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The Third Year at a Glance

  • The new third year curriculum is entirely experiential, comprised of law practice simulations, real-client experiences, the development of professionalism, and development of law practice skills. 

  • Each semester begins with a two week immersion course in practice skills, one focusing on office and transactional practice skills, the other on litigation and conflict resolution skills. 

  • All students participate in a year-long professionalism program that includes the participation of practicing lawyers and judges and assist students in the development of professionalism in all its aspects, including legal ethics, civility in practice, civic engagement and leadership, and pro bono service. 

  • The core intellectual experiences in the third year are presented entirely through a mix of practicum courses that simulate legal practice environments, legal clinics, and internships. 

  • The practicum courses are taught by members of the permanent law faculty, adjunct faculty, and visiting “professors of practice” drawn from the bar and bench. 

  • Students do not study law from books or sit in classrooms engaging in dialogue with a professor at a podium.  The demanding intellectual content of the third year instead is presented in realistic settings that simulate actual client experiences, requiring students to exercise professional judgment, work in teams, solve problems, counsel clients, negotiate solutions, serve as advocates and counselors—the full complement of professional activity that engages practicing lawyers as they apply legal theory and legal doctrines to the real-world issues of serving clients ethically and honorably within the highest traditions of the profession.

  • Practicum courses span the array of traditional legal subject matter: antitrust, banking, corporate finance, securities law, tax, family law, environmental law, criminal law, employment law, intellectual property, estate planning, media law, civil rights and civil liberties practice—in short, anything and everything that might be offered in a traditional law school course.