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It’s time to start thinking
about course selection for your remaining
semesters of law school. Beyond a few core
required courses in the second and third years,
we provide you with open course selection so
that you can tailor your curriculum to obtain
the best experience and legal education
possible. That said, we have compiled some
general information and guiding thoughts to help
you devise a curriculum that best suits your
needs for the remainder of your law school
tenure. For additional guidance, consult the
“Curriculum Guide Sheets” on our website in
areas that interest you, and, of course, ask
your professors.
Foundation Courses
Some courses, although not required, are important
foundation courses for most lawyers and should
be seriously considered as part of any
curriculum. Many of these courses are
transubstantive courses, meaning that they are
more about how law or litigation works than
about a single area of substantive law. These
courses include:
Administrative law
Remedies
Conflict of Laws
Mediation & the Settlement Process/Dispute
Resolution Processes
There are also some courses that provide basic knowledge in
subjects that are relevant to almost any
practice, and about which many outsiders expect
all lawyers to know. Those courses include:
Criminal Procedure: Investigation, Arrest and the Right to
Counsel
Commercial Law Survey
Estates and Trusts
Family Law, Marriage and Divorce
Bar Courses
There are several schools of thought on the necessity of
taking bar courses, or courses that cover
material that is going to be on the bar exam.
One school of thought says: “Take what interests
you, regardless of whether it’s going to be on
the bar exam – you’ll learn all that bar
material later in a specific bar review
course.” Another school of thought says: “Take
all bar courses – that way you will be more
likely to pass the bar exam, even if you never
learn anything else in law school.” The ideal
curriculum for most people lies somewhere
between these two extremes. You might actually
be interested in some bar courses, and will be
less overwhelmed when it comes to studying for
the bar having taken a few, but you don’t want
to use law school as a pre-bar review course to
the detriment of your growth and enrichment in
other subject areas.
Students who have been on academic probation are strongly
advised, and may be required by the Associate
Dean to take certain bar courses.
In both New York and New Jersey, the
Multistate subjects are the same, and New Jersey
essays test only on these same subjects. Most of
these subjects are required at Seton Hall. But
you might enhance your “Contracts/Sales”
knowledge by taking Commercial Law Survey and
improve your “Criminal Law/Procedure” prospects
by taking Criminal Procedure: Investigation,
Arrest and the Right to Counsel.
The essay portion of the New York bar tests on a wide
variety of subjects. Seton Hall requires some of
these, like Corporations and Professional
Responsibility (although New York rules differ
from the Model Rules). Other subjects may be
addressed in part in courses here (such as
Future Interests and Personal Property). The
list of other subjects and cognate Seton Hall
offerings follows below:
Agency
Business Associations
Commercial
Paper
Commercial Payment Systems
Conflict of
Laws
Conflict of Laws
Domestic
Relations Family
Law, Marriage & Divorce
Equity
Remedies
Federal
Jurisdiction
Federal Courts
Insurance (No
Fault)
Insurance
Mortgages
Land Finance
New York
Practice & Procedure New York
Practice
Partnership
Business Associations
Secured
Transactions
Commercial Law Survey
Trusts
Estates and Trusts
Wills
Estates and Trusts
Workers’
Compensation Workers’
Compensation
To find out about bar exams in other states, you can
do a quick web search.
Seminars / Small-Group Courses
You should work into your curriculum at least one or two
seminars or small-group courses in subjects that
interest you. One of those seminars might be a
higher-level course in the area in which you
expect or hope to practice, but at least one of
the seminars should be on a topic of genuine
interest to you, even if it doesn’t seem
especially practical. You should also think
about taking a course that offers a broader
perspective of legal thought, such as a course
in legal history, jurisprudence, or comparative
law.
In addition, all students must complete at least one AWR
paper to graduate. This can be done in a
seminar course, in connection with journals or
moot court, or as an independent study project.
In whatever venue, writing an AWR paper requires
a significant commitment of time and energy.
You should therefore avoid overloading your
schedule in the semester in which you will be
writing your AWR. If you can avoid it, do not
leave your AWR to the last semester of law
school since problems with your paper can result
in the certification process not being completed
in time for graduation.
Clinical Courses
Consider taking a clinical course. The clinics give you
hands-on experience in actually working with
clients and handling legal problems, experience
you just won’t get in the traditional textbook
courses.
A Note on Specialization
If you have a strong interest in a particular area of law,
the curricular guidance sheets can help you
choose courses in that area. If you are
considering a specialization, be aware that some
advanced courses have prerequisites. Even in
areas that do not have prerequisites, there may
be other reasons to take certain courses earlier
than others. For example, some courses are
offered every semester, while others are offered
less frequently. If you are planning to take
many courses in a substantive area, consult with
a professor in that area for advice in designing
your curriculum.
If you choose to specialize, keep in mind that many lawyers
end up practicing in areas they never
anticipated during law school. It is therefore
important not to “over-specialize” at the
expense of developing your general skills as a
lawyer. |
