substantial term paper queen's law

Enter the URL below into your favorite RSS reader.

The Artificial Researcher: Information Literacy and AI in the Legal Research Classroom

• Citation (BibTeX)

View more stats

While there is growing interest in incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into the legal research and writing curriculum, little agreement exists among instructors or law schools on how to do so. In recent years, the need to address this gap has been bolstered by the adoption of the rule for duty of technological competence in the United States and Canada. Yet there is no real standard for introducing new and emerging legal technologies into the curriculum or course offerings for law schools.

This article discusses how information literacy provides a useful framework for integrating AI-driven tools into the law school curriculum.

Introduction

While there is growing interest in incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into the legal research and writing curriculum, little agreement exists among instructors or law schools on how to do so. [1] In recent years, the need to address this gap has been bolstered by the adoption of the rule for duty of technological competence in the United States and Canada. [2] Yet there is no real standard for introducing new and emerging legal technologies into the curriculum or course offerings for law schools.

One recent survey of American law schools found the following: six schools offer courses on artificial intelligence, approximately 15 offer a legal technology certificate, over 40 have clinics or legal technology labs, and over 70 offer law and legal technology practice management courses. [3] Even the high end of this range represents fewer than half of all ABA-accredited law schools [4] and reflects some of the vast differences in how technology is (or is not) included in a law school education more generally.

Various authors and practitioners have specifically noted the need to incorporate the competent use of AI into the law school curriculum. [5] But the sheer number of technologies available in the legal industry makes this an enormous task. How can instructors possibly teach students about every new or emerging legal technology?

In this article, I discuss how information literacy provides a useful framework for integrating AI-driven tools into the law school curriculum.

I. Artificial Intelligence and Legal Education: The Basics

When we talk about incorporating AI-driven tools into the law school curriculum, we are talking about a specific subset of emerging legal technologies. “Artificial intelligence” is commonly defined as any technology that allows a machine to replicate tasks typically associated with higher level human cognitive processes, such as learning from experience and understanding language. [6] Emerging legal research and writing tools have leveraged AI technology to facilitate research and writing tasks in many ways. Often, AI appears as an enhancement to an existing or improved platform, such as enhanced search algorithms integrated into major legal databases. Other examples represent a much more dramatic attempt to automate an entire skill or behavior, like an AI-driven tool that generates an entire research memo. [7]

No matter the extent of dependence on AI, however, these emerging technologies all share one commonality of concern to legal research and writing professors: they place more of the onus of research and writing on the design and capabilities of the machine, while the researcher is removed to some degree from the process. As a result, these emerging technologies all limit the user’s ability to control, understand, and adjust the direction and results of the research process. [8] If these tools are not taught alongside basic research skills in law school, students encountering them in the workforce will lack the basic understandings required to integrate them into their practice.

The “practice-ready graduate” is a concept that arises frequently in discussions about how to teach technology in law school. This means students “should have received an introduction to broad doctrinal precepts and the basic tools needed for access, responsible use, development, and comprehension of the law.” [9] The focal point on “tools” in this definition is significant. It refers to a belief that a foundational understanding of the law is not enough for legal practitioners. In the context of the duty of technological competence, these expectations extend to an assumption that students should be well-equipped to work with new and emerging technologies, including AI-driven tools.

The challenge with teaching emerging technologies is, of course, that the landscape can change dramatically in an exceptionally short time span. A legal tech tool that is available one year may very well have shifted focus, changed drastically, or completely failed within the span of that same year. Other technologies that were not readily available one year may see a quick uptake or be made accessible to students and graduates in similarly short intervals. Furthermore, there are so many practice-specific technologies by now that it would be a fundamentally impossible task to equip every student with knowledge of the technologies needed to practice in the specific areas of law most relevant to them.

Consequently, teaching legal technologies with a focus on specific tools is extremely difficult. The landscape changes far too quickly to give educators the chance to adequately integrate them into the curriculum. As noted by Margolis and Murray, this rapid pace of change is a characteristic of the legal landscape that is crucial to teaching legal research and writing more broadly speaking:

Legal educators […] must move beyond an understanding of research and writing as fixed skills with clearly defined parameters. While the fundamentals of research and writing are still important, it is time to start broadening our understanding of skills to include the ability to self-learn, to ask the right questions, and to evaluate and incorporate new methods into existing skillsets. [10]

This is where the concept of information literacy is helpful. The following section will describe how instructors can use this lens to introduce AI competencies into existing course offerings.

II. Artificial Intelligence Through an Information Literacy Lens

Information literacy is a concept that centers instructional efforts on improving how researchers interact with information itself, instead of with specific tools or resource types. It is “the set of integrated abilities encompassing the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and valued, and the use of information in creating new knowledge and participating ethically in communities of learning.” [11] As such, it is practice- and course-agnostic. This makes it a helpful framework for teaching about technology because it centers the information at the heart of those technologies instead of the tools themselves; it is not tied to a specific technology or modality of research and writing. [12] In the legal industry, where old and new modalities coexist in seeming perpetuity, this is an especially helpful frame. Instructors need to teach students to navigate print-based and AI-driven research at the same time.

In its clearest form, there are five fundamental competencies described by the American Library Association (ALA) that students should be able to demonstrate in accordance with an information literacy approach. These include being able to:

know when and to what extent information is needed;

access information effectively and efficiently;

evaluate information critically;

use information for a specific purpose; and

understand the ethical, legal, and social issues surrounding information. [13]

While this framework has been developed more broadly for the work of library and information specialists, it has also been adapted to meet the needs of specific disciplines, including law. Table 1 below shows the ALA standards alongside the American Association of Law Libraries’ (AALL) Principles and Standards for Legal Research , to illustrate how legal information specialists already incorporate these principles into educational design. [14]

There is much more detail in the AALL document that breaks down these principles into specific competencies, including several that speak directly to the emergence of new technologies. But these five identified principles are “broad statements of foundational, enduring values related to skilled legal research.” [15] And their very broadness is what gives them continued relevance when applied to AI-driven technologies.

Using this framework to interrogate AI-driven legal research tools is logical because the components of these new tools all fundamentally rely on information. As experts note, an AI system is composed of three relatively distinct aspects:

the input (or data) that the system draws from and operates on;

the algorithm(s), or the reasoning, that is applied to that dataset; and

the output that the system produces. [16]

Let’s take as a simple example an AI-driven case law search. The input for this tool is the database(s) of case law on which the tool runs.

The algorithm(s) is how the tool has been programmed to interpret that data. This may include explicit programming (for example, to prefer decisions that are more recent or to contain more repetitions of the search terms). Many AI algorithms, however, are a black box to even their creators. For instance, with the subfield of AI called machine learning, the computer discerns patterns from data that are not perceptible to humans and “learns” to apply those patterns moving forward without ever providing insight into why it is reaching those conclusions.

The output for this tool is likely a list of results that provides the researcher with potentially relevant judicial decisions.

While there are certainly aspects of an AI-driven system that are unique from technologies of the past, the basis of all three components here is still information. This makes it relatively simple to parse into an information literacy framework. In Table 2 below, I use the information literacy standards as a basis for adapting the above AALL principles to specific legal skills related to AI. For educators, this can help establish learning outcomes when incorporating AI into a class or course. [17]

This exercise, while by no means exhaustive, is a useful consideration for anyone looking to incorporate AI into the legal research and writing classroom because it provides competencies that can be used as the basis for backward design. [18]

For example, if I wanted to target the “evaluate” standard in an educational session, I could use these as the basis for my learning outcomes:

To meet those outcomes, I may design a session with the end goal of having students learn and apply a framework for evaluating a brief analysis tool. I may structure this lesson by first providing the evaluation framework based on the criteria listed above: relevance, authority, credibility, currency, and bias. Then, I could have students test out a brief analysis tool by uploading sample documents, such as two legal briefs on the same topic. What happens when students compare the results when the tool has interpreted two documents—are there similarities? Differences? Why are the results not identical?

This approach is very high level and focuses on the information at the heart of the tools. There is little detail on the actual law itself. By using information literacy as a framework for evaluation, we target skills and practices that will be relevant to students no matter in what area of law they end up practicing. The focus is on the tool as point of access and use of information in the broader sense and not on the specific strengths or weaknesses of a particular technology.

These are all skills that are not tied to a specific area of law, build on each other, and cannot be learned in a single session. As described by the Association of College and Research Libraries, information literacy should be viewed as “extending the arc of learning throughout students’ academic careers and as converging with other academic and social learning goals.” [19] In an ideal world, therefore, information literacy is fostered across the curriculum of a given program and not simply confined to sessions offered by the law library or to legal research and writing courses.

III. Looking Across the Curriculum

How do we integrate this type of training across the curriculum in a way that exposes students to the tools and skills necessary to succeed?

The law library has some specific strengths and weaknesses in initiating the integration of these skills across the JD program. First, it is helpful that librarians already have the skillset required to teach information literacy sessions across the curriculum. This makes them ideally positioned to take on this type of instruction, even though some may find AI to be an intimidating topic. Librarians and library staff also have a higher vantage point than individual instructors, who may find themselves limited by the specific subject matter that they teach.

There are, however, also key limitations. It can be difficult for librarians to make inroads to instructors and students, who may not be aware of this skillset or the fact that librarians can teach these types of skills. For example, several studies have found that both faculty and students are not always aware that information literacy instruction is part of an academic librarian’s role. [20] It may also be difficult to provide students with access to certain tools and technologies, depending on the law library’s budget and geographical location. Not all vendors are willing to provide students with free access to an AI-driven tool or are responsive to inquiries from academic faculty and librarians. Other tools are created for a specific market (most often the U.S. legal market) and are therefore difficult to use as a demonstration tool when teaching in another jurisdiction. Additional barriers may include lack of reliable internet access for some students, including those in remote locations. [21]

An information-literacy driven approach to teaching AI from the law library therefore has additional layers beyond the approach outlined above. First, tools must be identified that can be provided as a method of bringing AI to life in the classroom. While sessions themselves will be designed with learning outcomes based on information literacy, instructors must provide students access to tools and technologies first to begin building programming. Leveraging existing access, such as technologies that are integrated into major legal research platforms, is a useful starting point. This approach both saves time that would otherwise be spent on identifying and obtaining access to new tools, and also increases the possibility that student learning will be reinforced later on through use, as they are much more likely to encounter common tools such as Westlaw Edge and Lexis Advance Quicklaw throughout their professional and academic careers. Vendor outreach can also be fruitful, however, as some companies are willing to provide access to students for use in an educational environment. Benefits of reaching out to smaller vendors include increasing student exposure to more types of AI-driven tools beyond those offered by the biggest vendors and supporting legal tech startups in comparison to the corporations that already dominate the industry.

The second step is to identify venues or settings for the learning experience, including through outreach to instructors or student interest groups, or through workshops offered through the library. Ideally, these competencies can be integrated across the JD program by identifying specific opportunities where they make the most sense (see Table 3 below). And these competencies fall fairly logically along the three-year course of a JD program. The “know” competencies can be targeted more easily in an introductory first-year course, while upper-year courses can target the competencies associated with “access,” “evaluate,” and “use,” by introducing these concepts in a tangible way alongside the use of specific tools or in advanced legal research courses. The “ethics/legality” competencies naturally make the most sense to place in a legal ethics or professionalism course.

To give an idea of how these skills could be built across these different courses, consider the following example using the curriculum at Queen’s Law. First-year courses include an introductory legal skills course as well as courses in core areas of law, such as public law, contracts, criminal law, and torts. In keeping with the “Know” competencies outlined below, a very brief introduction to legal technology and AI could be incorporated into the legal skills course alongside a discussion of the duty of technological competence. Subject-specific tools that allow students to identify how AI is used in different areas of law could then be introduced in those other core courses—for example, the role of AI-assisted contract drafting and review tools in Contracts, the effects of judicial analytics tools in Public Law, and the use of problematic AI-driven tools in sentencing in Criminal Law. These are all high-level examples of raising a basic sense of awareness about AI in law for students in these first-year courses without delving too far into the use of specific tools or strategies for integrating them into practice.

Upper year courses, in contrast, can focus more strongly on integrating these tools and best practices into the curriculum. At Queen’s Law, students are required to write a substantial term paper in an upper year course, [22] which provides an ideal opportunity to integrate information literacy competencies associated with many standard legal research tool, such as an understanding of how algorithms affect the outcomes of their searches and how to effectively use and evaluate the results of an AI-driven tool in the course of legal research.

Other substantive courses could also integrate more hands-on use of specific AI-driven tools in accordance with these competencies. For example, due diligence tools (in a Corporate and Commercial Law course) and outcome prediction tools (e.g., in Family Law, Labor and Employment Law, or Criminal Law courses).

Lastly, higher level competencies could also be fostered in experiential learning settings within the law school. For instance, training on AI-driven citation assistance tools may be provided to student law review editors, legal research tools to mooting teams, and practice-specific technologies to students working at law clinics.

IV. Conclusion

By looking at AI through an information literacy lens, it becomes possible to identify specific competencies that should be fostered throughout a law school curriculum. This method can be helpful for designing instruction on this topic using the principles of backwards design and also for determining where specific competencies should be fostered at different points in a law student’s educational development.

In my own experience, student interest in this subject is high, and as a result, they are likely to be highly engaged in the classroom. Additional conversations on the integration of AI-driven tools into legal research and writing instruction would be fruitful to help instructors develop such sessions.

See, e.g., Emily Janoski-Haehlen & Sarah Starnes, The Ghost in the Machine: Artificial Intelligence in Law Schools , 58 Duq. L. Rev . 3, 22-23 (2020); Iantha M. Haight, Digital Natives, Techno-Transplants: Framing Minimum Technology Standards for Law School Graduates , 44 J. Leg. Prof. 175, 178 (2020); Melanie Reid, A Call to Arms: Why and How Lawyers and Law Schools Should Embrace Artificial Intelligence , 50 U. Tol. L. Rev . 477, 482-88 (2019); Emily Janoski-Haehlen, Robots, Blockchain, ESI, Oh My!: Why Law Schools Are (or Should Be) Teaching Legal Technology, 38 Legal References Service Q. 3 77, 83-88 (2019).

Model Rules of Pro. Conduct r. 1.1 cmt. [8] ( Am. Bar Ass’n 2020 ); Model Code of Pro. Conduct r. 3.1-2 cmt. [4A], [4B] ( Fed. of Law Soc. of Canada 2019).

Janoski-Haehlen & Starnes, supra note 1, at 98.

Am. Bar Ass’n , List of ABA-Approved Law Schools , https://www.americanbar.org/groups/legal_education/resources/aba_approved_law_schools/in_alphabetical_order/ [ https://perma.cc/Y9BG-VQ85 ] (last visited Mar. 18, 2022).

See, e.g., Jamie J. Baker, Beyond the Information Age: The Duty of Technology Competence in the Algorithmic Society , 69 S.C. L. Rev . 557 (2018); Paul D. Callister, Law, Artificial Intelligence, and Natural Language Processing: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to My Search Results , 112 Law Libr . J. 161 (2020); Susan Nevelow Mart, Every Algorithm Has a POV , 22 AALL Spectrum 40 (2017); Theresa Tarves, AI in Legal Education , in Law Librarianship in the Age of AI, 103 (Ellyssa Kroski ed., 2020); Haight, supra note 1.

For example, see the discussion of the term’s definitions in Woodrow Barfield, Towards a Law of Artificial Intelligence , in Research Handbook on the Law of Artificial Intelligence 2, 3-4 (Woodrow Barfield & Ugo Pagallo, eds., 2018).

For specific examples of tools, see Heidi W. Heller, Types of AI Tools in Law , in law librarianship in the Age of AI, supra note 5, at 31.

See, e.g., Susan Nevelow Mart, The Algorithm as a Human Artifact: Implications for Legal [Re]Search , 109 Law Libr. J. 387 (2017).

See, e.g., Margaret Martin Barry, Practice Ready: Are We There Yet? , 32 B.C. J. L. & Soc. Just . 247, 252 (2012).

Ellie Margolis & Kristen Murray, Using Information Literacy to Prepare Practice-Ready Graduates , 39 U. Haw. L. Rev. 1, 23 (2016).

Ass’n of Coll. & Res. Libr., Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education 8 (Jan. 11, 2016), https://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework [ https://perma.cc/XQ65-LXJZ ].

For an idea of how this concept has transcended the complex technological advances of the past 30 years, note how similar these competencies are to the original proposal of information literacy as published in 1989: Am. Libr. Ass’n , Presidential Committee on Information Literacy: Final Report (Jan. 1989), https://www.ala.org/acrl/publications/whitepapers/presidential [ https://perma.cc/6X3S-GPLY ].

Am. Libr. Ass’n, Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education 2-3 (Jan. 18, 2000), https://alair.ala.org/bitstream/handle/11213/7668/ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education.pdf?sequence=1 [ https://perma.cc/QG22-W6HG ]. These competencies were later reorganized into the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education , supra note 11, which is the current iteration of the document.

Am. Ass’n of Law Libr. , AALL Principles & Standards for Legal Research Competency (Apr. 2020), https://www.aallnet.org/advocacy/legal-research-competency/principles-and-standards-for-legal-research-competency [ https://perma.cc/9JQ4-N4WL ].

See, e.g ., Casandra M. Laskowski, AI Defined: Core Concepts Necessary for the Savvy Law Librarian , in law librarianship in the Age of AI, supra note 5, at 1 ; Michael Legg & Felicity Bell, Artificial Intelligence and the Legal Profession: Becoming the AI-Enhanced Lawyer , 38(2) U. Tas. L. Rev. 34 (2020).

This is not a comprehensive adaptation of the framework, and there are likely further competencies that could be considered here.

“Backward design” is a framework first proposed by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe as a method of curriculum design that starts with identifying the desired results of a course or lesson, and then works backwards to plan the educational experience around those results. See Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe, Understanding By Design (2nd ed. 2005). For examples of backward design in legal education, see, e.g., Nancy B. Talley, Are You Doing It Backward? Improving Information Literacy Instruction Using the AALL Principles and Standards for Legal Research Competency, Taxonomies, and Backward Design , 106 Law Libr. J . 47 (2014); Susan Azyndar, Work with Me Here: Collaborative Learning in the Legal Research Classroom , 1 Legal Info. Rev. 1 (2015-16); Gregory M. Duhl, Equipping Our Lawyers: Mitchell’s Outcomes-Based Approach to Legal Education , 38 Wm. Mitchell L. Rev. 906 (2012).

Ass’n of Coll. & Res. Libr., supra note 11, at 8.

See, e.g., Anna Yevelson-Shorsher & Jenny Bronstein, Three Perspectives on Information Literacy in Academia: Talking to Librarians, Faculty, and Students , 79(4) Coll. & Res. Libr. 535 (2018).

For example, librarians supporting law schools in northern Canada have commented on how barriers to internet access prevent students from accessing basic legal research tools like Westlaw and Lexis Advance Quicklaw. E.g., Aimee Ellis, Emily Tsui, Serena Ableson & Greg Hughes, Legal Information from Canadian Territories at the Canadian Association of Law Libraries 2021 Virtual Conference (Jun. 4, 2021).

Queen’s University , Juris Doctor (JD) Program , https://www.queensu.ca/academic-calendar/law/degree-programs/jd/ [ https://perma.cc/MZ24-QY7K ] (last visited Mar. 18, 2022).

Queen's Faculty of Law: How to Get In

Want to know how to get into Queen’s law at Queen’s university? Queen’s law school is one of the best law schools in Canada and getting accepted is not easy as the admissions can be quite selective, so hiring a law school advisor might be a good step. Queen’s law is known for its high educational calibre, diversity of student body, unique and enriching opportunities for students and community-mindedness. In this blog, we’ll look at the available programs at Queen’s law for JD applicants, admission requirements and selection factors at Queen’s law, application timeline, tuition and financial aid, and what you need to know when applying to Queen’s law at Queen’s university.

Please note: although we have made every effort to provide the most accurate information, admissions information changes frequently. Therefore, we encourage you to verify these details with the official university admissions office. You are responsible for your own results. BeMo does not endorse nor affiliate with any official universities, colleges, or test administrators and vice versa.

>> Want us to help you get accepted? Schedule a free strategy call here . <<

Article Contents 7 min read

Mission statement.

“Embracing our proud tradition of community, collegiality and service to society, we develop outstanding and innovative legal professionals with a global perspective and create new knowledge that advances the understanding and development of the law.”

Available programs and curriculum

Queen’s law at Queen’s university is one of the best law programs in Canada, and prides itself on academic excellence, diversity, inclusivity and being able to offer enriching and unique experiences to its students. Queen’s law has a second-entry professional Juris Doctor (JD) program that is completed in 3 years of full-time study. There is also a part-time study option that can be completed in up to 6 years. The JD program teaches a solid foundation on business law, criminal law, constitutional law and international law.

Students must complete the first-year requirements and 59-credit upper-year requirements at Queen’s law but may also participate in the BISC Summer Program in International Law. As part of the Queen’s law JD degree, students also complete substantial term papers, an individual supervised project requirement, a practice skills requirement, and an advocacy requirement. The latter two requirements fall under the categories of moot court participation and assistance with legal clients to gain real-life skills and experience, whereas the former two requirements are focused on written legal research papers and projects. After completing their studies, students can continue their law education with the Queen’s law LLM and PhD programs.

Admissions to Queen’s law is selective, and the university on average has an acceptance rate of 20%, which is on the more competitive end of law school acceptance rates . The law school accepts just over 200 applicants every year and typically receives thousands of applications from students all across Canada. Queen’s law is considered one of the best law schools in Canada for its educational excellence, opportunities for students and diversity, so getting in is not easy. You’ll need a strong academic showing, you’ll need to know how to study for the LSAT to achieve a competitive score and you’ll need a complete and polished application.

• Overall success rate: 20%
• Recommended GPA: 3.7
• Recommended LSAT: 164
• Location: Kingston, Ontario

The most recent admitted first-year class at Queen’s law was made up of 85% Ontario students, with 15% being from other Canadian provinces. Queen’s law prides itself on having a diverse student body with diverse backgrounds and interests, and a strong academic showing. The most common undergraduate degrees represented at Queen’s law are in the social sciences, humanities, business and science and engineering.

Undergraduate subjects represented at Queen's law school

Applications to Queen’s law must be completed through the Ontario Law School Application System (OLSAS). This online application system is used by all students, not just Ontario residents. If you need some OLSAS application tips , be sure to double check the OLSAS website for deadline information, application process and fees.

Since your application is sent directly to Queen’s law through OLSAS, the application package will include:

• Transcripts/GPA
• LSAT score (within the last 5 years)
• Law school personal statement
• Letters of reference (no more than 3; at least one must be academic)
• English Language Proficiency Test (if English is not your first language)

Queen’s law has four different admissions categories to support and encourage diversity as “Queen’s Faculty of Law believes that the geographic, ethnic, cultural, racial and socio-economic diversity of the Canadian population should be reflected in the ranks of those granted access to legal education.”

The four admissions categories are:

• General category
• Indigenous student category
• Black applicant category
• Access category (for applicants who have faced significant disadvantages to education, including disability, financial hardship etc.)

Most applicants at Queen’s law are admitted through the general category, and admissions criteria are slightly stricter in this category. Application requirements are nearly identical across all categories, with some supplemental information required for non-general category applicants.

Applicants who are applying for part-time study in the JD program are subject to the same admission requirements as full-time applicants, but there are only 5 students accepted to the part-time program per admission cycle. Applicants through the JD upper-year admissions process, including transfer students, visiting students/letter of permission applicants and others must meet the minimum admission requirements to be admitted. More information can be found on the Queen’s law website.

Queen’s law uses a holistic admissions process and considers the entirety of your OLSAS application and documentation when making admissions decisions. Because diversity is an important influencing factor on admissions, use opportunities with your personal statement, l aw school extracurriculars, work experience, background and experiences to share what makes you unique and why you would be a good addition to the Queen’s law student body. If you’re looking for Canadian law school admissions help , this can certainly increase your chances of getting in. Law school admissions consulting services can coach you on curating an application for Queen’s law that highlights your strengths and advertises your skills.

Queen’s law does not typically use admissions interviews, but you can still use law school interview preparation to start building those professional skills you’ll take with you well into law school and beyond. You may also be offered an interview if the school decides you are a strong candidate or chooses to offer interviews with Queen’s alumni, so its best to be prepared for the possibility. Some of the best law interview prep is through using a law school mock interview so you can create a reasonable simulation of a professional law interview.

Tuition and funding opportunities

The cost of tuition, fees and associated costs of study at Queen’s law is $19,487.57 per year for domestic students. International students can expect to pay slightly more to cover the costs of travel, visas and other incurred costs of studying abroad.

Queen’s law awards merit-based scholarships to students as well as entrance scholarships which applicants are automatically considered for once they are accepted. Students can apply for merit-based scholarships on the Queen’s law student awards website. Students may also be eligible for external student awards and scholarships to help with their schooling. A list of available awards can be found on the Queen’s law website. There are options for students to seek need-based financial aid through bursaries, loans and government part-time work opportunities as well.

Want to write a law school letter of intent? Here's what you need to know.

Application timeline

Since applications to Queen’s law at Queen’s University are accepted through OLSAS only, applicants can refer to the OLSAS application timeline to determine when to submit their documentation and when to expect responses from the law school.

Provisional acceptances to upper-year programs become firm acceptances. "}]">

Offers of acceptance are made on a rolling admissions basis throughout the year, after the initial OLSAS application deadline has passed. Queen’s law continues to make offers of acceptance until the class is full and all students are confirmed. It is best, then, to apply as early as possible and secure a spot well before classes begin the following September. Offers of acceptance or notices of being waitlisted will be emailed to applicants.

If applicants are placed on the waitlist, they may be selected to fill vacancies in the class. If you are waitlisted, you can increase your chances of being selected first by writing a law school letter of continued interest to Queen’s law to reiterate your interest in studying at the university and your commitment.

Contact information

Official website: https://law.queensu.ca/

E-mail: [email protected]

Telephone: 613-533-6000 Ext. 71683

Like our blog? Write for us ! >>

Have a question ask our admissions experts below and we'll answer your questions, get started now.

Talk to one of our admissions experts

Our site uses cookies. By using our website, you agree with our cookie policy .

FREE Training Webinar:

How to make your law school application stand out, (and avoid the top 5 mistakes that get most rejected).

Time Sensitive. Limited Spots Available:

We guarantee you'll get into law school or you don't pay.

Swipe up to see a great offer!

Law Library

Writing Academic Papers for Law School

• Substantial Writing Requirement
• How to Find and Narrow Your Topic
• Researching for Your Paper
• Other Support for Substantial Writing

What is the Substantial Writing Requirement?

The Substantial Writing requirement is a paper written in conjunction with a law school class or a law review article. It is not a reflection, summary, or brief. The paper must be an original criticism, analysis, synthesis or history of law or a law-related topic. It must not be a paraphrase or summary of someone else's work. It must advance and defend one or more central theses. 

Meeting this requirement won't be a simple matter of researching and then writing and then being done. Research will be an essential, repeated step all throughout the process. You will have to research to choose a topic then research to create a thesis and then research to get the material for writing the body of your paper.

More information regarding the logistics of the Substantial Writing requirement at BYU Law can be found here:  https://law.byu.edu/policies-and-procedures/curriculum/#substantial-writing-requirement .

• << Previous: Home
• Next: How to Find and Narrow Your Topic >>
• Last Updated: Jan 19, 2022 3:40 PM
• URL: https://guides.law.byu.edu/writing_academic_papers_for_law_school

System Links

Connect with us.

#BYUlawlibrary

BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY

© 2012-2017+. All rights reserved. | Provo, UT 84602 | 801-422-3593

Substantial Paper/Journal Note Guide: Introduction

• Introduction
• Selecting a Topic
• Preemption/Research
• The Research Process
• Organizing with Citation Managers
• Writing Your Paper
• Bluebook Citation Format
• Interlibrary Loan (ILL)

About This Guide

This guide is for law students who are writing a substantial paper or journal note as part of their College of Law graduation requirement. It is designed to provide guidance on selecting a topic, conducting a preemption check, organizing your research using citation managers, developing a research plan, writing your paper, and citing your sources in Bluebook citation.

The College of Law requirements for the substantial paper requirements can be found in I(C)(3) of the Arizona Law Student Handbook (available on the student intranet). 

What Makes a Good Paper Topic

As you are searching for a topic for your substantial paper, ask yourself the following:  

• Is the topic one that is well supported? Do you find legal and scholarly texts that will substantiate your claim?
• Can you develop a novel or original contribution to your topic? Can you pose a question that has not yet been answered or answered in a similar way?
• Is the topic noteworthy? Does it add something to the body of legal knowledge or benefit the legal community? What is the significance of your topic?

Articles on Selecting a Paper Topic

For further details, you might wish to consult the following articles on finding a topic and developing it into one that is compelling and interesting.

• Heather Meeker, Stalking the Golden Topic:  A Guide to Locating and Selecting Topics for Legal Research Papers , 1996 Utah L. Rev. 917 (1996). (Available on HeinOnline)
• Originality , 115 Harv. L. Rev. 1998 (2002). Start at page 2004 for comments related to law articles. (Available on HeinOnline)
• William Kupersmith, What Makes A Paper Publishable , 12 (1) The Bulletin of the Midwest Modern Language Association 15-19, 1979. (Available on JSTOR, via main library databases)

General Paper Approaches

Common approaches to identifying a problem for writing a substantial paper include:  

• Identifying an unresolved area of law, evaluating conflicting laws of authority, and arguing for a better rule.
• Look at jurisdictional conflicts
• Split authorities or circuit splits
• Majority view / minority view
• Conflicts of law
• Unresolved issues
• Looking at new facts, old laws OR old facts, new laws.
• Apply existing law to new facts
• Apply new law to existing facts
• Take an issue of first impression in one district/circuit and apply it to the law of a different district/circuit
• Analyzing one important case in depth and describing how it affects the current body of law.

Several law libraries have compiled guides on writing law school papers. Guides we consulted include:  

Boley Law Library, Lewis & Clark

Chase Law Library, Northern Kentucky

Crown Law Library, Stanford

D'Angelo Law Library, Univ. Chicago

Gallagher Law Library, Univ. Washington

Law Library, Univ. Akron

Law Library, Univ. Iowa

Schoenecker Law Library, Univ. St. Thomas

Author and Update Information

This guide was created by Law Library Fellows Sarah Slinger and Nicholas Mignanelli and Law Librarians Sarah Gotschall and Cynthia Condit.

Last updated 08.10.2021.

• Next: Selecting a Topic >>
• Last Updated: Oct 19, 2022 12:39 PM
• URL: https://law-arizona.libguides.com/lawlibrary/substantial_paper_journal_note_guide

Legal Dictionary

The Law Dictionary for Everyone

Substantive Law

Substantive law is a type of law that handles the legal relationship between individuals, or between individuals and the state. Substantive law differs from procedural law , in that it defines people’s rights and responsibilities. Procedural law focuses more on the rules that are used to enforce those rights and responsibilities. To explore this concept, consider the following substantive law definition.

Definition of Substantive Law

• An area of law that focuses on people’s rights and responsibilities as they are owed to each other and to the state.

1350-1400       Middle English

What is Substantive Law

Substantive law deals with people’s rights and responsibilities. For example, substantive law dictates the kind of punishment that someone may receive upon being convicted at the conclusion of his criminal trial . Substantive law also defines types of crimes and their severity. For example, substantive law is used to decide whether a crime was a hate crime , whether a murder was committed in self-defense, and so on. Substantive law is then relied upon to determine the rights that are afforded to the accused.

Procedural Law

Procedural law differs from substantive law in that it guides the state on how best to enforce substantive laws. Procedural law is made up of all of the rules that a court will consider when determining how best to handle a civil or criminal court proceeding. Procedural law provides a kind of step by step plan on how the facts of each case are to be handled, and how the case should proceed in order to reach a desired goal, whether that goal is trial, settlement, or otherwise.

Substantive Law in a Lawsuit

Substantive law in a lawsuit refers to the “substance” of a case, in that it deals with the elements of the case, and clearly defines the area of law that applies to each particular case. This way, the best plan of action can be taken insofar as bringing a lawsuit against someone, or defending someone who has found himself at the center of a lawsuit. For instance, substantive law in a lawsuit for a negligence claim consists of four major elements:

• The duty to protect others
• The failure to exercise a reasonable standard of care
• Proximate cause
• Actual injury

The laws of the state in which the lawsuit is brought will dictate the nature of the case, and will determine to what extent each of these elements exists.

Negligence is most commonly pursued in cases involving motor vehicle accidents. While all states will insist that a plaintiff prove the existence of these four elements of substantive law in a lawsuit to be victorious in a negligence claim, each state will differ insofar as its specific driving laws are concerned. For instance, while someone is not allowed to make a right turn on red light in one state, he may be allowed to do so in another state. Therefore, a plaintiff in a state where this is illegal may have a case for negligence, while a plaintiff in a state that allows it might not.

Substantive Criminal Law

Substantive criminal law deals with the elements of a case insofar as whether the issue at hand can be considered a crime or not. For every alleged crime that has taken place, there are specific elements that must exist in order to classify it as a crime. For instance, substantive criminal law would dictate that, for a person to be charged with the crime of burglary , the following elements must be present:

• Unlawful breaking and entering …
• Into a building…
• With the intention of committing a crime.

If these three elements are not present, then the incident may not be classified as a burglary, and a jury may decide that the accused is innocent, and that no crime had been committed.

Substantive criminal law differs based on the state or jurisdiction in which the alleged crime took place. There do not exist standard elements for every crime, nor for every jurisdiction. In the state of California, for instance, for a person to be convicted of assault , the prosecution would have to prove that:

• The accused touched the victim with the intent to harm him
• That the victim did not want to be touched
• That the accused harmed the victim
• That another reasonable person would have been offended by the accused’s touch

Therefore, if Gary punched Jason in a bar, and broke his nose, for making a comment that offended Gary, Gary would likely be convicted of assault because:

• Gary made contact with Jason with the intent to hurt him
• Jason surely did not want to be punched
• Gary injured Jason by punching him
• Another reasonable person would have been offended by Gary punching him in the face

How Substantive Law and Procedural Law Work Together

Substantive law and procedural law work together, in that procedural law system boosts the substantive law system by providing the guidelines that need to be followed so that substantive law can be applied to real-world disputes. Substantive law is then relied upon by a judge and/or jury when evaluating the evidence in a case to determine the nature of the case and the appropriate way to settle the matter.

Substantive law defines the elements of a case, while procedural law focuses on the burden that is on the plaintiff to prove any wrongdoings to a jury that fit within the elements provided. Substantive law is the “substance of the case,” and procedural law provides the “procedure” that would be best to handle the substance of each particular case.

Erie Doctrine

The Erie Doctrine is a civil law doctrine which provides that a federal court, when trying to decide whether to apply federal or state law to a case, must follow state law with regard to substantive law issues. When the question pertains to procedural law, however, then the court must apply federal law to the matter at hand. The origin of the Erie Doctrine is the Supreme Court’s landmark decision from 1938 in Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins . Here, the Court overturned the prior decision that had been made in Swift v. Tyson wherein federal judges were permitted to ignore their states’ common law decisions in certain cases.

Substantive Law Example Involving a History of Prior Felonies

An example of substantive law can be found in a case involving a defendant with a history of prior felonies, who argued that he had been sentenced too harshly, based on discrepancies between state and federal law. In 2010, police entered Gregory Welch’s apartment, believing that a robbery suspect was present. After getting Welch’s consent to search his apartment, the police discovered a gun and ammunition that Welch admitted were his own. Welch was then arrested.

Welch was charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, to which he pled guilty. Because Welch had three prior felonies on his record, he was to be sentenced to a minimum of 15 years in prison . Welch appealed, arguing that one of his felonies should not have been considered. His argument was that, at the time of his conviction, Florida law allowed for individuals to be convicted of robbery at a significantly lower level of force than the related federal laws required. However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit disagreed, affirming the district court’s decision.

The Court’s argument was that the force Welch had used during that robbery was “capable of causing physical pain or injury to another person.” Therefore, the Court agreed with the lower court that this conviction was appropriately considered when determining the most appropriate punishment for Welch.

In 2013, Welch challenged his conviction, arguing that his prior conviction for strong arm robbery was vague, and that his trial attorney was ineffective in his allowing Welch to be sentenced so harshly. He sought an appeal to the appellate court, which the district court denied. He then tried to appeal directly to the appellate court based on a similar case to his own that the Supreme Court was in the midst of deciding – Johnson v. United States – but the appellate court too denied his request.

Three weeks later, the Supreme Court decided Johnson , holding that the very standard that Welch was convicted under – the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) – was too vague in nature and was therefore unconstitutional. It was ruled to be unconstitutional because, according to the Court, it failed to give individuals enough notice of the type of illegal conduct that it was to about to punish. The Court ultimately held that application of the ACCA was “unconstitutionally arbitrary and unpredictable.”

The question then became whether the Supreme Court’s ruling in Johnson , insofar as what constituted a violent offense, could be considered retroactively. If so, could Welch be successful in appealing his own conviction?

When the Supreme Court agreed to hear Welch’s case, they found in his favor in a nearly unanimous vote (7 to 1). Here, the Court held that, unlike procedural laws that change the ways in which conduct is determined to be punishable, substantive laws affect the reach of the statute, rather than its application. Further, procedural laws are not usually retroactive, but substantive laws are. As such, the ruling the Court handed down in Johnson , the Court decided, should also apply retroactively to Welch’s case.

This is an interesting example of both substantive law and procedural law. Substantive law applies to the facts of each of Welch’s crimes, and the actual laws governing the levels of, and punishments for, those crimes. Procedural law applies to the procedures that must be adhered to determine whether an appeal has merit, and whether elements of the law can be applied retroactively. In addition, this is an example of the application of the Erie Doctrine, as Welch complained of being the victim of discrepancies between state and federal laws.

Related Legal Terms and Issues

• Defendant – A party against whom a lawsuit has been filed in civil court, or who has been accused of, or charged with, a crime or offense.
• Plaintiff – A person who brings a legal action against another person or entity, such as in a civil lawsuit , or criminal proceedings.
• Prosecution – The lawyer or lawyers who charge and try a case against a person who is accused of committing a crime.
• Proximate Cause – An event sufficiently related to an injury to be considered the cause of that injury.

Partner Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP

Related services and key industries

Related services.

• Litigation and disputes
• Class actions
• Environmental law
• Alternative dispute resolution (ADR)
• Antitrust and competition

Key industry sectors

• Financial institutions
• Consumer markets
• Life sciences and healthcare
• Energy, infrastructure and resources

Ted Brook is a litigation lawyer who focuses on class actions, environmental litigation and commercial disputes.

Ted provides strategic advice and representation to businesses and individuals faced with litigation or potential litigation. He has experience conducting trials and appeals, and has appeared as counsel in the Ontario Court of Justice, the Ontario Small Claims Court, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the Court of Appeal for Ontario, the Federal Court (Canada) and the Federal Court of Appeal (Canada). Ted also has experience acting for clients in regulatory disputes and administrative law proceedings.

In his class actions practice, Ted acts for businesses and financial institutions in high-stakes and often complex proceedings. In his environmental practice, Ted defends environmental charges and litigates contaminated land disputes, acting for both plaintiffs and defendants. In his commercial litigation practice, Ted represents both private sector clients and Crown corporations in a wide range of business disputes, including breach of contract, construction lien, commercial leasing and negligence disputes.

From 2014 to 2015, Ted clerked for the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto, where he worked closely with trial judges on complex civil actions, multi-party commercial disputes and insolvency proceedings. He also assisted with a variety of administrative and public law matters before the Ontario Divisional Court, including judicial reviews and statutory appeals.

Ted won several academic awards in law school, including prizes for administrative law, constitutional law, legal theory, sentencing and imprisonment and best substantial term paper.

Professional experience

• Ontario 2015

Ted's recent representative experience includes:

• Class Actions: global financial institution re: unpaid wage claims; global cyber security company re: consumer protection claims; national food retailer re: antitrust claims; global travel company re: unpaid overtime claims; global security provider re: unpaid overtime claims; online food delivery company re: motion to stay a proposed national class action in favour of private arbitration; global chemicals company re: anti-trust claims; and global financial institution re: NSF fee claims.  
• Environmental Litigation: global toy manufacturer re: contamination/remediation litigation; global energy company re: contamination/remediation litigation; global automotive parts companies re: contamination/remediation litigation; global electrical solutions company re: contamination/remediation litigation; national property manager re: contamination/remediation litigation; youth organizations re: charges laid under the Ontario Safe Drinking Water Act ; and national environmental services company re: remediation and compliance advice and strategy.
• Commercial Litigation: national telecom re: inter-carrier wireless technology disputes; national health technology company re: multiple urgent injunctions; global machining company re: breach of contract and negligence claims; energy distribution company re: breach of contract and negligence claims; global financial institution re: breach of trust and negligence claims; residential construction company re: breach of contract claims; global packaging company re: urgent recovery of personal property; national telecom re: confidential arbitration; federal Crown corporation re: dispute regarding sensitive commercial information; federal Crown corporation re: defence of COVID-19 impact claim; federal Crown corporation re: various federal court proceedings; various commercial tenants and landlords re: lease disputes and litigation; and various global and regional businesses re: debt collection and invoice disputes.
• Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in Canada: Class Action Litigation, 2023-2024
• Canadian Bar Association
• Ontario Bar Association
• The Law Society of Upper Canada
• The Advocates' Society

2024 global partner class features 49 lawyers across 10 practices

December 12, 2023

S4 EP1: Undisputed: Revealing 2024’s top litigation trends

Podcast | February 27, 2024

| February 27, 2024

Ontario's new Consumer Protection Act one step closer to becoming law

Publication | December 08, 2023

© Norton Rose Fulbright LLP 2023

• Canada (English)
• Canada (Français)
• United States
• Deutschland (Deutsch)
• Germany (English)
• The Netherlands
• Türkiye
• United Kingdom
• South Africa
• Hong Kong SAR
• Marshall Islands
• Nordic region

• Law Library

Law Student FAQs

• Substantial Analytic Writing (SAW) Requirement
• Academic Requirements (JD)
• Accommodations
• Course Enrollment
• F-1 Visa Work Authorization/C.P.T for JD Students
• Independent Research/ Project
• Specialization Membership/Priority Enrollment

1. What is the Substantial Analytic Writing or “SAW” requirement?

2. how does the saw requirement actually work, 3. what is the required length for a paper to fulfill the saw requirement, 4. what’s “independent research” (also called “individual research”) and when can that satisfy the saw, 5. what about the law review and other journal requirements, 6. why is it potentially a bad idea to wait until the last semester of law school to enroll in a course or independent study intended to satisfy the saw, 7. when are independent research and seminar papers due, 8. but what if a student really needs additional time to work on the paper, 9. what’s the deal with writing requirements for programs/specializations, 10. can the law library help students with saw paper research.

• Event Planning
• Journals - General
• Journal Membership

Every ABA accredited law school is required to have an upper division writing project as a graduation requirement.  UCLA’s is called the “Substantial Analytic Writing,” or “SAW,” and is set forth in our Academic Standards, Section I(E).  It requires that a student complete the following:

“ E. Substantial Analytic Writing —During the second or third year of law school, a faculty-supervised Substantial Analytic Writing (SAW) project.  This experience of sustained and intensive work on a specific project is a core element of a student’s legal education.  The content and format of the writing project may vary within a wide range.  For example, a student may choose to examine a specific proposal for law reform, drawing on empirical research or materials from a field other than law.  Alternatively, a student may choose to draw on his/her experiential course experience to analyze a specific legal problem.  Whatever the format, one of the central objectives of the project should assist students in developing superior writing skills.  Students may satisfy the SAW requirement by completing a faculty-supervised writing project undertaken for a minimum of two units that is certified by the supervising faculty member as a rigorous writing experience.  The writing project must be graded and may not be completed on a pass/fail basis.  In general, the SAW requirement may be satisfied by a Law 340 or Law 341 independent research paper, a seminar paper, or a paper for other advanced courses.  With the approval of the supervising faculty member, other writing exercises may qualify as the necessary rigorous writing experience.

Faculty members determine, based on the above criteria, whether written work required for a class they are offering will, if satisfactorily completed, fulfill the SAW requirement.   Faculty are asked (but not required) to include that information in their course descriptions and students are encouraged to inquire directly to the faculty if they are seeking to satisfy the requirement and want to know whether a particular course might qualify.  At the time you are choosing classes, we recommend that you read online course descriptions to determine whether satisfactory completion of course requirements might satisfy the SAW.

Once the final written work product has been submitted, the faculty member needs to determine, as part of the grading process, whether the student actually met the SAW requirements.  (It is possible for a student to pass a class, but not satisfy the SAW requirements.)  While the Records Office will ask the faculty member to verify the student’s SAW completion as part of grade submission, some faculty may not always provide this information.  Students should affirmatively fill out the SAW Completion Form so Records can note that the graduation requirement has been met.

There is not a specific amount of pages required. The length and substance of the paper is determined by the student and their faculty supervisor.

UCLA offers three different categories of independent/individual research, which are the terms used to describe scholarly writing done under the supervision of a law faculty member.  These categories fall under the course numbers Law 340, Law 341 and Law 345.  Papers written under Law 340 and Law 341, if written for two or more units of credit, may satisfy the SAW; those written under Law 345 may not.  The Summary of Academic Standards, Section II(D), describes the three opportunities as follows:

Individual Research (Law 340/341) and Project (Law 345) Unit Rules — An upper division student may enroll in and receive credit for up to a combined total of nine (9) Law 340/341 independent research/Law 345 independent project units. In Law 340 (for a semester) or Law 341 (for a full academic year), students undertake legal research under the supervision of a faculty member resulting in an original scholarly paper analyzing a particular area of law.  In Law 345 (for a semester only), students undertake original research, usually involving empirical or field study, and produce a paper analyzing their findings.  Students seeking to enroll in a Law 340/341 or 345 course must submit a “Petition for Independent Research/Project form to the Records Office for approval; this form requires the student obtain prior written approval of the sponsoring faculty member, including approval of the proposed topic.  Consultation and supervision between the student and the sponsoring faculty member shall continue throughout the term(s) of enrollment.  Work may begin during the summer, if the professor agrees to this in advance, so long as a substantial portion of the work is undertaken during the term(s) in which credit is awarded.  All 340/341 units shall be graded for a letter grade, not on a P/U/NC basis.  The supervising faculty member shall determine whether Law 345 shall be graded for a letter grade or on a P/U/NC basis.

A student seeking to write an independent research paper is responsible for securing a faculty member willing to supervise the proposed project.   The student then needs to draft a brief description of the topic, obtain written confirmation (email) from the professor and fill out the Petition for Individual Research/Individual Project .   This needs to be submitted to the Records Office by the end of the first week of instruction; Records then processes the enrollment.  (The Dean of Students has discretion to extend the deadline through Week 4 of instruction; beyond that date, students must petition the Faculty/Standards Committee.)  Records processes enrollment for all independent research after the second enrollment pass; you cannot enroll yourself on MyUCLA.

The UCLA Law Review requires its 2L members to complete a first draft of a student comment by early in the spring semester.  To fulfill that requirement, most members of the Law Review enroll in either Law 340 for the fall semester or year-long Law 341, with the units distributed over both fall and spring semesters.   Other journals encourage student scholarship, whether through independent research or seminar papers.  Journal membership requirements are separate and apart from the school’s SAW requirement, but a paper written for a journal may also be used to satisfy the SAW requirement if it meets the SAW standards.

If a student runs into any difficulties with lining up a faculty advisor, choosing a topic, or actually writing the paper, s/he may run into problems completing the paper and satisfying the SAW on a timely basis.  It is one (bad enough) thing to walk into your last final exam less prepared than you would like under ideal circumstances; you are still highly likely to pass the course and earn the units.  With respect to the SAW, though, even students who wrote papers throughout college can find SAW compliance to be a more daunting undertaking than they had anticipated.   Having that epiphany during what are supposed to be the waning days of law school can be problematic and ultimately interfere with your ability to graduate on time and take the bar exam with your friends. 

Unless a faculty member sets an earlier deadline, all papers (whether written for a seminar or as independent research) are due at 4:00 p.m. on the last day of final exams for the semester and are typically submitted to the faculty member via MyLaw.

Any extension must be approved by the Dean of Students, who as a matter of practice seeks input from the supervising faculty member in order to determine whether the student has made substantial progress on the paper, and that failure to complete the paper by the deadline is justified by sound educational objectives or excused by such circumstances as would justify a student from taking an exam.  To obtain an extension, students need to: 1)  obtain approval from their professor; 2) Draft an email to the Dean of Students with a statement explaining progress on the paper and reasons for the extension request along with the professor’s approval.  Generally, extensions will not be approved for longer than one week.  However, if the student is doing a Law 340 and work on the paper needs to extend into the following semester, it may make sense instead to convert the paper to a Law 341.  Students in their last semester of law school should keep in mind that they will not be able to sit for any bar exam until the paper has been completed and their graduation can be certified (which is to say that finishing the paper cannot be postponed until after the bar exam). 

The Epstein Program in Public Interest Law & Policy, the Critical Race Studies Program and the Program in Law & Philosophy all impose their own upper division writing requirements, sometimes more extensive than the SAW.  Students seeking to earn a specialization in one of those fields of study should check with the programmatic faculty advisor to determine whether their proposed written work will fulfill program requirements.  A paper that fulfills program requirements will be deemed to satisfy the law school’s SAW requirement, but the converse is not necessarily true. 

Yes. The law library has a SAW paper  research guide  to help students through the stages of research.  Additionally, the librarians hold SAW paper research workshops each semester.  Workshop schedules and materials are posted  here , including asynchronous lessons, and handouts.  Librarians are also available for individual student consultations.

• << Previous: Specialization Membership/Priority Enrollment
• Next: Student Organizations and Journals >>
• Last Updated: Aug 1, 2023 4:13 PM
• URL: https://libguides.law.ucla.edu/faqs

© The Regents of the University of California. UCLA School of Law. All Rights Reserved.

Ohio State navigation bar

• BuckeyeLink
• Search Ohio State
• Areas of Study
• Application
• Application Materials
• Early Decision Option
• Dual Degree Programs
• Accepting Financial Aid Packages
• Appealing the Student Budget
• Establishing Ohio Residency
• Loan Assistance
• Scholarships & Grants
• Tuition & Student Budget
• JD Transfer Admissions
• Academic Information
• Experiential Learning
• Financial Information & Scholarships
• How to Apply to the LLM Program
• LLM-JD Transfer Program
• LLM Student's Experience
• Foundations of U.S. Law & Practice Summer Program
• Admissions Requirements
• MSL Program Tuition and Financial Aid
• Online Certificate Program on US Law and Practice
• Visiting Research Scholars Program
• Plan a Visit
• Civil Law Clinic
• Criminal Defense Clinic
• Criminal Prosecution Clinic
• Entrepreneurial Business Law Clinic
• Immigration Clinic
• Justice for Children Clinic
• Legislation Clinic
• Mediation Clinic
• Clinic Information Sessions
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Judicial Externships
• Public Interest Externship
• Excellence in Public Service Award
• Public Interest Law Foundation Auction
• Public Interest Law Foundation Fellowship
• Special Programs
• Congressional Conversations
• Education Abroad
• National Security Simulation

Oxford Pre-Law Program

• Oxford Summer Program
• Apply to the Washington, D.C., Summer Program
• Summer Experience
• International Programs
• Internal Competitions
• Moot Court Travel Teams
• Lawyering Skills Travel Teams
• Governing Board
• Judges & Bailiffs
• Program Awards
• Topper Eagle Award and George R. Beneman Award
• Submissions
• Health & Wellness
• Student Groups
• Student Mentoring
• Divided Community Project
• Research and Grants
• Drugs on the Docket Podcast
• Faculty, Staff, Experts, and Affiliates
• Election Law at Ohio State
• Law, Finance and Governance
• Program on Data and Governance Engagement
• Program on Data and Governance
• Program Highlights
• Data Points Lecture Series
• Distinguished Lecture on Big Data Law and Policy
• Program on Data and Governance Events
• Program on Data and Governance Faculty and Staff
• Research Publications
• Certificate in Dispute Resolution
• Dispute Resolution Scholarship Highlights
• Externship Opportunities - ADR
• Lawrence Lecture on Dispute Resolution
• Program on Dispute Resolution Events
• Schwartz Lecture on Dispute Resolution
• Student Scholarship - ADR
• Career Opportunities
• Program on Dispute Resolution Faculty
• Public Resources
• Publications
• Leadership Courses
• Law and Leadership Event Descriptions
• Scholarships
• Partnerships and Collaboration
• Founding Advisory Board and Student Advisory Board
• Law and Leadership Events
• Lawyers as Leaders
• Judicial Clerkships
• Employment Information
• Corporate Fellowship Program
• Public Service Fellows Program
• Board Fellows Program
• Public Service Law Center
• Reciprocity
• Alumni and Career Development
• About the Library
• Collections
• Law Library Staff
• Law Library Accessibility Resources
• Administration
• ABA Required Disclosures
• Columbus, Ohio
• Inclusive Excellence Team
• Ohio State University Diversity
• Legal Pipeline
• The Kirwan Institute
• Moritz College of Law
• Make a Gift
• Education Abroad Programs
• Washington, D.C. Summer Program
• Foundations of US Law Summer Program

The Ohio State University and the University of Oxford have partnered since 1993 to offer their Summer Pre-Law Program at the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. The program, which is the oldest overseas pre-law program in existence, takes place from late June to late July every year. It is generally known that the American legal system developed out of Great Britain’s legal system, and the strong influence of English law is still apparent in our system of law. Studying in a university that, for some 900 years, has had a major role in developing the current Anglo-American legal system, is valuable preparation for students who are contemplating studying law in America. In addition, we specifically devote time to helping pre-law students hone the skills necessary for success in American law schools.

Students usually are in class for about two and a half hours each day and, in addition to the class work, will write a substantial term paper under the supervision of a tutor, usually a member of the Oxford faculty or an associate of the Socio-Legal Centre. In the last week, each student leads a seminar on his or her paper topic.

Students will take field trips –which are included in the program’s fee – to several places of importance in the development of our legal system. Typically these include trips to places like Windsor Castle (the Queen’s official home), the fields of Runnymede (where the Magna Carta was signed in 1215), the Houses of Parliament, the Old Bailey, and the Inns of Court. There are also trips to places of cultural interest, such as Stratford-upon-Avon to see a Royal Shakespeare Company production, and Blenheim Palace (birthplace of Winston Churchill).

All participants in the Ohio State/Oxford Pre-Law Program will receive six hours of graded Ohio State Pre-Law credit.

All interested and qualified sophomores, juniors, and seniors are encouraged to apply. The Oxford Pre-Law Program uses an online application process available from the  Office of International Affairs , which can be accessed through this link .

You can learn more about the program by viewing program information online at the  Study Abroad section  of the Office of International Affairs.

If you have questions, please contact Sara Ireland at [email protected] .

Academic Regulations

Academic rules and regulations are subject to change by decision of the faculty at any time. Please also refer to the Student Conduct Code and the Honor Code .

A. In General

B. required courses, c. core electives, d. experiential learning requirement, e. advanced writing requirement, f. limit on out-of-class credits, g. independent research project, h. visitor and credit-transfer policy, i. courses taken at another university school or college, c. examinations, d. class ranking policy, a. full time distinguished from part time, b. transfer between day and evening programs, c. outside employment , d. maximum number of credits per semester, a. academic deficiency; minimum cqpa, b. dismissal , c. leaves of absence, a. written permission of associate dean; when required, b. instructor’s permission; when required, c. withdrawal as a right, a. statement of law school policy, b. general attendance requirement, c. additional rules for clinical courses, e. constructive absences, f. petitions, g. general preparation requirement, vii. good standing, i. requirements for graduation.

To receive the JD degree, a student must meet all of the following requirements:

• Successfully complete all required courses, the core elective requirement, the Professional Skills Requirement (for students matriculating before Fall 2016 or the Experiential Learning Requirement (for students matriculating Fall 2016 or later).
• Receive credit for 86 credits.
• Achieve a cumulative grade point average of 2.00.
• Complete all requirements no sooner than 24 months and, except in extraordinary circumstances, no later than 84 months after a student has commenced law study at this law school or a law school from which this school accepted transfer credit.
• Satisfactorily complete the Advanced Writing Requirement .
• Complete all work for the above requirements no later than the last day of examinations of the student’s final semester.

Because it is important for all lawyers to share a core of common knowledge and skills, the faculty has prescribed a set of required courses (listed elsewhere in this catalog).

2. Course Sequences, Variances

Required courses must be successfully completed. They must be taken in the prescribed sequence (set forth elsewhere in this catalog) unless the student has petitioned for and been granted a variance prior to registration or prior to a change in registration. A student may, however, take a required course earlier than the prescribed semester without petitioning to do so. Authority to grant or deny such variances rests in the associate dean. Variances are granted in only the most extraordinary of circumstances. A student who has been given permission to postpone an exam in a required course must take the exam the next time the course is offered (excluding the summer term).

3. Successful Completion

A student who has received a failing grade in a required course must retake the course. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will receive a grade of “Pass,” but will retain the previous grade of F as well. The “Pass” will have no numerical value and will not affect the CQPA (Cumulative Quality Point Average). The F will be included in the CQPA. The purpose of the rule is to insure at least minimal competency in all required courses but not to provide opportunities to improve a grade. The writing of a paper for a course in which the student failed an examination is prohibited.

In addition to Lawyers’ Professional Responsibility, which remains required for all students, the upper-class curriculum consists of core electives and general electives. The core electives are: LAWS 114 Administrative Law , LAWS 205 Business Organizations , LAWS 323 Commercial Law , LAWS 311 Evidence , LAWS 305 Federal Income Tax , and LAWS 307 Trusts and Estates . General electives are all electives other than core electives.

1. Core Elective Requirement

Every student must take at least four of the core electives. One of the four must be either LAWS 323 Commercial Law or LAWS 305 Federal Income Tax . Students who take both Commercial Law and Federal Income Tax will be able to use both in satisfying the requirement of four.

2. Sequencing and Registration Priorities

Full-time students.

Full-time students must complete at least three of the core electives by the end of their second year. Moreover, students who are registering for their second year have priority with respect to all of the core electives. Thus, a student who takes fewer than six of the core electives in their second year will be able to register to take the remaining core elective(s) as a third-year student only after the completion of registration by students who are registering to take core electives in their second year.

Part-Time Students

Part-time students must complete at least two of the core electives by the end of their second year, and the rest of their core electives in the third and/or fourth years.

After registration in the fall, the associate dean for academic affairs will determine if there are any students who have not registered for enough core electives to complete at least three (for full-time students) or two (for part-time students) by the end of their second academic year. The associate dean will send a warning letter to such students, stating they have one week to register for sufficient core electives in the spring to total the required number for the year. If they have not done so by the deadline, the associate dean will register them for the number of core electives needed to fulfill the core elective requirement. Courses will be assigned solely in the discretion of the associate dean.

The associate dean’s office is available to answer questions about the requirements and registration priorities.

3. Advice on Course Selection

Although only four of the core electives are required, the faculty recommends that students seriously consider taking all six, for the following reasons.

First, the faculty believes that these six courses are among the most important in the upper-class curriculum. Taking all six gives students exposure to a wide variety of legal areas and disciplines. In the past, students who have had summer jobs after their second years have often found that they were better prepared for their assignments than students from law schools with less extensive requirements.

Second, with the exception of LAWS 305 Federal Income Tax , the six courses cover some, though by no means all, of the most difficult material tested on most bar examinations. Taking all five of the other courses does not, of course, guarantee success on any bar examination, nor does taking all six guarantee success in practice. Moreover, different instructors may stress different aspects of the material and even different material in different sections of the courses. Yet students who take all six will thereby enhance their chances of passing a bar examination and will become sensitized to potential tax consequences of transactions and other activities in a wide variety of legal practice areas.

Third, all of the six courses provide foundations for other courses in the curriculum. In combination with the required first-year curriculum, they develop students’ skills in statutory, administrative, and common-law reasoning. They also introduce students to many of the concepts that clients expect lawyers to understand.

Fourth, students’ notions of where their interests lie often change with exposure to new material. In the past, many students who have entered the law school without definite career plans have discovered interests in areas covered in one or more of the six courses. Even students whose plans were definite at the outset have sometimes changed their minds and pursued careers in areas they discovered only when they took one of the six.

Each student must also satisfactorily complete “one or more experiential course(s) totaling at least 6 credits,” as provided by current ABA Standard 303(a)(3) and related provisions. Certain courses are always designated as “experiential courses” that will satisfy the requirement. They are: all law clinics except Advanced Clinic; all externships including Field Placement II; Introduction to Representing Clients; Negotiation; Trial Practice and Advanced Trial Practice. Other courses that may satisfy this requirement, depending on the design choices that the particular professor makes, include: Advanced Family Law II: Courtroom Advocacy, Advanced Juvenile Law: Delinquency Proceedings, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Bankruptcy Lab, Commercial Transactions Workshop, Estate Planning and Drafting, Financial Planning: Principles and Taxation, Judicial Clerkship Seminar, Land Use Practicum, Representation in Mediation, and Visual Persuasion in the Law. (This list is subject to revision; each semester the registrar will designate which courses taught the following semester will satisfy the requirement.) Any paper(s) written in connection with a course or courses used to satisfy the Experiential Learning Requirement may be used to satisfy no more than three of the four papers required to satisfy the Advanced Writing Requirement.

1. The Requirement

To ensure continued development of those research and writing skills stressed in the first-year Legal Skills Program, each student must write at least four papers after the first year, preferably one each semester. At least one, the “substantial paper,” must be at least 10-15 pages in length with a non-trivial research component. The three others constitute the “short paper” requirement. A student may not begin the advanced writing requirement before completing LAWS 111 Legal Research & Writing I and LAWS 112 Legal Research & Writing II .

2. Modes of Satisfaction

A student will ordinarily submit a paper as part of the work for a substantive or clinical course. The class schedule published each semester will indicate which courses automatically satisfy either a short paper or substantial paper requirement. Most elective courses that do not automatically satisfy a paper requirement will have a limited number of places for students who wish to write a paper for that course. At the beginning of the semester students may ask a faculty member to supervise a short or substantial paper. If the faculty member agrees, they will verify completion of the paper with the Associate Dean/Registrar. The paper must count for at least 25 percent of the final grade for the course.

Ordinarily a student may not satisfy two paper requirements in the same semester. An exception will be made if a student takes more than one course that automatically satisfies a paper requirement. The associate dean may waive the one-paper limitation for good cause.

A member of the Law Review, the Probate Law Journal, or the Health Law Journal may satisfy the substantial paper requirement by preparing a long note or comment that the editorial board determines is of publishable quality. A student may satisfy the substantial paper requirement by submitting an appellate brief prepared for the intramural competition used to select members for the Moot Court Society. To satisfy the paper requirement, the brief must be critiqued and approved by a faculty member, who may require additional work on the paper. The faculty member must transmit the approval to the registrar. The student does not need to be selected to the Moot Court Society in order for their brief to satisfy the requirement. 

3. Full-Time Faculty

The courses designated as satisfying the advanced writing requirement shall ordinarily be limited to those taught by full-time faculty. In exceptional circumstances, the associate dean may approve the designation of a course taught by a part-time member of the faculty.

4. Duplicative Use

The principal part of any work prepared in satisfaction of any part of the writing requirement will be completed after the date that the topic is approved by the faculty supervisor. Any prior work on the topic, either research or writing, must be fully disclosed to the faculty supervisor prior to the approval of the topic.

Any paper written in connection with a course or courses used to satisfy the 6-credit Experiential Education Requirement may be used to satisfy a short paper requirement but not the substantial paper requirement.

A law student may elect a maximum of 20 out-of-class credits toward the satisfaction of the 86 semester hours required to receive the JD, consisting of up to 10 fieldwork credits and up to 10 non-classroom credits, as follows:

1. Fieldwork Credits

A law student shall be permitted to elect a maximum of 10 fieldwork credits during the student’s residency at the school. Fieldwork hours, as currently in the curriculum, include the following:

a. all but 4 of the credits elected by a student taking for the first time an in-house clinic taught by a full-time faculty member (Civil Justice Clinic and Tax Clinic),

b. all but 2 of the credits elected by a student taking Civil Justice Clinic ( LAWS 294 ) after taking Tax Clinic ( LAWS 295 ) or vice versa, and

c. all but 2 of the credits elected by a student taking Appellate Clinic I - Defense ( LAWS 299 ) or other clinic that is not taught by a full-time faculty member, and

d. all but 1 of the credits for Advanced Clinic ( LAWS 611 ) , and

e. all but 1 of the credits for an externship.

The rules of the various state bar examiners vary in respect to the number of fieldwork credits an applicant may present. Each student is responsible for making certain that their curriculum conforms to the requirements of the state or states to which the student may apply.

2. Non-Classroom Credits

In addition to any fieldwork credits under the preceding section, a law student shall be permitted to elect a maximum of 10 non-classroom credits during the student's residency at the school. Non-classroom credits, as currently in the curriculum, include the following: a. all credits elected for Moot Court, and b. all credits elected for Health Law Journal, Law Review or Probate Law Journal, and c. all credits elected for an Independent Research Project. The rules of the various state bar examiners vary in respect to the number of non-classroom credits an applicant may present. Each student is responsible for making certain that their curriculum conforms to the requirements of the state or states to which the student may apply.

3. The following summarizes the limits on out-of-class credits:

Fieldwork Credits: 10 credits maximum

Externship (non-seminar work)

Advanced Clinic (non-seminar work)

All but 4 Civil Justice/Tax Clinic credits (if a student takes Civil Justice Clinic and then Tax Clinic (or vice versa), then all but 2 credits of the second clinic would be fieldwork credits)

Other clinics (non-seminar work)

Non-Classroom Credits: 10 credits maximum

Moot Court (3-credit limit)

Independent Research Project (6-credit limit)

Journal (4-credit limit)

Credits from other parts of university

The Independent Research Project permits a student to conduct a major research and writing project under the supervision of a full-time member of the Law School faculty. The paper must be at least 20 pages in length, exclusive of footnotes, per credit assigned.

A student who wishes to write an independent research paper must submit to the supervising faculty member a written proposal that demonstrates that he or she has a viable topic for research. The student must register for the course, with the approval of the faculty member, no later than the beginning of the student's next to last semester of school. Prior to registration, the student must present to the registrar a contract signed by the supervising faculty member. Contracts are available in the associate dean’s office.

An Independent Research Project may satisfy the substantial paper component of the Advanced Writing Requirement if the project is for either 2 or 3 credits.

The Advanced Writing Requirement provision on Duplicative Use applies to the Independent Research Project.

No student shall register for more than one Independent Research Project in any semester or session, nor more than two Independent Research Projects for all semesters or sessions at the School. No student may complete more than one Independent Research Project with any individual faculty member. A student may enroll in an Independent Research Project during the same semester or session in which the student is enrolled in a clinical program, subject to the rules regarding Limit on Non-Classroom Credits, and provided that the student is enrolled in at least one other school course with regular class meetings. Only full-time law school faculty members may supervise an Independent Research Project. The associate dean may waive any of these requirements under exceptional circumstances.

1. Visitor Policy

Students may by permission of the associate sean visit at another law school at any time after completing their second semester, provided that they complete at least two-thirds of their credits toward their degree at the Quinnipiac University School of Law. Such visiting status may be granted when it is determined that an exceptional change in the student's personal circumstances requires the student to relocate for the period of visiting status, or when some exceptional educational opportunity arises. Credits will be accepted for transfer only if the visiting student earns at least a C or its equivalent. 

2. Transfer of Credits

This school will grant no more transfer credits for a course taken at another school than the number of credits granted for the course by that school. For students who transfer to this school, no credits are transferred in courses in which the student has earned a grade below C (2.00). The maximum number of credits a student can transfer from another law school is 30. For Quinnipiac students who visit at another law school, see paragraph 1 above. Credits accepted from other schools are transferred with the grade of “Pass.”

3. Required Courses and Core Electives

Except with express written permission of the associate dean for reasons of hardship, students may not receive credit for required courses or core electives taken at other law schools. Written permission must be obtained before taking the course elsewhere.

4. Summer Sessions

Except with express written permission of the associate dean for reasons of hardship or sound academic reasons, students may count toward graduation no more than six credits earned in summer programs of other law schools. Written permission must be obtained before taking the course elsewhere.

For good cause shown, the associate dean may allow a student to register and earn credit toward the JD for courses taken in another school or college of the university. Law school credit will be pass/fail only, and given only for courses in which the student earns a grade of C (2.00) or better.

II. Grades, Grading and Examinations

The School records letter grades and attributes to those grades a quality point equivalent based upon a four-point system, as follows:

A .................................... 4.00 A- ..................................  3.67 B+ .................................. 3.33 B .................................... 3.00 B- ................................... 2.67 C+ .................................. 2.33 C .....................................2.00 C- ....................................1.67 D+ ...................................1.33 D .....................................1.00 F ..................................... 0.0 and no credit 

The school awards honors to graduates according to the following standards:

3.00 to 3.29 - cum laude

3.30 to 3.59 - magna cum laude

3.60 to 4.00 - summa cum laude

Several courses—including Civil Justice Clinic, Tax Clinic, Appellate Clinic and Externships—may be graded (at least in part) as Honors, High Pass, Pass, Low Pass, and Fail. Except for Fail, none of these grades has a numerical equivalent; hence they do not affect the student’s Cumulative Quality Point Average. A Fail, however, counts as a 0.0 in calculating the CQPA. Grades for courses taken at other institutions for which credit is given shall be recorded as Pass, subject to the Transfer of Credits policy described in section I.H.2 above.

1. Anonymous Examinations

Except as specified hereunder, grades are based solely on written examinations that are graded anonymously. Approximately one week before examinations each semester, students must obtain from the registrar their examination number. That number must be used on all examinations in lieu of the student’s name.

2. Extensive Written Work

Some courses involve extensive written work. Such work and such courses need not be graded anonymously. However, written final examinations in such courses are graded anonymously.

3. Clinical Courses

Clinical Courses and other courses involving extensive non-written performance need not be graded on the basis of anonymous examinations.

4. Classroom Performance

The faculty believes that student performance in the classroom is an essential part of the educational process. Faculty members have the authority to evaluate such performance and to raise or lower a student's final grade by one-third of a letter grade, based on such performance. A faculty member who implements this policy must announce it to their class beforehand. Failure to adopt such a policy at the beginning of a semester shall not stop the faculty member from doing so thereafter, provided the required notice is given.

5. Attendance and Class Preparation

Excessive student absences in a required course will lead to an administrative withdrawal from the course with a grade of F. (See section VI.A, Attendance Policy , below.)

6. Grade Changes

After submitting grades in a course to the Registrar’s Office, a faculty member has no authority to change a grade except upon satisfying the associate dean that the change is due to mathematical or other clerical error or egregious substantive error. No change requested by a student shall be approved unless the student has sought review from the instructor within three weeks after the posting of the grade, or within three weeks of the beginning of the semester immediately following, whichever is later. In no event shall a grade change be made after the last day of the semester next following the semester or session in which the examination was administered.

7. Grades of Incomplete

A student who is given a grade of Incomplete in a course, and has not completed all course requirements by the end of the semester following that in which the Incomplete was given, shall automatically have the Incomplete converted to an F. Exceptions to this rule will be made only in cases of extreme hardship (such as extended illness), on proof of same satisfactory to the associate dean.

8. Grading Guidelines

The recommended median grade in required courses (Contracts, Torts, Civil Procedure, Criminal Law, Constitutional Law, Property, and Legal Skills I & II) is C+ or B-. The recommended median grade in core electives (Tax, Business Organizations, Evidence, Administrative Law, Commercial Law, and Trusts and Estates) and in Lawyers’ Professional Responsibility is B- or B. Faculty may deviate from these recommended medians after consulting with the associate dean. There are no recommended medians for other courses.

1. Honor Code

The following honor code pledge will be attached to every examination, take-home and in-class. Students must sign the pledge prior to taking the examination.

HONOR CODE PLEDGE

“On my honor, I pledge that I will follow the Honor Code regarding this examination. Specifically, I pledge that I have not given or received, and will not give or receive, prohibited assistance on this examination, and that I will neither work on nor retain this examination after the time allotted has elapsed. I understand that it is my duty to report any conduct that I know constitutes a violation of the Honor Code.”

Signature (please use examination number, not your name):

2. When Taken; Excuses

(a) Examinations must be taken at the time and place specified unless the student is excused by the associate dean on account of illness or for other sufficient reason. Where possible, the student shall secure the associate dean’s written permission prior to the date of the examination. To preserve anonymity, the student must not notify the instructor. In the event of an emergency that makes prior written approval impractical, the student shall notify the associate dean as soon as possible of their inability to take the examination at the scheduled time.

(b) A student who becomes ill during an examination and is unable to complete the examination may, in the discretion of the associate dean, be permitted to take the examination in the same course the next time it is offered, provided the student has notified the associate dean or delegate before the end of the examination.

(c) A student who has three or more examinations within a 24-hour period may, with the permission of the associate dean, postpone one of the exams until later in the examination period.

3. Rescheduling of Examinations 

If the associate dean has excused a student from taking an examination at the scheduled time, the associate dean may, with the concurrence of the instructor, allow the student to take the same examination at a later time. In no event may a student take an examination prior to the scheduled time. 

4. Deferred Examinations

If the associate dean has excused a student from taking an examination, but the student has not been permitted to take the same examination at a later time under the preceding section, the student will be permitted to take a different examination at a time and place to be determined by the instructor, but in no event later than the end of the examination period in the semester in which the course is next offered.

5. Reexaminations

The school does not permit reexaminations.

1. In general

• 1L Students: Students who attempted the full-time course load of 30 credits during the academic year are ranked together as full-time students. Students who attempted fewer than 30 credits are ranked together as part-time students.
• 2L Students: Full-time and part-time are ranked together in one 2L ranking.
• 3L and 4L Students: Full-time and part-time are ranked together in one 3L/4L ranking.
• Graduating students are ranked together in one ranking. 

2. For determining eligibility for law journals

• Selection of candidates for the Law Review, Probate, and Health Law Journals will take place twice a year, after the fall and the spring semesters. The eligible pool of students shall include those students who at the selection point have attained at least 23 credits as of the conclusion of the immediately preceding semester.
• At each selection point:
• Students in the top 7% of the eligible pool of students will be invited to walk on to the journal of their choice. 
• Students in the next 8% of the eligible pool of students will be invited to walk on to their choice of either the Health Law Journal or the Probate Law Journal.
• Students in the top 50% of the eligible pool of students will be eligible to be selected to join the Law Review through the write-on competition.
• Any student in the eligible pool of students who has attained a cumulative GPA of 2.00 or higher at the selection point will be eligible to be selected to join the Health Law Journal or the Probate Law Journal through the write-on competition. However, to be selected to join either of these journals, a student who is not in the top 50% of the eligible pool of students shall be required to meet a heightened standard in the write-on competition.

III. Course Loads

1. fall and spring semesters.

A full-time student for American Bar Association purposes is one who enrolls in at least 13 credits per semester. The normal course load for full-time students, however, is 13-15 credits. A part-time student is one who enrolls in 8-12 credits per semester. Written permission of the associate dean is required to deviate from these norms.

2. Summer Session

No student may register for more than eight credits in a Quinnipiac summer session. A part-time student (one who is employed for more than 20 hours per week) may not register for more than 6 credits in a summer session. (See sections I.H.3 and I.H.4 above regarding summer credits taken at other institutions.)

Evening students may take day courses, and full-time day students may take evening courses only on a space-available basis.

Full-time students must devote substantially all of their working hours to the study of law. For purposes of this rule, a full-time student is one who is enrolled for 13 or more credits. A student may not work in excess of 20 hours per week while attending school on a full-time basis. This restriction applies during the summer in the same manner as during the normal year if the student is enrolled for a summer session.

Pursuant to ABA requirements, a student may enroll for no more than 17 credits in a semester and no more than 8 credits in a summer session. The law school has no authority to waive this rule.

IV. Continuance in Residence; Review for Academic Deficiency

1. generally.

Each student will be reviewed for academic deficiency at the end of every academic year. A student must maintain a minimum overall Cumulative Quality Point Average (CQPA) of l.80 at the end of a year in which the student has attempted 17 or more credits, l.90 at the end of a year in which the student has attempted 36 or more credits, and 2.00 at the end of a year and every year thereafter in which the student has attempted 54 or more credits.

2. Transfer Students

A student who transfers here from another law school must maintain a 1.9 CQPA in all courses taken here by the end of their second semester here (excluding summer school), and a 2.00 by the end of the second year and every year thereafter.

3. Discounting of Course with Most Detrimental Grade

If a student has not maintained the appropriate minimum CQPA, a second calculation will be performed. Removing from consideration the student's most detrimental grade, the student must have attained a 2.2 average in all remaining courses. The most detrimental grade is the one that most adversely affects the student’s CQPA. This procedure of discounting the most detrimental grade will be repeated each semester, if necessary, so long as the student maintains a 2.2 CQPA in all other courses from the time he or she entered law school.

Any student falling below the required minimum CQPA will be dismissed automatically.

1. If the student has completed only two part-time or full-time semesters, the dismissal is final and there is no right of petition or appeal.

2. If the student has completed three or more semesters, the dismissal is final, with no right of petition or appeal, unless the student is within .05 of the minimum CQPA required to remain in residence. A student who is within .05 of the minimum CQPA may appeal the dismissal to the Academic Status Committee. The appeal should be addressed to the chair of the Academic Status Committee, in care of the associate dean, and must be postmarked no later than 14 days after receipt of a letter from the associate dean notifying the student of their dismissal. If the student files an appeal, the dismissal will not become final until the committee has reviewed the case and denied the appeal. A student may apply for a leave of absence during the semester in which an appeal is pending before the committee. (See IV.C.) A student is allowed only one such appeal during the student's entire time at the school. If the committee grants the appeal and allows the student to remain in residence, the student will be reviewed at the end of the academic year and must have brought the CQPA up to the minimum required to remain in residence as of the later semester.

3. A student who has been academically dismissed after the second year or later may petition the Academic Status Committee for reinstatement. The committee may reinstate a student upon an affirmative showing that the student possesses the requisite ability, that there is a high probability that the student will successfully complete the course of study, and that the prior disqualification does not indicate a lack of capacity to complete the course of study. A student reinstated under this rule will lose all credit for the academic year in which the CQPA fell below the required level. The committee may impose such conditions as it deems appropriate. The decisions of the committee are final and not subject to appeal to the faculty as a whole.

4. No course, including summer courses, taken after a semester in which a student was dismissed automatically may count toward the student's CQPA. Even if the later course were to bring the CQPA above the average required to remain in residence, the student will be dismissed from the school and withdrawn from the later course(s) with a 100% tuition refund. 

Leaves of absence will be granted liberally by the associate dean to students who believe that they have problems that might interfere with academic performance.

V. Withdrawal from a Course

A student may withdraw from a course only with the prior written permission of the associate dean in the following circumstances:

1. Withdrawal is from a required course, or

2. Withdrawal from the course would reduce the student’s course load below the minimum required (see section III, Course Loads, above), or

3. Withdrawal is from a course in which the student missed more than 20% of the class hours scheduled in the course.

A student may withdraw from a course only with the permission of the instructor in the following circumstances:

1. In a course in which students are assigned substantial presentations, a student may withdraw within two weeks of their assigned presentation only with the written permission of both the instructor and the associate dean.

2. In a clinical course, after the third week of the course a student may withdraw only with the permission of the instructor.

3. Externships

In all other circumstances a student is entitled to withdraw from a course at any time during the first week of classes by using Student Planning. After the first week, a student must email the registrar. A student who has not followed this procedure has not withdrawn from a course.

VI. Attendance, Preparation, and Participation Policy

The faculty believes that class attendance, preparation, and participation are critical elements of the educational process.

An instructor may withdraw a student who misses 20% of the class hours in any course. A student so withdrawn from a required course will also receive a grade of F in that course. For purposes of this rule, the term “required course” does not include the courses listed as core electives in Rule I.C. In making the decision to withdraw a student, the instructor may consider such factors as the number of absences and the legitimacy of the reasons for them. In calculating the number of absences, an instructor may not take into account absences from classes held at times other than in the published course schedule. The instructor may deem the failure to sign an attendance sheet as conclusive evidence of a student’s absence if the instructor has notified students of this policy in writing no later than the first class.

Students who are enrolled in clinics must appear personally on the first day of the semester or as may be required by the clinic faculty. Absences from clinic courses will be permitted only for illness and pressing personal matters (bereavement, illness in the family, placement interviews, legal matters, inter-law school competitions), and such absences must be made up. The faculty member supervising the clinic shall have the discretion to decide whether the circumstances justify an absence and when the absence shall be made up.

An instructor who withdraws a student shall notify the associate dean of the withdrawal no later than one week after the last class. The associate dean shall notify the student.

An instructor may mark absent a student who is inadequately prepared for class or refuses to participate when required to do so, whether or not the instructor requires the student to leave the classroom. The instructor must immediately advise the student that he or she has been marked absent.

1. A student withdrawn from a course may petition the Academic Status Committee for reinstatement. If a student files such a petition, the withdrawal will not become final until the committee has reviewed the case and denied the petition. Attendance, preparation and participation requirements will remain in effect during the pendency of the petition. The committee may reinstate a student in the course if, after giving appropriate deference to the instructor’s determination, the committee finds that the instructor’s decision was not reasonable. In making its determination, the committee may consider any additional failures by the student in complying with the attendance, preparation, and participation requirements that occur after the initial withdrawal and while the appeal is pending. In the event that the committee decides to grant the petition, it may impose such conditions upon reinstatement as it deems appropriate.

Upon request by the losing party, the committee shall issue a written statement explaining the basis for its ruling.

2. The committee’s decision is final. Neither party may appeal the decision to the faculty. The committee may refer any matter to the faculty for review.

For each course, a student is expected to spend an amount of time on out-of-class work that satisfies the Law School's ABA Standard 310 Policy, attached as Appendix B to these regulations. 

To be in good standing, a student must have the minimum CQPA required under section IV.A.1 above and be current in their financial obligations to the law school. 

Print Options

Send Page to Printer

Print this page.

Download Page (PDF)

The PDF will include all information unique to this page.

Download 2022-2023 QU Catalog PDF

All pages in the Quinnipiac Catalog.

Download 2022-2023 Undergraduate Student Handbook

All pages in the Quinnipiac Undergraduate Handbook

Download 2022-2023 Graduate Student Handbook

All pages in the Quinnipiac Graduate Handbook

Writing Requirements

For graduation, each student must complete 3 units of Supervised Analytic Writing and prepare a Substantial Paper of at least 2 units. Prior to beginning work on a Supervised Analytic Writing paper or Substantial Paper, a student should secure the approval of the supervising faculty member. At least one of these writing requirements must be satisfied before a student can register for the penultimate term at the Law School. Specifically, the Law School requires that the supervisor of one of those writing projects must certify the student’s successful completion of the project before the student can register for the penultimate term; the faculty certification must include a final grade for the paper. For most J.D. students, the penultimate term is the fifth term; however, for joint-degree students, the penultimate term is the fourth term. For students who will enter their penultimate term in the fall, the deadline for final certification is August 1; for those whose penultimate term is the spring, the deadline is the last day of the fall-term examination period.

A Supervised Analytic Writing paper for 3 units involves work that is closely supervised by a professor and is designed to increase the student’s proficiency in legal research, analytic reasoning, and writing in a single field of concentration; the paper may not be purely descriptive in character. Supervised Analytic Writing papers may not be submitted on a credit/fail basis and must be certified with a final grade of Pass or higher. Students are strongly encouraged to begin their Supervised Analytic Writing paper no later than the beginning of their penultimate term. Many faculty members require a two-term commitment for Supervised Analytic Writing papers and will not supervise students beginning papers in their last term.

A Substantial Paper for 2 units of credit, although not necessarily meeting the criteria for a Supervised Analytic Writing paper, must be a significant written project. Supervisors may accept Substantial Papers written for a Supervised Research program or course offered on either a graded or credit/fail basis. For Substantial Papers that are written as Supervised Research, the election of graded or credit/fail must be made at the beginning of the project. If a Substantial Paper is certified on a graded basis, the final grade must be Pass or higher.

Supervised Analytic Writing papers or Substantial Papers may be prepared in connection with (1) seminars or courses, (2) research and writing under faculty supervision. Work done in courses outside the Law School will not be accepted in satisfaction of the writing requirements.

Only instructors with particular appointments at Yale Law School are eligible to serve as supervisors for Supervised Analytic Writing papers or Substantial Papers.

Section Menu

Paper Supervision

Read more about paper supervision on SAWs and Substantials. (Login required).