UC Irvine Law School Requirements
The University of California in Irvine offers a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree. A J.D. degree prepares a student to pass the bar exam and practice law. UC Irvine opened in 2009. It is seeking accreditation from the American Bar Association but must wait until it has been in operation two years, according to ABA rules. (Reference 2)
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Complete Six Semesters
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To obtain the J.D. degree from the UC Irvine Law School, a student must complete six semesters of classes successfully. The minimum grade point average that must be achieved is a 2.0, in order for the student to pass. Students must take classes such as: legal profession I, lawyering skills I, common law analysis, procedural analysis, statutory analysis, constitutional analysis and International legal analysis in the first year. Upper level classes consist of classes such as: administrative law, business associations, criminal procedure, evidence, federal income taxation, property, remedies, employment law, business law, tax law and more.
Writing Project
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Students must take at least one course that has them produce a major writing project. Constant contact and feedback with a faculty member are required for this project. The project requires the student to do major analytical and research work. Usually this project is started after the end of the first academic year.
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86 Law credits
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The student is required to complete at least 86 law semester credits. Students must complete at least 68 of the credits in what is termed "regularly scheduled law classes". These are classes that are specifically law related whether taken at UC Irvine law school or transfered in from another law school. The other credits are from non-law classes, internships and independent work study.
Clinical Requirement
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All law school students at UC Irvine have to complete one semester of clinical study. This has to be done at a clinic in the UC Irvine or at another approved law clinic. The Associate Dean must approve the clinic. The purpose of the clinic is to give the student experience with a real life client so the student can learn and evaluate their own individual strengths and weaknesses.
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References
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