Established in 1972, George Mason is located a few miles from Washington D.C. Built to help students read, research and write law documents, George Mason offers students the opportunity to specialize in a variety of law emphases that include copyright and intellectual property, patent law tracking, law and economics and homeland security. Since George Mason is close to the Capital, faculty members and students often have guest speakers and lectures from the White House, U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission.
Offering more than 200 courses and seminars, the University of Virginia helps establish the principal practices for a career in law. Judges, law practitioners and professors work to teach Virginia's Principles and Practice Program, a program where students apply legal theory to real situations. According to the university, this program provides a sophisticated and useful understanding of law. In addition, law students will take classes that include civil procedures, constitutional law, contracts, criminal law and legal writing seminars.
Known as W&L, the Washington and Lee University School of Law is designed to provide students with small class sizes in order to provide a well-rounded education in law. First-year law students will take similar courses involving public law proceedings, civil procedures, personal responsibilities, criminal law and contract law. Second- and third-year law students will focus on more specialized fields of law that allow for electives.
Providing a Christian-based education and law preparation, Regent University School of Law allows students to study at Regent or abroad in South Korea, India or Romania. Students at Regent University will take courses involving property, contracts, legal analysis, research and writing, family mediation, negotiations and drafting contracts. In addition to the courses, students will specialize in one of the five areas offered --- bar exam preparation; corporate, commercial and transactional law; public, litigation and dispute resolution law; family law; and theology and philosophy of the law.