4
Juris Doctor Program of Study
First-Year Program
The first year of law school introduces students to the fundamentals of legal analysis and to the substantive law in several basic subjects. First-year J.D. courses are listed below. Coursework totaling 30 units is prescribed for day students. Students in the evening program take 21 units (deferring Law 114 and 200 to the second year).
- 101. Legal Research and Writing
- 102. Contracts
- 103. Torts
- 104. Property
- 106. Criminal Law
- 114. Pleading and Civil Procedure
- 200. Constitutional Law I
Advanced Curriculum
The School of Law offers a wide range of one-semester advanced courses. See the complete list in Chapter 20. Required courses are listed below. Students must take Law 105 and 201 in their second year.
- 105. Advocacy
- 201. Constitutional Law II
- 302. The Legal Profession
- 320. Evidence
Supervised Analytical Writing Requirement
Students must satisfy the Supervised Analytical Writing Requirement as a condition of graduation. The requirement is intended to assure that each student completes a significant piece of legal writing under the supervision of a faculty member following the first year of law school. It is the responsibility of each student to satisfy the requirement before graduation.
General goals and objectives
The ability to write effectively and persuasively is fundamental to law practice. A lawyer’s service to society and professional satisfaction depends on an ability to communicate through writing. The purpose of the Supervised Analytical Writing Requirement is to further develop and improve that ability in each student beyond the level achieved in the first-year research and writing program and the second-year advocacy course. In addition, the writing experience provides the opportunity for intellectual growth through concentration and analysis in a specialized area of law.
Requirement satisfaction
Students must satisfy the Supervised Analytical Writing Requirement by individual work only; joint papers or projects will not qualify. Students may discuss topics, ideas, or other aspects of the project with others, and may exchange drafts for the purpose of seeking feedback on improving the writing, but all research and writing must be the student’s own work exclusively.
In general, students may not use a writing that satisfies another requirement of graduation—such as an advocacy brief or a brief produced in connection with a course satisfying the Skills Requirement—for the Supervised Analytical Writing Requirement. However, a paper that satisfies the Supervised Analytical Writing Requirement may also satisfy the paper requirement for one of the specialized certificates (e.g., international law, high tech, or social justice). In addition, a paper completed in connection with a course that satisfies the Skills Requirement may satisfy the Supervised Analytical Writing Requirement if the skills course involves substantial instruction in a professional skill other than brief writing (such as negotiation, interviewing, or oral advocacy). Faculty will certify that any writing produced in connection with the Skills Requirement does not also satisfy the skills component of the course (e.g., if the skills component involves the drafting of a brief, contract, or license).
So long as the paper meets the criteria set forth in the next section, students may satisfy the Supervised Analytical Writing Requirement in one of the following ways:
1. A paper required in a course or seminar in which the student is enrolled. Papers written for seminar credit must independently satisfy the criteria for the Supervised Analytical Writing Requirement as set forth below. Not all papers that are satisfactory for course credit will be satisfactory for the requirement.
2. A law review comment or note written for one of the law school’s law reviews. A faculty member must review the student’s comment or note and determine whether it meets the criteria for the Supervised Analytical Writing Requirement. A revision may be required.
3. Individual research (Law 298)
4. An upper-division writing course. A paper or series of shorter papers produced in an upper-division writing course may satisfy the Supervised Analytical Writing Requirement if the instructor determines that the criteria specified below are met.
5. A directed research and writing project without credit
6. A moot court brief. Normally, a brief or memorial submitted in the context of a moot court competition will not satisfy the Supervised Analytical Writing Requirement, as such writings are usually collaborative exercises and are not produced with faculty supervision. However, if a student is the sole author of a brief, or a significant portion of a brief—such as a substantial section or argument contained within a brief—such a brief or portion thereof may qualify. Students who want to satisfy the Supervised Analytical Writing Requirement through a moot court competition may do so by resubmitting their brief to the faculty advisor or another faculty member after submission in the competition. If the student wishes a portion of the brief to satisfy the requirement, the student must identify the portion for which he or she is the sole author. The faculty member will review and critique the brief with the student and will likely require revision of portions of the brief, or brief section, prior to certifying the brief as meeting the Supervised Analytical Writing Requirement.
Requirement criteria
Regardless of the way in which students choose to satisfy the Supervised Analytical Writing Requirement, the final product must meet the professional standards and expectations for the relevant audience. Close and critical faculty supervision and review of the writing is expected.
Students should select the topic for the requirement early in the term and then, inter alia, develop a research strategy, produce an outline, formulate a thesis as appropriate, submit a first draft, engage in faculty consultation, implement revisions, and submit a final draft. If the final product is not satisfactory, the faculty member may deny approval or may require that the paper be rewritten again before certifying that the Supervised Analytical Writing Requirement has been met.
The student’s final product should demonstrate an ability to analyze complex legal issues and to communicate the analysis effectively. The writing is expected to be of high quality. The faculty member will approve the writing if it demonstrates the following qualities:
1. The choice of an original or challenging topic
2. Succinct articulation and support of the thesis, if applicable
3. Logical organization
4. An appropriate level of research and analysis
5. Comprehensive analysis of the relevant law and application to the topic
6. Persuasiveness and analytical depth, as appropriate
7. A proper introduction and conclusion
8. Clear, concise, direct sentences
9. Proper paragraphing and appropriate use of headings, subheadings, and transitions
10. The correct use of legal terms and citation forms
11. Appropriate attribution to original and secondary sources, as necessary
12. Adherence to the prohibition against plagiarism
13. Proper grammar, syntax, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization
14. A neat and professional appearance
Although the required page length depends upon the nature of the project and the number of units sought, rarely will a piece of writing of fewer than 20 pages be adequate to satisfy the requirement.
Formal procedures
Any member of the full-time faculty may supervise the writing and certify that it meets the Supervised Analytical Writing Requirement. LARAW professors, visiting full-time professors, teaching scholars or fellows, and lecturers teaching an upper-division writing course may also supervise a paper for the Supervised Analytical Writing Requirement. Under certain limited circumstances, the associate dean for academic affairs may approve certification by part-time or adjunct faculty, such as where the student desires to write on an area of particular expertise of one of the law school’s lecturers. Upon receiving a written petition from a student to allow for such supervision, setting forth reasons for which the paper should be supervised by a lecturer rather than a full faculty member, the associate dean will consult with the lecturer to explain that such supervision is not expected and to convey the time commitment and degree of rigor expected for the supervision.
A student’s first choice of supervisor may not be available if the particular faculty member is already supervising, or has already supervised, a sufficient number of papers pursuant to the requirement.
Once the student has devised a plan by which to satisfy the Supervised Analytical Writing Requirement, a writing agreement must be completed with the supervising faculty member and filed with the Law Records Office at the outset of the project. The agreement should reflect the means by which the student intends to fulfill the requirement (by a seminar paper, independent research, etc.) and an estimated completion date. The agreement must be signed by both the student and the supervising faculty member. Upon final completion of the paper and approval by the supervising faculty member, the faculty member shall certify on the writing certification form that the Supervised Analytical Writing Requirement has been satisfied. The completed form and an electronic copy of the paper must then be submitted to Law Records for inclusion in the student’s file for graduation.
Professional Skills Requirement
In addition to legal analysis, research, and writing, a competent lawyer employs a variety of other professional skills, including interviewing and counseling, fact investigation, negotiation, drafting, and trial advocacy. The law school offers a variety of courses providing instruction in these other professional skills. Each student as a condition to graduation must successfully complete at least one such course. Courses satisfying this requirement will be so noted on the registration schedule of classes, posted on the Law Records Office Web site. In a qualifying course evaluated CR/NC, a student satisfies the Professional Skills Requirement with a CR. In a qualifying graded course, a student satisfies the requirement either with a grade of C or higher or with the faculty member’s written certification submitted to Law Records that the student has satisfied the professional skills component of the course, and hence the Professional Skills Requirement, notwithstanding a grade of C- or below, or a grade of NP.
Regular Classroom Instruction Requirement
The law school’s accrediting agency requires that students complete at least 45,000 minutes in regularly scheduled class sessions at the law school. These minutes (approximately 64 units of the 86 units required for graduation) may include
1. Course work for which a student receives credit toward the J.D. degree
2. Course work in a seminar or other upper-level course other than an independent research course
3. Course work completed in a law school clinical course
Course units awarded for field placements, coursework completed in another department, and co-curricular activities such as Law Review, moot court, and trial competitions will not meet this requirement.
For More Information
Law Records Office, www.scu.edu/law/resources/records.html or 408-554-4766.
