The Law School’s evening/weekend program is particularly suited to the needs of those who want a legal education but because of family or employment responsibilities cannot attend a traditional program. Required classes in the program are offered on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Saturday during the day; electives are also scheduled on Monday and Wednesday evenings. This permits students who hold full-time jobs the opportunity to attend law school. Students are, of course, subject to the same reading requirements as at any law school. Despite their work and family commitments, students find that this is manageable. The program takes about four and one-half years to complete.
Summer Sessions
Students may accelerate their course of studies by taking courses during the summer sessions. If done every summer, a full-time student can complete his or her studies in two and a half years while a part-time student can complete his or her studies in four years.
Program Requirements
All students are required to take the following courses: Contracts, Property, Torts, Civil Procedure, two years of Legal Skills, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Evidence, Business Organizations, Legal Ethics, Commercial Law and Trusts and Estates. Students are also required to take at least one "code" course, to be chosen from such courses as Secured Transaction, Bankruptcy and Federal Tax; one upper-level writing course and two "practice" courses. Full-time students take Contracts, Property, Torts, Civil Procedure, Criminal Law, and Legal Skills in their first year; and part-time students take Legal Skills, Property, Criminal Law, and Contracts in their first year.
Academic Requirements and Regulations
In order to receive the Juris Doctor degree, a student must complete a minimum of 89 hours of credit, successfully complete all course requirements, have a grade point average of at least 70, satisfy all probationary requirements and fulfill all financial obligations to the Law School.
Candidates who complete their degree requirements satisfactorily and whose academic record the faculty considers outstanding may be recommended for a degree with honors: Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude, or Summa Cum Laude. The grading scale is as follows:
The rules governing academic conduct at the Law School are found in the Student Handbook and the Code of Academic Conduct, both of which are available on-line. All students are responsible for being thoroughly familiar with the contents of these handbooks and are bound by their rules.
Practice Courses
The Law School believes that a full legal education requires a student to have the opportunity to use the law. To do this, each student must complete six credits of "practice courses." This requirement can be met by enrolling in one of the clinics, Legal Clerking or a variety of other classes such as Trial Practice.
Pro Bono Opportunities
The Law School encourages each student to perform pro bono legal services while attending the Law School. Through pro bono, students can help provide legal help to those who need but cannot afford an attorney. Providing pro bono legal services also give the student practical learning experiences.
The Law School promotes pro bono activities by introducing students to providers of pro bono services. Also, each student who provides at least forty hours of such services while at the Law School is recognized at graduation.
Clinical Programs
The development of legal skills and values are central to legal education. To aid in this development and to assist the needy in our local communities, Southern New England School of Law offers its students several clinical opportunities.
Legal Clinics are law offices operated by the Law School. They can be located either on-campus or from a separate location. Students involved in clinics represent low-income clients both in court and at administrative hearings under supervision of a faculty member and/or experienced practitioners. They also may counsel clients on a variety of legal matters. Those participating in legal clinics offer clients who otherwise would be unrepresented the chance to benefit from quality legal representation for their claims. In addition to the assistance provided to local residents, a legal clinic offers much to its student representatives – a chance to develop both technical "lawyering skills" as well as to grapple with the ethical issues that present themselves in the practice of law. This experience is a prime way for students to put into action the classroom knowledge they have been accumulating during their years in the classroom. Law School no longer remains an academic exercise; rather, it becomes a real-life experience.
Immigration Law Clinic
Southeastern Massachusetts has significant immigrant populations, often with special legal needs. The Immigration Law Clinic began operating in the Fall of 2002 and provides quality legal services to members of the immigrant community throughout the region. Students enrolled in this year-long clinic attend classes and handle various immigration law issues under the supervision of a faculty member and cooperating field supervisor chosen from the South Coast legal community. They represent their clients before various tribunals, including Immigration Court, and spend an average of twelve hours each week in their Clinic work.
Community Development Clinic
Nonprofit organizations play a vital role in Southeastern Massachusetts. Operating to serve the public good, and very often serving our neediest neighbors, nonprofit organizations impact all aspects of our community, including education, economic development, the environment, homelessness, legal services, health and welfare and the arts, with very limited resources at their disposal. The Community Development Clinic which opened in 2006, allows students to work directly with the boards and staff of local nonprofit organizations on a variety of legal matters under the supervision of a faculty member. Students enrolled in this semester-long clinic explore the legal requirements for the formation and operation of nonprofits and the role they play in our community, while honing their writing, research and advocacy skills on real client matters.
Legal Services Clinic
The Legal Services Clinic started its operations in 1998. It is housed in the offices of a local legal services office in downtown New Bedford. Clients with family law, housing, and government benefits problems are referred to the Clinic from the New Center for Legal Advocacy, which is dedicated to offering legal representation to low-income residents of the New Bedford area who have various legal problems of a non-criminal nature. Students in this one-semester Clinic attend a seminar and represent clients under the supervision of the Executive Director of the New Center, who has collaborated with the Law School on several joint projects for more than a decade.
Students in this Clinic spend an average of twenty hours each week in their Clinic work.
Field Placement Program
This Program enables students to gain practical experience in a real-world setting such as a law office, governmental agency, or ADR (alternative dispute resolution) program. The workplace experience is then examined and reflected upon in a class seminar setting that encourages students to analyze the skills and values necessary to the practice of law. Sometimes class meetings are devoted to specific exploration of what it takes to put a particular legal skill into practice, such as those required for interviewing and counseling clients, and in successful negotiations.
Judicial Internship
In addition to attending and participating in the Field Placement class, students spend their time observing a judge in chambers, conducting research for the judge, and discussing various aspects of the judge’s cases. The Field Placement Professor will communicate regularly with the judge about the process the student is making. The Placement concludes with a formal meeting between the judge and the student during which the judge evaluates the work the student performed during the semester. In addition, the judge will complete a written evaluation of the student’s work.
Field Placement Program: Intensive International Criminal Tribunals for Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda
This program offers a unique opportunity to work on-site at one of two locales; the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), located in the Hague, Netherlands; or the ICTR for Rwanda, located in Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania. Typical work includes investigating pending cases and drafting indictments in settings that are principal focal points for the current development of international law. This program also offers the unusual opportunity to "learn by doing" in the area of international law and to identify long-term academic and career options in the field.
Students will work with members of the Office of the Prosecutor for approximately 30 hours per week. They will also attend classes, which may include training by professional staff from the Office of the Prosecutor. Evaluation will be based on written and oral performance and on the final written project.
One-Credit Field Placement
Students not presently enrolled in a Clinic or Field Placement Program but who are enrolled in doctrinal courses may volunteer at least five hours each week with a lawyer who practices in the substantive area covered during the course. The law professor will meet with the participating students on alternate weeks during the semester to discuss issues of law arising in their placements. This option is appropriate for students who have already taken the Field Placement Program, Immigration Clinic, or Legal Clinic, or who do not have the time for those classes but still want to acquire some real-life law office experience while in law school. There is no limit to the number of times a student may enroll in a one-credit clerkship. There is no enrollment limit, but this option is contingent on the availability of both an appropriate placement and the course professor.