Written Skills Requirement

LAW 590 Independent Study (1-2)
LAW 748 Academic Legal Scholarship (2)
LAW 755 Advanced Legal Research & Writing (3)
LAW 757 Drafting Contracts (3)
LAW 763 Estate Planning (2)
LAW Seminar/Other Course Designated to Satisfy (1-3)
GOV 699* Thesis (3)

*Students in the joint degree program with the School of Government may use their thesis to satisfy the rigorous written skills requirement if a law faculty member is on the student's thesis committee.

Oral Skills and Rigorous Written Skills Requirement

(Satisfies both requirements)

LAW 650 Appellate Advocacy (3)

Elective Courses
Students will complete their credit hour requirement by choosing from among any of the courses offered by the School of Law for which they have met the necessary prerequisites.

Concentrations

In order to guide students in selecting their upper-level courses, the School of Law maintains a list of concentrations that identify particular courses that would benefit students intending to work in particular areas after graduation. These concentrations are not specialization degrees, and students need not declare a concentration in order to graduate. Many courses are listed in more than one concentration. The School’s concentrations include course listings in the following areas:

1.) Virginia Bar Exam Preparation

2.) Corporate, Commercial, and Transactional Law

3.) Public Law, Litigation, and Dispute Resolution

4.) Family Law

5.) Theology, Philosophy, and the Law

The list of the specific courses included in each concentration is available in the School’s Records and Registration Office.