Completion of a 2-credit course that is graded on the basis of a research paper (not exam- ination) is required for the Juris Doctor degree. To satisfy the legal writing requirement, the written work must be based on sound legal research, consist of a single paper of no less than 8,000 words including footnotes, conform to the legal citation rules recognized and adopted by the Law School, and receive a grade of B - or better. All drafts and the final paper must conform to legal citation rules and all rules outlined in the Law School publication Citing Responsibly . Failure to adhere to such rules may result in a violation of the Academic Integrity Code.
Subject to the foregoing rules and the rules that follow, the legal writing requirement may be met by (1) satisfactory completion of Law 6656, Independent Legal Writing; (2) satisfactory completion of a qualifying 2-credit seminar or other 2-credit course that requires or permits a research paper; or (3) satisfactory service on the Law Review, International Law Review, American Intellectual Property Law Association Quarterly Journal, Journal of Energy and Environ- mental Law, Federal Circuit Bar Journal, Public Contract Law Journal, International Law in Domestic Courts, or Federal Communications Law Journal.
To meet the legal writing requirement through Law 6656, Independent Legal Writing, the following additional rules apply. The course must be taken for 2 credits, work in the course must be supervised by a full-time or part-time member of the faculty, and the student must submit the following for approval by the instructor by specified dates: (1) the intended topic, the intended length of the paper, and an outline, and (2) one or more drafts of the paper. The draft requirement is meant to provide the student an opportunity to improve the paper. The faculty member may require or permit a revised draft.
To meet the legal writing requirement through a 2-credit seminar or other 2-credit course that requires or permits a research paper, the following additional rules apply: If the instruc- tor of the course requires fewer than 8,000 words for completion of course requirements, the instructor may choose to allow the student to write a longer paper that meets the 8,000-word requirement; submission of two or more shorter papers does not meet the requirement, nor is the requirement satisfied if the student earns more than 2 credits for the course even if there are course requirements in addition to the research paper.
Law 6656 or a 2-credit seminar or other 2-credit course intended to fulfill the legal writing requirement may be graded on a Credit/No Credit (CR/NC) basis only if the student, under extraordinary circumstances, is granted permission by the dean of students to take the course under the CR/NC option, or if the student is granted an extension beyond the deadline by the instructor. In either case, the student must receive a grade of B- or better for the work product in order to fulfill the legal writing requirement. The letter grade of B- or better will then be recorded as CR on the transcript.
To meet the legal writing requirement through journal participation, the work must be com- pleted in coordination with the satisfactory completion of Law 6657, Scholarly Writing. The student must receive a grade of Honors (H) or Pass (P) for the work to fulfill the requirement.