1ST YEAR AND REQUIRED COURSES
Rights Reserved
"Chicago-Kent reserves the right, without notice, to change requirements
for admission or graduation; the arrangement, time, credit, or content
of courses; the books to be used; the tuition or other fees charged;
academic standards; the regulations affecting students; or any and
all other matters contained in this announcement. Changes will be
duly published."
THE CURRICULUM FOR THE JURIS DOCTOR
The First Year
The first year of legal education at Chicago-Kent consists of required
courses in Torts, Contracts, Criminal Law, Property, Civil Procedure,
Legislative Process and the first two semesters of the legal research
and writing program. These courses embrace the basic legal relationships
in society -- those based upon agreement, upon ownership, upon wrongs
-- and the method of their enforcement and redress. First-year students
learn to ask questions about the formation and dissolution of these
legal relationships, and to understand that asking the right question
is an essential skill.
The development of that skill is reinforced in the legal research and writing
program, where advocacy on paper replaces advocacy in person.
Particularly in the first year of the program, learning the mechanics
of legal writing is subsidiary to learning the methods of analysis
that guide all lawyers' tasks. Chicago-Kent's unique introduction
to the study of law integrates the use of information technology
with the legal research and writing program. Students learn to
brief cases with the help of these technologies and to develop
an outline of their understanding of the law that can change and
grow as they progress through the first year.
Any first-year student who requests a faculty advisor will be
assigned one. Whenever possible, students who have indicated an
interest in a particular substantive area of the law are assigned
to a faculty member whose scholarly work is in that area.
Advanced Years
Mastery of legal analysis is the starting point of legal education
at Chicago-Kent. After students complete their required courses,
they may then pursue a deeper understanding of a particular area
of substantive law and refine the practice skills that will enable
them to translate that understanding into effective professional
conduct.
Requirements for the J.D.
To receive the Juris Doctor, all students must successfully complete
87 credits hours. In addition, students must successfully complete
all required courses and maintain a cumulative grade point average
of at least 2.300.
Required Course Sequence
The required courses are listed below in the normal sequence offered
to day division and evening division students; however, the courses
and their sequence are subject to change.
| EVENING
DIVISION |
First Semester
Contracts
Criminal Law
Torts
Legal Writing 1 |
First Semester
Criminal Law
Torts
Legal Writing 1 |
First Semester
Criminal Law
Torts
Legal Writing 1 |
Second Semester
Civil Procedure
Legislative Process
Property
Legal Writing 2 |
Second Semester
Civil Procedure
Property
Legal Writing 2 |
Second Semester
Contracts
Property
Legal Writing 2 |
Third Semester
Constitutional Law |
Third Semester
Constitutional Law
Contracts |
Third Semester
Civil Procedure
Legislative Process |
| Fourth Semester |
Fourth Semester
Legislative Process |
Fourth Semester
Constitutional Law |
Additional Requirements: Professional Responsibility
(may be taken any semester after the first year); Legal Writing
3 and Legal Writing 4 (full-time students must take these courses
in the second year; part-time students may take these courses in
either the second or third year); and a seminar (must be taken after
completion of 54 credit hours and after completion of Legal Writing
4). |
