Courses & J.D. Requirements
General Requirements
The 87 semester hours necessary for graduation must include the successful completion of the following courses and requirements:
Sixty-four credits from courses that require attendance in regularly scheduled classroom sessions or direct faculty instruction; such course will be explicitly identified as "Classroom Courses" (LAWC) by the faculty.
Six credits from experiential courses, which include simulation courses, clinics, and externships; such courses will be explicitly identified as "Experiential Courses" (LWXC, LWXP, LWXS) by the faculty.
The courses listed below as "Required First-Year Courses".
The courses listed below as "Required Upper-Level Courses".
A "Writing in Practice" (WIP) course.
A course that satisfies the "Upper-Level Writing Requirement" (ULWR).
Required First-Year Courses
The following courses totaling 33 semester hours are required.
course Civil Procedure
course Constitutional Law
course Contracts
course Criminal Law
course Legal Analysis and Writing I
course Legal Analysis and Writing II
course Legal Research
course Legislation and Regulation
course Professional Identity Formation I
course Professional Identity Formation II
course Property
course Torts
Required Upper-Level Courses
The following upper-level course is required in the fall after completing the first year.
course Trial Advocacy
One of the following Professional Responsibility (LWPR) courses is required:
Upper-Level Writing Requirement (ULWR)
During either the second or third year of law school, each J.D. student must satisfactorily complete a substantial paper requiring in-depth research of a specific area of law. The paper must evidence a sophisticated knowledge of the law and provide a rigorous, thoughtful analysis of an unsettled area of the law, issue of first impression, or other legal topic requiring substantial original thinking. A paper meeting this requirement will be at least 5,000 words in length, not including citations. Any paper approved by the professor may satisfy this requirement, as long as above criteria are met, but examples of a qualifying paper include:
A scholarly paper.
An appellate brief (including an amicus brief).
A policy memorandum.
The paper must be written as part of a course or independent study of at least two credits, designated as ULWR on BannerWeb, and the paper must constitute a major part of the assessment in course. In addition, faculty must require certain input measures of student performance, including:
Predrafting requirements (e.g., topic proposal and detailed outline).
At least one full draft, on which the professor provides individualized feedback (e.g., one-on-one conferences, extensive written comments, etc.) that addresses both student writing and analysis.
A final draft.
Second- or Third-Year Elective Courses
Note: A course in professional responsibility and the elective course Evidence must be satisfactorily completed by the end of the second year if the student wishes to qualify to appear in a Virginia court as a third-year student under the Third-Year Practice Rule. Students may obtain a Third-year Practice certificate after they have completed 56 credits, plus courses in Civil Procedure, Criminal Law, Evidence, and Professional Responsibility. This certificate allows a student to appear in some courts under the supervision of a licensed attorney.
course Access to Justice Clinic
course Administrative Law
course ADR Law and Policy
course Advanced Clinical Practice: Children
course Advanced Clinical Practice: Intellectual Property
course Advanced Clinical Practice: Wrongful Conviction
course Advanced Legal Research
course Advanced Trial Advocacy
course Agency and Partnership
course Aging and Disability Law Practicum
course AI in Legal Practice
course Animal Law
course Antitrust
course Creditor's Rights and Bankruptcy
course Business Associations
course Business of Law
course Children and the Law
course Children's Defense Clinic
course Civil Litigation Fundamentals
course Civil Rights History
course Constitutional Torts
course Civil Trial Advocacy
course Comparative Constitutional Legal Systems
course Constitutional Law II: Individual Rights
course Constitutional Remedies
course Contract Drafting
course Copyright Law
course Core Commercial Law Concepts
course Core Legal Concepts
course Corporate Compliance
course Corporate Finance
course Corporate Governance
course Corporate Taxation
course Corruption, Human Rights, and Mega Sports
course Criminal Defense Practice
course Criminal Law and Psychiatry
course Criminal Procedure: Adjudication
course Criminal Procedure: Investigation
course Criminal Trial Advocacy
course Cybercrime
course Cyberlaw
course Diversity in Education and Employment
course Domestic and International Terrorism
course Domestic Violence Seminar
course Employment Discrimination Law
course Employment Law
course Energy Law
course Entertainment Law
course Environmental Justice
course Environmental Law
course Estate and Gift Taxation
course Evidence
course Expert Evidence
course Externship: Advanced
course Externship
course Externship: Semester
course Family Law Procedure
course Family Law
course Federal Courts
course Federal Income Tax Lab
course Federal Income Taxation
course First Amendment Law
course Health Law
course Housing Law
course How to Start a Small/Solo Practice
course Human Rights Seminar
course Immigration Law
course Independent Study
course Information Privacy
course Intellectual Property Fundamentals
course Intellectual Property Law and Policy Seminar
course Intellectual Property and Transactional Law Clinic
course International Dispute Resolution
course International Law
course Interviewing and Counseling
course Introduction to Business
course Judicial Selection and Pathways
course Jurisprudence
course Labor and Employment Law
course Land Use Planning
course Law and Literature
course Lawyers as Leaders
course Leading and Managing Law Journal I & II
course Legal Analysis in Practice
course Legislative Advocacy
course Mediation
course Mediation Law and Practice
course Medical Malpractice
course Mergers and Acquisitions
course Military Law
course National Security and New Technologies
course Negotiation
course Negotiation Theory and Practice
course Originalism and It's Critics
course Patent Law
course Payments in the 21st Century: How Money Moves
course Peer Mentor I & II
course Plea Bargaining and Sentencing
course Poverty Law Practicum
course Pre-Trial Litigation Skills
course Products Liability Law
course Professional Responsibility: Criminal Practice
course Public Policy Research and Drafting
course Punishment
course Race, Class, Power & Privilege
course Race & the Constitution
course Real Estate Transfers and Finance
course Regulatory Law Practicum
course Religion and the Law
course Remedies
course Research Assistant
course Restorative Justice
course Sales and Leases
course School Law
course SCOTUS Criminal Cases
course SEC Investigations and Enforcement
course Secured Transactions
course Securities Regulation
course Selected Topics in Virginia Law
course Spanish Legal Skills
course Sports and the Law
course State and Local Taxation
course State Power: Theory and Practice
course Tax Policy Seminar
course Technology Law
course Ending Slavery & Securing Freedom: The History of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments
course The Death Penalty
course The Prosecution Project
course Trademark Law
course Trial Competition
course Veteran's Law
course Veteran's Law Moot Court
course Virginia Legal Research
course Virginia Procedure
course Voting Rights
course White Collar Crime
course Wills and Trusts
course Workers Compensation
course Writing for Clerks
course Wrongful Conviction Clinic
course Wrongful Conviction Seminar
Special Topics in Legal Research