Typical Curriculum for the Juris Doctorate

The American Bar Association (ABA) is the body that sets the broad curriculum standards that ABA approved law schools adhere to. Within the parameters of the ABA's broad curriculum standards, law schools are free to tailor their particular Juris Doctor programs in ways they think best.
  1. The ABA's Broad Curriculum Parameters

    • The ABA requires all law schools to provide meaningful instruction in such areas as legal writing, research and analysis. Moreover, the ABA requires law schools to provide legal clinic programs to their students. An example of a legal clinic is a "law firm" operating within a law school, providing limited representation for indigent clients from the surrounding community.

    A Typical Juris Doctorate Curriculum

    • While the ABA's guidelines afford wide latitude to law schools in setting their course requirements, there is, broadly speaking, a general convergence among ABA approved law schools around a core of classes, such as Civil Procedure, Contracts, Criminal Law, Torts, Constitutional Law and Professional Ethics, which are central to the practice of law, and which also feature heavily on state bar exams.

      Beyond that convergence, individual law schools vary widely on the quality of their research and writing programs, and on the emphasis they place, for example, on clinic experiences.

    Finding the Curriculum That's Right for You

    • Prospective law students should visit the websites of schools they plan to apply to and familiarize themselves with each school's curriculum, specifically, with each school's required courses and the clinical opportunities they offer.

      Law school is typically a three-year course of study. If you are thinking about going to law school, you want to make sure you choose a school that has a curriculum that suits you well. Three years is too long a time to spend in the wrong program.

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