Academics
In addition to the J.D., the law school offers the LL.M. and J.S.D. Students may take relevant courses in other programs and apply credit toward the J.D.; a maximum of 30 credits from an ABA law school credits may be applied. The following joint degrees may be earned: J.D./M.A. or M.S. (Juris Doctor/Master of Arts or Master of Science), J.D./M.B.A. (Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration), and J.D./M.P.P.A. (Juris Doctor/Master of Public Policy and Administration).
Students must take 14 to 16 credits in their area of concentration. The McGeorge School of Law offers concentrations in corporate law, criminal law, environmental law, family law, intellectual property law, international law, juvenile law, litigation, tax law, torts and insurance, governmental affairs, and advocacy. In addition, on-campus clinics include Community Legal Services, which provides legal services for those not otherwise able to afford them; it is available to advanced students, carries a 2-semester commitment, and is worth 6 credits. Other campus-based clinics available to advanced students for 2 or 3 credits each semester are Administrative Adjudication Clinic, Parole Representation Clinic; Immigration Clinic, Bankruptcy Clinic, Business and Community Development Clinic, Civil Practice Clinic, Victims’ Rights Clinic, and Legislative Process, Strategy and Ethics Clinic. A number of elective courses are in a seminar format with limited enrollment. Of particular interest are Advanced Intellectual Property; Negotiations and Settlement; California Law Revision; Reorganization, Recapitalization and Insolvency; and International Water Resources Law. More than 80 off-campus internships are available in nonprofit and local, state, and federal governmental offices and agencies. Internships are available to advanced students and are worth 2 or 3 credits per semester. Directed research, available as an elective for advanced students, is offered for 1 or 2 credits. Individual professors also have student research assistants. Additionally, the Research Pool undertakes research projects for practitioners. Lecture series such as the Distinguished Speaker’s Series, Hefner Memorial Lecture Series, and Lou Ashe Symposium bring outstanding guest speakers to campus. The Institute on International Legal Studies includes a 3-week program in Salzburg, Austria, in cooperation with the University of Salzburg. International and comparative law courses are offered in public and commercial law fields. For more than a decade, Anthony M. Kennedy, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, has co-taught “Fundamental Rights in Europe and the U.S.” McGeorge also has a Summer Institute in Suzhou, China, with courses and cultural visits in Chinese courts. Tutorial programs include the Skills Hour Program and the Practice Examination Program offered in the fall of the student’s first year. A voluntary Minority Support Program provides a peer support and networking system as well as special orientation sessions, student-led discussion groups, and course review sessions. The most widely taken electives are Trial Advocacy, clinical offerings, and business courses.
To earn the J.D., candidates must complete 88 total credits, of which 63 are for required courses. They must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.3 in the required courses. The following first-year courses are required of all students: Civil Procedure, Contracts, Criminal Law, Legal Process, Property, and Torts. Required upper-level courses consist of Appellate and International Advocacy, Business Associations, Community Property, Constitutional Law, Criminal Procedure, Decedents’ Estates and Trusts, Evidence, Professional Responsibility, and Remedies. The required orientation program for first-year students is a 3-day program at the beginning of the year that includes orientation classes, small group sessions, and social activities. First-year faculty provide special feedback programs, including practice examinations, throughout the first year.
In order to graduate, candidates must have a GPA of 2.33 and have completed the upper-division writing requirement.