The School of Law offers a program
of traditional length (three years), with several
enhancements made possible by the institution’s 4-1-4
calendar, by the proximity of the law school to
Greensboro’s legal and judicial offices and through the
program’s close relationships with the American
Judicature Society’s Institute of Forensic Science and
Public Policy, the North Carolina Business Court, the Center
for Creative Leadership and similar organizations.
Instruction takes place in a technology-enriched environment
and is complemented with frequent interactions with local
professionals.
Elon’s legal program focuses its curriculum and other
experiences on pedagogies that promote active and engaged
learning. The three-year degree program prepares students to
successfully complete the bar examination and to continue
into leadership positions in their profession and their
communities.
Program Format
Consistent with Elon’s undergraduate program,
the law school operates on a 4-1-4 semester model, with both
the fall and spring semesters lasting approximately four
months and the Winter Term spanning the month of January.
Elon’s curriculum includes a substantial number of
required courses in the second and third years, whereas a
typical law school’s second and third years consist
almost entirely of electives. In addition to providing
students with the knowledge and skills necessary to pass the
bar examination and to practice successfully, these required
courses in the second and third years serve to keep students
engaged throughout their law school careers.
Winter Term Opportunities
During the January winter
term, first-year students receive substantial feedback on
their fall exams. They participate in professionalism
simulations and take an intensive professional responsibility
course. In the second and third years, students use the
winter term to take special legal perspectives courses and
explore international study opportunities.
Orientation
Law students begin their first year with a unique
orientation lasting for approximately 10 days in mid-August,
incorporating several assessments for development components.
Similar programs have been pioneered by the Center for
Creative Leadership, a Greensboro-based international
training and research organization devoted to leading and
leadership, by the Center for Application of Psychological
Type and by professors at other law schools. The purpose of
this orientation is to make Elon law students better students
and lawyers by equipping them to receive and use feedback
effectively.
Concentrations
Elon’s law school intends not only to have
required courses in the upper level curriculum, but also to
have each student select at least one of four concentrations:
-
Trial and appellate advocacy
-
Business
-
Public interest
-
General practice
By allowing students to focus in the area that interests
them most, these concentrations should assist students
maintain focus and direction in their second and third years
and prepare them for their most likely career path.
Capstone Experience
During the third year, students complete a
leadership project that they design and implement. Student
creativity in choosing the project is encouraged. The project
might take the form of a field-placement experience that
allows the student to demonstrate leadership capabilities.
Other projects might include founding a student organization
or publication. At the end of the project, students evaluate
their work on their own and with a faculty member, with a
final grade being assigned by the faculty member.
Engaging in Skill Enhancement
Law students are asked to become more engaged in
classroom and examination experiences than students at most
other law schools. For instance, students in the Civil
Procedure course will have an early or mid-term examination,
but not a final examination. Rather, they demonstrate mastery
by completing drafting and other simulated law practice
assignments that require them to apply what they have learned
through classroom discussion and reading.
Feedback to Students
Feedback to students in the program is frequent and
extensive. In addition to their interactions with the faculty
teaching their substantive courses, students also receive
feedback from a team of “executive coaches.”
These coaches work individually with students to improve
their interpersonal and communication skills, as well as
their study and other cognitive skills. In addition to
working with these “executive coaches,” students
review their classroom performances with observers, many of
whom are practicing lawyers.
Preceptor Program
The school trains and utilizes local attorneys as
volunteer Preceptors who observe and provide feedback to law
students. During the Winter Term, these Preceptors accompany
students to observe a trial and discuss the trial with them.
Preceptors are also encouraged to invite students to observe
them in initial client interviews, depositions and
mediations.
Global Perspective
Recognizing that legal services in the 21st century
are being provided in a marketplace that is increasingly
global in scope, the law school offers coursework that help
prepare graduates for this environment. In addition to
elective course offerings in international law, the law
school includes an International/Global Law course in its
required curriculum which will expose students to fundamental
concepts of globalization and international law. The law
school is currently exploring international study
opportunities.
Law School Catalog
>>Click here to download a copy of the Elon University
School of Law catalog in pdf format
