Family Law Concentration
Prerequisites
To be eligible for the Family Law concentration, a student must take both LAWS 311 and LAWS 305 as two of the core electives. Credits for these courses do not count toward the 18-credit concentration requirement, but grades in these prerequisites do count toward the concentration GPA requirement.
Requirements
To receive the certificate for this concentration, a student must earn 18 family law credits, divided as follows (not all courses are offered every year):
1. Coursework
Required Coursework
In addition to LAWS 311 and LAWS 305 (credits for which do not count toward the 18-credit concentration requirement) a student must take the following courses. Credits for these courses will count toward the 18-credit concentration requirement:
Course ListCode | Title | Credits |
---|
LAWS 370 | Family Law | 2-3 |
LAWS 435 | Advanced Family Law I - S | 2-3 |
LAWS 438 | Advanced Family Law II | 2-3 |
LAWS 371 | Divorce and the Divorcing Family | 1-3 |
| 2-3 |
| Representation in Mediation Exp | |
| Introduction to Mediation | |
| Negotiation | |
| Alternative Dispute Resolution Exp. | |
Recommended Core Courses
(Not all of these are offered every year.)
Course ListCode | Title | Credits |
---|
LAWS 307 | Trusts and Estates | 3 |
LAWS 384 | Juvenile Law | 3 |
LAWS 385 | Advanced Juvenile Law - Child Protection Practices | 2 |
LAWS 386 | Domestic Violence: Law, Practice and Pol | 2 |
LAWS 387 | Advanced Juvenile Law: Delinquency Proceedings | 2 |
LAWS 388 | Elder Law | 2 |
LAWS 600 | Law and Gender | 2 |
LAWS 644 | Probate Court Practice and Procedure Exp | 1 |
LAWS 646 | Children, Social Science, and the Law | 3 |
LAWS 684 | Race, Child Welfare, and Juven | 3 |
| |
Remaining Credits
The balance of the credits, if any, are to be earned from the following family law–related courses, or from other core courses listed above. (Not all of these are offered every year.)
2. Clinical Requirement
At least 3, but no more than 3, of the 18 family law credits must be earned in the Civil Justice Clinic and/or in a family and/or juvenile law–related externship placement. Credits for IRC (LAWS 599) do not count toward the clinical requirement. (A student may exceed 3 credits for the clinical course but may only count 3 credits toward the clinical requirement of this concentration.)
a. The concentration director will determine the family-law status of any given clinic or externship.
b. The clinical requirement may be waived if the student has substantial family or juvenile law work experience. The concentration director will make this determination.
c. If the clinical requirement is waived, the student must still earn 18 credits elsewhere within the concentration to receive the concentration.
3. Writing Requirement
A student must write a substantial paper – or a series of shorter writings that together comprise a substantial amount of written work – on a topic or topics related to family or juvenile law. (If a student writes a substantial paper, it may be used to satisfy the Advanced Writing Requirement, provided that the guidelines are met as set forth in the Academic Regulations, section I.E.) The concentration director must approve the topic or topics for the written work used to satisfy this requirement. A paper written for a journal may qualify, if the concentration director approves the topic.
4. Honors
Students who achieve a GPA of 3.20 or better in the coursework used for the concentration will receive the certificate for the concentration with honors.
5. Options
A student may designate any course or paper as not counting toward the concentration, so long as it is not required for the concentration and the student meets the concentration requirements with another course or paper.
6. Waiver
The concentration director and the associate dean for academic affairs may waive any requirements for the concentration (other than the GPA requirement), if they both agree to do so.