Academic Programs and Policies
Curriculum
General Information
In the 2014-2015 academic year, the Law School adopted an innovative new curriculum that became effective with the class entering in August 2015 (the Class of December 2017). Under that new curriculum, the Law School’s standard course of study shifted from a traditional 6-semester, 3-year program to a 7-trimester, 2.5-year program. Current first-year students will have a 4-week August Term, followed by a 12-week Fall Trimester, 10-week Winter Trimester, and 10-week Spring Trimester.
In addition to the required first-year curriculum, all students must take a number of upper level required courses. These upper-level required courses provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to pass the bar examination and to practice successfully, as well as keeping students engaged throughout their law school careers.
Elon Law’s curriculum provides instruction in the fundamentals of law, including instruction in legal writing, professional responsibility, skills training, and oral advocacy. In the tradition of Elon University (the “University”), the Law School curriculum also emphasizes active student engagement and leadership studies. The curriculum is designed to provide students with a rigorous intellectual foundation to become successful lawyers. In addition to the traditional doctrinal and skills courses, Elon provides instruction in speaking and presentation skills, study skills, time management, and leadership development.
The Law School’s academic program is enhanced by the proximity to Greensboro’s legal and judicial offices and through the program’s close relationship with the North Carolina Business Court. Instruction takes place in a technology-enriched environment and is complemented with frequent interactions with local professionals.
Graduation Requirements
General Juris Doctor (J.D.) Requirements
The Law School requires 90 credit hours for graduation. Students must pass all required courses in order to graduate. At least 65 of the 90 credit hours required for graduation must be earned by attendance in regularly-scheduled law school class sessions.[1] This does not include externships, residencies, moot court, trial competitions, law review, directed research programs, or courses taken in parts of the University outside the Law School for which credit toward the J.D. degree is granted.
Full-time students are required to take a minimum of 10 credit hours each trimester and are limited to a maximum of 14 credit hours per trimester. The Law School’s academic year consists of more than 140 days on which classes are regularly scheduled. The academic year is appromixately ten months long, consisting of an August Term, Fall Trimester, optional December Term (in the second year), Winter Trimester and Spring Trimester.
Each student must also fulfill a Communications Requirement in every trimester after the first year. The Communications Requirement is intended to develop communication skills and provide the student interim feedback on those skills. The residency fulfills the Communications Requirement for the residency term. In other terms, the Requirement may be filled by the completion of a law review note, competition on Moot Court or Mock Trial, completion of a Leadership Fellow Capstone Project, or a course designated by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs as a “Communications Course.”
Each student must also complete a Bridge to Practice Course. This course must be taken after the student’s residency. The Bridge Course may involve an extended simulation, a field component, or a live-client experience in the relevant practice area and could involve other educational approaches at the professor’s discretion. Bridge courses will provide students opportunities to: (1) exercise professional judgment; (2) evaluate legal strategies; (3) build on and apply legal knowledge from other courses to novel factual situations; (4) synthesize legal knowledge from across doctrinal areas; and (5) practice advanced oral and written communication skills. The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs will designate which courses count as Bridge to Practice Courses.
Finally, every student must take Bar Exam Foundations, a 4-credit course that takes place partly in the 3L August Term and partly in the 3L Fall Term.
To graduate from Elon, students generally must be enrolled as full-time students in residence for a minimum of seven trimesters.[2] A cumulative grade point average of 2.250 or higher is required for graduation.
[1] If approved by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, these 65 hours may include coursework at another law school for which a student receives credit toward the J.D. degree by the Law School.
[2] The Law School’s residency requirement excludes August Term, December Term, and Summer Sessions. Residencies generally take place during the Winter and Spring 2L Terms. Students who transfer to Elon after their first year at another law school are deemed to satisfy this requirement upon completion of four trimesters at Elon. An Elon student who visits another law school with the approval of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs shall also be deemed to be “in residence” for that visit term.
Program of Study
The First Year
The required first-year program consists of 41 credit hours. The first-year class at the Law School is divided into six sections of approximately 20-22 students. Other than small break out groups for the first-year leadership course (Lawyering, Leadership & Professionalism) and the lab component to the first-year Criminal Law course, all first-year courses are taught by full-time faculty.
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FIRST YEAR CURRICULUM
CLASS OF DECEMBER 2018
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TERM/TRIMESTER
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CREDITS
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August Term
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Introduction to Legal Studies
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3
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Lawyering, Leadership & Professionalism
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1
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Total Credits for August Term
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4
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Fall Trimester
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Torts
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5
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Civil Procedure
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5
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Legal Method & Communication
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2
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Legal Research
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1
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Total Credits for Fall Trimester
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13
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Winter Trimester
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Contracts
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5
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Criminal Law
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3
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Criminal Law Lab
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1
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Legal Method & Communication
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2
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Total Credits for Winter Trimester
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11
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Spring Trimester
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Lawyering, Leadership & Professionalism
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1
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Property
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5
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Business Associations or Evidence
Legal Method & Communication
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4
2
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Total Credits for Spring Trimester
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12
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Total Credits for First-Year Courses
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41
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* Lawyering, Leadership & Professionalism takes place mostly within the 1L August Term, but continues with one short mandatory session during each of the Fall, Winter, and Spring Trimesters., One credit for the course is awarded at the end of the August Term, and the other is awarded at the end of the Spring Trimester.
For the Spring Trimester, first-year students choose whether to take Business Associations or Evidence, though those courses are subject to enrollment caps.
The Second Year
The second-year under the Law School’s new curriculum combines required courses, elective courses, and experiential learning through a residency-in-practice requirement. Second-year students return from an 8-week summer break to take Professional Responsibility and Public Law & Leadership, the Law School’s 2L leadership course, during a 3-week August Term. All second-year students are required to take either Business Associations or Evidence during the Fall trimester.
Also during either the Winter or Spring trimester of the second year, students must complete a Residency-in-Practice, along with an accompanying course. Residency-in-Practice placements may include a position in a judge’s chambers, a non-profit legal organization (such as Legal Aid), a government agency, a corporate counsel office, or a private law firm. In the Residency-in-Practice, students work 32 or 36 hours per week for 10 weeks for 7 or 8 academic credits while taking a related accompanying course at the law school (either in person or via distance learning depending on the proximity of the student’s Residency-in-Practice placement).
During each trimester that a second-year student is not doing a Residency-in-Practice, the student must take at least one “communication” course, selected from a group of such courses as designated by the Law School faculty. These courses continue the communications focus of the first-year curriculum.
The second-year curriculum also includes an optional two-week December Term, during which students may elect to take short, intensive courses, including studies abroad.
The chart below shows a sample second-year schedule, though a student’s actual second-year schedule may differ substantially, as the Residency-in-Practice may be taken in either the Winter or Spring Trimester, and Business Associations and Evidence may be taken in either the Fall Trimester of their second year or the Spring Trimester of their first year:
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SAMPLE SECOND YEAR SCHEDULE
CLASS OF DECEMBER 2018
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TERM/TRIMESTER
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CREDITS
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August Term
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Professional Responsibility
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2
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Public Law & Leadership
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2
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Total Credits for August Term
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4
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Fall Trimester
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Business Associations or Evidence
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4
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Constitutional Law I
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2
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Elective(s)*
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4-8
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Total Credits for Fall Trimester
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10-14
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December Term **
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Elective course
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1-3
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Total Credits for December Term
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1-3
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Winter Trimester
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Residency-in-Practice
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7-8
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Residency-in-Practice Accompanying Course
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2-4
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Total Credits for Winter Trimester
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10-11
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Spring Trimester
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Constitutional Law II ***
Elective Courses*
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3
7-11
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Total Credits for Spring Trimester
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10-14
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Total Credits for Second-Year Courses
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35-48
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* Students are required to satisfy a “Communications Requirement” in every second-year term that is not the student’s Residency term. This may be done through courses designated as “Communications Courses” at the Law School or through various activities such as moot court or mock trial. In exceptional circumstances, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs has the discretionary power to waive a student’s “Communications Requirement” for a particular term.
** The December Term is a two-week elective term. Students may opt to take short-courses during this term.
***Constitutional Law II is taken in the trimester that the student is not in Residency.
The Final Trimester
The final trimester under the Law School’s revised curriculum is intended to prepare students to pass the bar examination and to transition to practice. As such, students return for August Term to take the Law School’s Bar Foundation course. This course reviews core bar-tested subjects. This course continues into the 3L Fall Trimester.
In the Fall Trimester of the third year, students are also required to take a “Bridge-to-Practice” course, selected from a list of such courses as designated by the Law School faculty, which serves to transition students from the study of law to the practice of law through the use of simulations and other practice-focused teaching techniques.
The chart below shows a typical final-trimester schedule for students under the Law School’s new curriculum:
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SAMPLE FINAL-TRIMESTER SCHEDULE
CLASS OF DECEMBER 2018
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TERM/TRIMESTER
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CREDITS
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August Term
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Bar Foundations
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2
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Total Credits for August Term
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2
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Fall Trimester
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Bar Foundations
Bridge-to-Practice Course
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2
2-3
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Elective Courses*
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5-9
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Total Credits for Fall Trimester
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10-14
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Total Credits for Third-Year Courses
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12-16
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Upper-Level Writing Requirement: All Classes
The faculty has approved an Upper-Level Writing Requirement which must be completed by all law students during their second or third year as a graduation requirement. The goals of the Upper-Level Writing Requirement are:
- (1) To further develop students’ basic writing and research skills;
- (2) To provide students with an opportunity to analyze, synthesize, and organize a substantial body of knowledge; and
- (3) To provide students with an opportunity for in-depth engagement in a narrow legal subject area.
A student satisfies the Upper-Level Writing Requirement by completing one or more written projects that require rigorous intellectual effort. Projects must be completed under the active and regular supervision of a faculty member who provides instruction, guidance, and feedback on the student’s work, and who is available for individual meetings to discuss the student’s progress toward successful completion of the Upper-Level Writing Requirement.
The requirement can be met by writing, among other things, a scholarly paper, a law review note or comment, legal briefs or memoranda, or other legal documents. Generally, the length of the documents to be drafted in order to complete this requirement should be at least twenty (20) pages of text in the aggregate, but the professor supervising completion of the project or projects shall have the discretion to determine the required length.
The courses that may be used to satisfy the Upper-Level Writing Requirement are noted in the registration materials sent to students each term.
In addition, a student may satisfy the Upper-Level Writing Requirement in the context of an Independent Study course for credit, as approved in advance by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.
An Intent Form must be submitted to the Law School Registrar within one week of the first day of the term when the student intends to complete the requirement. To receive credit for satisfactorily completing the Upper-Level Writing Requirement, the student must submit a Completion Form, signed by the faculty member supervising the Requirement, which certifies that the Requirement has been satisfactorily completed.
Program Requirements
First-Year Required Courses
Legal Method and Communication (LMC) I, II, and III
These courses are designed to teach students the essential skills of legal method, analysis, and communication. The LMC course sequence draws together various components of the first-year curriculum in a series of simulated cases. As students move through the sequence they will receive individualized feedback on increasingly complex written and oral assignments. The course sequence includes:
| LAW 668 | Legal Method & Communication I | 2 cr |
| LAW 669 | Legal Method & Communication II | 2 cr |
| LAW 673 | Legal Method & Communication III | 2 cr |
Upper Level Required Courses for Classes of 2016 and May 2017
Class of December 2017 and Subsequent Classes
Members of the Class of December 2017 and subsequent classes must also fulfill a “communications” requirement each term after the first year. This may be satisfied through designated “communications courses” or by participating in a designated “communications activity,” such as moot court. In addition, there is a bar foundations course requirement in the August term prior to students’ third year
Elective Courses
| LAW 711 | Accounting for Lawyers | 2 cr |
| LAW 715 | Administrative Law | 3 cr |
| LAW 784 | ADR Representation | 3 cr |
| LAW 785 | Advanced Civil Procedure | 3 cr |
| LAW 735 | Advanced Criminal Procedure | 3 cr |
| LAW 843 | Advanced Evidence Workshop | 2 cr |
| LAW 774 | Advanced Family Law Practice | 3 cr |
| LAW 860 | Advanced Legal Method and Communication | 2 cr |
| LAW 661 | Advanced Legal Research | 2-3 cr |
| LAW 662 | Advanced Legal Research: Electronic Research | 1 cr |
| LAW 664 | Advanced Legal Research: North Carolina Legal Materials | 1 cr |
| LAW 663 | Advanced Legal Research: Research for Lawyers in Public Interest and Small Practices | 1 cr |
| LAW 782 | Advanced Trial Practice and Procedure | 2 cr |
| LAW 831 | Bar Exam Foundations: Selected Topics Intensive Study | 2 cr |
| LAW 818 | Antitrust Law | 3 cr |
| LAW 772 | Estate Planning | 2 cr |
| LAW 810 | Banking Law | 2-3 cr |
| LAW 811 | Bankruptcy | 3 cr |
| LAW 822 | Bar Exam Foundations | 4 cr |
| LAW 836 | International Intellectual Property | 2 cr |
| LAW 833 | Bar Exam Foundations: MBE | 2 cr |
| LAW 835 | Bar Exam Foundations: NC Distinctions | 2 cr |
| LAW 812 | Business Drafting | 2 cr |
| LAW 692 | Business Fellows Externship Course | 3 cr |
| LAW 755 | Capstone Leadership Project | 1 cr |
| LAW 776 | Children and the Law | 2 cr |
| LAW 778 | Child Protection and the Law | 2 cr |
| LAW 826 | Closely Held Business Enterprises | 2-3 cr |
| LAW 672 | Commercial Law: Negotiable Instruments | 2 cr |
| LAW 670 | Commercial Law: Sales | 2 cr |
| LAW 671 | Commercial Law: Secured Transactions | 2-3 cr |
| LAW 703 | Communication Skills for Lawyers | 1 cr |
| LAW 806 | Construction Law | 3 cr |
| LAW 819 | Consumer Protection | 3 cr |
| LAW 763 | Copyright Law | 2-3 cr |
| LAW 817 | Corporate Governance | 2-3 cr |
| LAW 803 | Criminal Pretrial Practice | 3 cr |
| LAW 732 | Criminal Procedure | 2-3 cr |
| LAW 752 | Critical Race Theory | 2 cr |
| LAW 794 | Death Penalty Jurisprudence | 2 cr |
| LAW 783 | Deposition Workshop | 2-3 cr |
| LAW 789 | E-Discovery | 1-2 cr |
| LAW 779 | Elder Law | 3 cr |
| LAW 764 | Elder Law Clinic | 3-6 cr |
| LAW 791 | Election Law | 2 cr |
| LAW 823 | Employment Discrimination | 3 cr |
| LAW 714 | Employment Law | 2-3 cr |
| LAW 840 | Entertainment Law | 2 cr |
| LAW 815 | Entity Taxation | 3 cr |
| LAW 841 | Environmental Law | 3 sh |
| LAW 771 | Estate and Gift Taxation | 2 cr |
| LAW 787 | Introduction to European Union Law | 2-3 cr |
| LAW 775 | Family Law | 3 cr |
| LAW 788 | Federal Courts | 3 cr |
| LAW 739 | Federal Indian Law | 2 cr |
| LAW 729 | Federal Tax Practice and Procedure | 2 cr |
| LAW 722 | First Amendment | 3 cr |
| LAW 754 | First Amendment: Religion | 2 cr |
| LAW 757 | First Amendment: Speech | 2-3 cr |
| LAW 690 | General Externship | 3 cr |
| LAW 758 | Guardian Ad Litem Clinic | 4 cr |
| LAW 745 | Health Law | 2 cr |
| LAW 768 | Humanitarian Immigration Law Clinic | 4 cr |
| LAW 740 | Immigration Law | 3 cr |
| LAW 699 | In-House Corporate Practice | 2 cr |
| LAW 691 | In-House Counsel Externship | 3 cr |
| LAW 712 | Income Taxation | 3 cr |
| LAW 999 | Independent Study | 1-3 cr |
| LAW 704 | Influence and Responsibility of the Lawyer as a Public Citizen | 3 cr |
| LAW 746 | Insurance Law | 2-3 cr |
| LAW 716 | Intellectual Property | 3 cr |
| LAW 709 | Intellectual Property (International Arena) | 3 cr |
| LAW 744 | International Commercial Arbitration | 2 cr |
| LAW 741 | International Business Law | 3 cr |
| LAW 828 | International Criminal Tribunals and Military Commissions | 2 cr |
| LAW 827 | International Humanitarian Law | 3 cr |
| LAW 756 | International Law: Human Rights | 3 cr |
| LAW 748 | International Law: Private, Conflicts of Law | 2-3 cr |
| LAW 742 | International Law: Public | 2-3 cr |
| LAW 743 | International Law: Refugee And Asylum | 2 cr |
| LAW 747 | Internet Law | 3 cr |
| LAW 790 | Judicial Process | 2 cr |
| LAW 702 | Labor Law | 3 cr |
| LAW 807 | Land Use Planning | 3 cr |
| LAW 701 | Law and Humanities | 2 cr |
| LAW 830 | Law Firm Management | 1 cr |
| LAW 996 | Law Review | 1 cr |
| LAW 689 | Leadership Fellows: General Externship | 3 cr |
| LAW 842 | Legal Malpractice and Prevention | 2 cr |
| LAW 816 | Legal Process and Public Policy | 2-3 cr |
| LAW 799 | Legislation | 2 cr |
| LAW 683 | Mastering Legal Analysis I | 1-3 cr |
| LAW 777 | Media and Communications Law & Policy | 3 cr |
| LAW 814 | Mergers and Acquisitions | 3 cr |
| LAW 804 | Mediation | 3 cr |
| LAW 706 | Military Justice | 3 cr |
| LAW 786 | Mock Trial Competition | 1-2 cr |
| LAW 900 | Moot Court/Appellate Advocacy Competition | 1-2 cr |
| LAW 759 | Negotiations | 3 cr |
| LAW 769 | Non-Profit Organizations | 2-3 cr |
| LAW 798 | Patent Litigation | 3 cr |
| LAW 802 | Pretrial Litigation | 3-4 cr |
| LAW 829 | Prisoners' Rights | 2 cr |
| LAW 728 | Real Estate Transactions | 3 cr |
| LAW 795 | Remedies | 3 cr |
| LAW 713 | Securities Regulation | 3 cr |
| LAW 861 | The Semester in Practice Legal Externship Program | 7-11 cr; 2cr |
| LAW 767 | Small Business and Entrepreneurship Clinic | 3-6 cr |
| LAW 792 | Issues in Sports Law | 2 cr |
| LAW 793 | State and Local Government | 2 cr |
| LAW 737 | Street Law | 2 cr |
| LAW 707 | Tax Policy Perspectives | 2 cr |
| LAW 805 | Trade Secrets | 2 cr |
| LAW 781 | Trial Practice and Procedure | 3 cr |
| LAW 834 | Understanding Business Operations | 2 cr |
| LAW 870 | Vis Moot | 2 cr |
| LAW 824 | War Crimes, Genocide and International Law | 3 cr |
| LAW 770 | Wills and Trusts | 3 cr |
| LAW 773 | Wills Drafting Clinic (In-House) | 3-6 cr |