General Practice CURRICULUM MAP
This map seeks to help guide you in selecting courses if you are interested in pursuing a career in general practice. Quite intentionally, the J.D. is a general degree with great flexibility. This map seeks to help guide you in selecting courses if you are interested in keeping your law degree broad and general rather than specialized. Some students who wish to do this plan to open their own practice, to join a small firm that offers generalized legal services in a variety of areas, to join a large firm with many specialties, or to pursue a career in-house at a company.
Sequencing As a general rule, fundamental courses should be taken before more specialized courses. In this field, that means you should strongly consider taking some of the courses listed as Fundamental or Additional Core Doctrinal in your second year. You also should consider taking classes in different areas of practice during your 2L year.
As a general proposition, we strongly encourage you to pursue a broad legal education that balances fundamental courses, your specific professional interests, and classes that appeal to you for any reason. This page provides basic advice and gives information about the courses and other offerings made available by the College of Law
Competitions Traynor Moot Court Trial Advocacy Moot Court Negotiation Moot Court Mediation Competition
We encourage you to seek one-on-one guidance in designing your 2L and 3L curriculum from one of the faculty advisors listed below. In addition, the Dean of Students and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs are always happy to meet with students for general academic advising and for designing curricular paths.
Rev. 2/2021
Experiential Opportunities Civil, Judicial, and Transactional Externships
Pro Bono Opportunities Community Legal Clinics Street Law Faculty Advisors Prof. Anna Carpenter Prof. Randy Dryer Prof. Louisa Heiny Prof. Jeff Schwartz Prof. Dave Hill
Fundamental Courses Business Organizations Evidence Trusts & Estates
Additional Core Doctrinal Courses Administrative Law Commercial Law Family Law IP Survey or IP Transactions
Elective Courses in Additional Areas Advanced Legal Research Alternate Dispute Resolution Bankruptcy Conflict Management Corporate Finance Drafting Contracts Federal Income Tax Estate Planning
Employment Law Immigration Law Immigration Skills Lab Law Practice Management Learning From Practice and Externships Legal Drafting Mediation and Negotiation
Pre-Trial Practice Real Estate Drafting Real Estate Development Real Estate Finance Taxation of Business Entities Trial Advocacy
* May not be offered every year.
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Rev. 2/2021