Academics
Students must take 14 credits in their area of concentration. The David A. Clarke School of Law offers concentrations in public interest law. In addition, 7 clinics are offered for 7 credits each in topics such as Small Business and Community Development, Government Accountability Project, and Low-Income Tax. Seminars are offered each semester. A 2-credit internship seminar is required of all students who do an internship. Internships with government or nonprofit agencies, for 4 or 10 credits, are offered for advanced students who have completed 14 credits of clinic and are in good standing. Students may be selected to be research assistants on faculty research projects. The clinics involve students in various forms of field work. In addition, the internship program provides full-time field work, such as in the School’s Immigration Law Project. Special lecture series include the Dean’s Lecture Series. The Career Services Office and student organizations also plan guest speakers’ visits and programs. Students may participate in study abroad programs sponsored by other law schools. The Academic Success Program provides small group and individual tutorials for students during the 3 years of law school. The Program requires students to examine the analytic processes needed to solve legal problems. It also provides counseling and tutoring for students whose GPA falls below 2.0. This program also sponsors workshops on time management, test-taking, and self-regulated learning. The most widely taken electives are Race and The Law, Business Organizations I, and Uniform Commercial Code.
To earn the J.D., candidates must complete 90 total credits, of which 75 are for required courses. They must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0 in the required courses. The following first-year courses are required of all students: Civil Procedure I and II, Contracts I and II, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Law and Justice, Lawyering Process I and II, and Torts I & II. Required upper-level courses consist of Clinic I and II, Constitutional Law I and II, Evidence, Moot Court, Professional Responsibility, and Property I & II. All students must take clinical courses. The required orientation program for first-year students begins in early to mid-August and lasts approximately 2 weeks. Students take two courses, Lawyering Process I and Law and Justice. There are other enrichment activities, such as student and faculty presentations, tours of the Supreme and D.C. Superior Courts, and a Dean’s reception.
In order to graduate, candidates must have a GPA of 2.0 and have completed the upper-division writing requirement.