Juris Doctor (JD) – S.J. Quinney College of Law

Juris Doctor (JD)
Degree Requirements

Degree Requirements

The College of Law offers only a full-time legal education program. Students are expected to complete the requirements for a JD degree within three years (no fewer than five semesters [fall and spring]) of the regular academic year. Students wishing to graduate in five semesters should consult with the Associate Director of Student Advising & Activities. If you fail to complete the requirements for the JD degree within four years, you must submit a petition for readmission to the College of Law Readmission Committee. The JD degree cannot be completed later than 84 months (seven years) after a student has commenced law study at the College of Law or a law school from which the College of Law has accepted transfer credit.

The following is a list of College of Law requirements, in addition to the requirements of ABA, for candidates seeking a JD degree:

Total credit hour requirements: 88 credits

Minimum required GPA: 2.5

First-year required courses: 31 credits

Upper-level requirements: 57 credits

FIRST-YEAR COURSE REQUIREMENTS

The Utah Law registrar will register students for their first-year of law classes:

LAW 6000: Introduction to Law
- First-year law students begin fall classes one week before the regular fall semester begins with an orientation and Introduction to Law Week. Orientation gives incoming students basic information about how the law school functions and includes mandatory sessions on setting up computer accounts, exam policies, academic discipline policies, and financial aid. Introduction to Law, taught by the law school faculty, is a pass/fail course required for graduation that acquaints first-year students with methods of legal study and provides a preview of the coming year. The week also includes social events sponsored by the law school and student organizations.
LAW 6040: Civil Procedure (4 credits, fall)
LAW 6060: Constitutional Law I (4 credits, spring)
LAW 6080: Contracts (4 credits, fall)
LAW 6100: Criminal Law (4 credits, spring)
LAW 6120: Property (4 credits, spring)
LAW 6140: Torts (4 credits, fall)
LAW 6180: Legal Methods I (3 credits, fall)
LAW 6181: Legal Methods II (3 credits, spring)
LAW 6190: Legal Research (1 credit, fall)

SECOND & THIRD YEAR REQUIREMENTS

The following courses are required for graduation and MUST be taken in the second or third year:

LAW 7410: Constitutional Law II (3 credits)
LAW 7900: Legal Profession (3 credits)
Seminar Writing Requirement (3 credits; requires a B or better)
- LAW 7800: Seminar topic OR
- LAW 7971: Directed Research with Associate Dean for Academic Affairs' permission OR
- A supervising faculty member certifies to the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs that a student’s Seminar paper written outside a Seminar course meets all the requirements included in this section. The Seminar Writing Requirement is not satisfied with a paper written for publication in the Utah Law Review or other journals, briefs or other materials prepared for competitions, or work product produced in clinics, field placements, or internships.
Experiential Learning Requirement (minimum of 6 credits)
- Students must complete a minimum of six (6) credit hours in clinics, field placements, or simulation courses. These courses integrate doctrine, theory, skills, legal ethics and engage students in developing professional skills.
Electives (remaining 46 credits)

Minimum and Maximum Credit Rules

MINIMUM CREDIT HOUR RULES

Full-Time Status: A student must be enrolled for no less than nine (9) credit hours during each semester of the regular academic year to be considered a full-time student (full-time status for financial aid purposes may require additional credit hours.) Enrollment for less than nine (9) credit hours during the regular academic year requires approval from the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs.
- - We recommend students take at least 15 credit hours each semester to reach the 88 credit hour requirement for graduation.
Directed Faculty Instruction: Of the 88 credits needed for a law degree, at least 64 credits must come from courses involving attendance in regularly scheduled sessions or direct faculty instruction (including directed research, in-house clinics, and asynchronous online courses). These 64 credit hours cannot include field placement, teaching assistantships, competitions, publications, and/or graduate course credit earned outside the law school.

MAXIMUM CREDIT HOUR RULES

Field Placement: A student may earn a maximum of 14 credit hours in the repeatable field placement credit course.
Other Academic Credit: A student may earn a maximum of 12 credits hours for ungraded teaching assistantships, competitions, and/or student publications.
Directed Research and Directed Studies: A student may earn a maximum of six (6) credit hours for Directed Research (LAW 7971) and Directed Studies (LAW 7972) combined. Per semester, students may not exceed three (3) credit hours of Directed Research or two (2) credit hours of Directed Studies. Additionally, the total combined credit hours for both courses in a single semester cannot exceed three (3) credit hours.
Non-Law Graduate Courses: A student may earn no more than six (6) credit hours of graduate-level, non-law school coursework, as approved by the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs.
Ungraded Courses: A student may earn a maximum of 18 credit hours of ungraded (pass/fail) credit while in residence. Students may elect to take ONE class as Credit/No Credit (CR/NC); however, this option does not apply to Constitutional Law II, Legal Profession, Seminars, or courses required for a certificate. This limit does not include transferred credit from graded non-law school courses or graded courses taken at another law school.

Learning Outcomes

Students shall demonstrate competence in core legal doctrinal subjects.

Lawyers must have a basic understanding of multiple core areas of legal knowledge, regardless of their eventual area(s) of practice. In achieving this learning outcome, a student will demonstrate competence in his or her knowledge of core doctrinal subjects, including all required courses and other courses essential for the practice of law.

Students shall demonstrate competence in legal research, writing, and drafting.

Lawyers must be able to research and write about the law. In achieving this learning outcome, a student will be able, by the time that he or she graduates from law school, to:

(a) Find relevant state and federal cases both in print reporters and in on-line research databases such as LEXIS and Westlaw;
(b) Find relevant federal and state statutes both in print and in on-line research databases;
(c) Find relevant federal and state administrative rules and regulations, including agency guidance documents and reports;
(d) Write competent memoranda that explain an area of law and its relevance to given facts;
(e) Write court pleadings and motions that competently advocate a client’s position; and
(f) Draft other types of legal documents such as contracts, deeds, and wills.

Students shall demonstrate competence in legal reasoning and analysis.

Lawyers need to be able to solve problems, both for their clients and for society (or segments of society) more generally. In achieving this learning outcome, a student will demonstrate the ability, by the time he or she graduates, to:

(a) Identify legal problems, whether a client’s or society’s, that need to be resolved;
(b) Find, identify, and synthesize principles and rules of law relevant to the identified problem from cases and statutes;
(c) Apply those rules and principles to the facts at hand to identify options and to suggest courses of action to a client; and
(d) Use legal scholarship to suggest specific changes and improvements in specific areas of law for the benefit of society or particular sub-populations.

Students shall demonstrate competence in applied lawyering skills.

Lawyers need to be able to engage in a number of types of interpersonal interactions—with clients, with judges, with other lawyers, and so forth—with a number of different types of communication skills, including interviewing, advising, negotiating, and persuading. In achieving this learning outcome, a student will have demonstrated, by the time he or she graduates from law school:

(a) An ability to communicate effectively with a variety of types of people in legal situations;
(b) competence in a variety of oral and written communication skills as described above; and
(c) competence in a variety of other lawyering skills, such as document drafting, trial advocacy, or dispute resolution techniques.

Students shall demonstrate an understanding of the professional and ethical obligations of the legal profession.

Lawyers are subject to the rules of professional conduct. In achieving this learning outcome, each student will demonstrate, by the time he or she graduates from law school:

(a) Competent understanding of the rules of professional conduct;
(b) Preparation to fulfill his or her professional responsibilities; and
(c) A commitment to social justice and the public good.

Students shall demonstrate competence with legal concepts, policies, and values at a scholarly level.

Under the Utah Rules of Professional Conduct, a lawyer is a public citizen having special responsibility for the quality of justice. As a public citizen and member of a learned profession, a lawyer should seek improvement of the law, cultivate knowledge of the law beyond its use for clients, and employ that knowledge in reform of the law. These tasks can be pursued a number of ways, one of which is advanced legal scholarship.

Certificate in Business Law

Certificate in Criminal Law

Only S.J. Quinney College of Law Juris Doctor students may pursue Certificates in Specialized Study. JD students who demonstrate specialized proficiency in criminal law may earn a Criminal Law Certificate in addition to their JD degree.

REQUIREMENTS:

Students must maintain a minimum overall GPA of 3.0 (B average) in all courses applied toward the certificate.
No grade below a B- is acceptable for courses fulfilling certificate requirements.
The CR/NC (Credit/No Credit) option may not be used for any certificate-qualifying course.
A total of 17 credit hours must be completed, including:
- - LAW 7030: Criminal Procedure: Investigation (3 credits)
  - LAW 7040: Evidence (4 credits)
  - Seminar paper requirement (3 credits; need a B or better)
    - - Complete LAW 7800 OR LAW 7971 with a paper that satisfies the seminar paper requirement with a criminal law focus (must have Associate Dean for Academic Affairs' approval).
  - ** LAW 7937 & 7938: Criminal Process (year-long course, 3 credits total; 2 credits in Fall, 1 credit in Spring) AND *LAW 7925: Field Placement credit. These are taken concurrently.
    - - REQUIRED Prerequisites: LAW 7040: Evidence AND either LAW 7030: Criminal Procedure: Investigation or Criminal Procedure: Adjudication (LAW 7031)
      - Recommended prerequisites: LAW 7072: Trial Advocacy
      - **Exception: The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs may waive this requirement or allow a substitute field placement if a student has a valid reason, like when a student does not intend to pursue a career as a prosecutor or defender.
  - Choose Elective courses from this list.

Apply for Certificate in Specialized Study

NOTE: As the law school curriculum evolves, new courses or seminars may be eligible to count toward certificate course requirements. Students should consult the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs to determine whether a particular course qualifies. The Associate Dean, in consultation with relevant faculty members, also has the authority to remove courses from the list of electives if they are no longer offered.

Certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources Law

Certificate in Intellectual Property

Certificate in International Law

Certificate in Litigation and Dispute Resolution

Certificate in Public Interest Law and Policy

How do I keep track of my degree progress?

How do I run a degree audit?

What Bar classes should I take?

What other factors should I consider when picking classes?

Be mindful of when courses are taught. Some classes are offered every semester, while others are available only once a year or once every other year. Therefore, it's important to consider not only the courses you want to take in the upcoming semester but the ones you'll potentially take in subsequent semesters. By considering the availability and frequency of courses, you can strategically plan your schedule to ensure you fulfill your academic requirements while also maximizing your learning opportunities.
Check for prerequisites and/or co-requisites. Some specialized upper-division courses, clinics, or competitions have prerequisites or co-requisites. This is also true for courses required for certificates. Look at the requirements for courses you may want to take in the future to ensure you meet any prerequisites when they are available. Certificates are optional, and you should tailor your course selection to your academic and career goals.
Consider your interests. What topics interest you? Are there courses that sound interesting or fun, even if you don’t plan to practice in that area? Is there a professor with whom you would like to take a class? Don’t be afraid to experiment, take a course outside your comfort zone, or just take a course you think you may enjoy.
What courses would be helpful or practical for your career? Are there certain skills you should learn for your area of law, such as trial advocacy, appellate advocacy, or drafting? Are there core doctrinal courses that will help you successfully practice?
Watch your total classes, not just your total credits. Although students generally take 14-15 credit hours, that could represent numerous two-credit-hour classes, just a few four-credit-hour courses, or a high-credit-hour clinic. We recommend that you balance your load and limit the number of courses at the high and low ends of the credit-hour spectrum.
Look at the whole picture. When determining your total number of credit hours, consider your other obligations and balance those as if they were classes. For example, working as a research assistant or law clerk eight to 10 hours a week is the equivalent of taking a three-credit hour course. You may wish to take 14 credit hours instead of 15 or 16 while working. If you are on Law Review or moot court, you will be doing substantial academic writing. That may not be the right semester to take a seminar.

S.J. Quinney College of Law

Juris Doctor (JD)
Degree Requirements

JD ACADEMIC ADVISOR

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