Student Handbook

First Year Program

Required first-year courses are the following:

Fall Credit Hours	Spring Credit Hours
Civil Procedure – 3 credit hours	Civil Procedure – 3 credit hours
Constitutional Law – 4 credit hours	Criminal Law – 3 credit hours
Contracts – 4 credit hours	Elective – 3 or 4 credit hours
Torts – 3 credit hours	Property – 4 credit hours
Lawyering – 2 credit hours	Lawyering – 2 credit hours
Professional Development – .5 credit hours	Professional Development – .5 credit hours

The first year curriculum includes the foundational doctrinal courses required to continue to upper-level courses. In the first semester, all students are assigned to a small section in Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contracts, or Torts. In addition, each student is assigned to a small section of Lawyering, and a section of Professional Development

The Law School’s Lawyering Program, a required full-year course for first-year students, introduces the fundamentals of legal research, analysis, and writing, for which full-time legal research and writing faculty provide instruction. The full-year curriculum guides students through a series of integrated research and writing assignments that address case and statutory analysis, objective and persuasive writing techniques, and research skills necessary for the preparation of legal memoranda and briefs. The spring semester culminates with a moot court exercise that introduces students to the techniques of oral advocacy in a courtroom setting.

Professional Development

The full-year required Professional Development course provides students with a basic understanding of the legal profession and the numerous career paths available to lawyers. Students will explore basic concepts of legal professionalism while they learn and practice the skills necessary for effective lawyering including the importance of networking and mentoring. Students will learn the importance of wellness including available resources and practices to ensure their wellness throughout an effective and lengthy legal career. Students will also work on effective communication strategies. Finally, students will develop an individual career development strategy to guide them during the exploration of their professional interests throughout the next three years.

Upper-Level Courses

After the first year, the curriculum remains structured but students enjoy a wide range of course choices. The ABA and the NY Board of Law Examiners (BOLE) require law students to take mainly regularly scheduled law school courses. Of the required 84 credits, students must take at least 64 hours in regular courses. This means a student completing a total of 84 credit hours may not take more than 20 credits in non-regular classes, which include:  the Pro Bono Scholars program, full- and part-time externships, directed reading, supervised writing, supervised teaching (including Lawyering Honors Fellows), supervised experiential learning, courses taught in other university divisions (where degree credit is awarded), and practicum courses taught by instructors whose primary professional employment is not within the Law School.

Students may not receive more than 12 hours of law credit for courses taught outside a law school curriculum (including those in other university divisions). Petitions for credit must be submitted for both graduate and undergraduate classes, to be reviewed by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.

For students particularly interested in doing a full-term Externship or the Pro Bono Scholars Program, advance planning will be more critical to avoid falling short of the 64–credit hour requirement of regular courses. See ABA Standard 311(a) and Interpretation 311-1.

There are also per-course limits and per-semester limits for the courses listed below. Students may not receive credit for more than:

• three credits of supervised writing per semester, for a total of 12 credits.
  • three credits of supervised experiential learning, with a one-semester enrollment limit.
  • two credits of directed reading per semester, for a total of eight credits.
  • two credits of supervised teaching per semester, for a total of eight credits.
  • twenty total credits of externship over the four upper-class semesters.

All externships and directed reading, supervised writing, supervised teaching, and supervised experiential learning are graded on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory basis. (Note that students also have the ability to take two graded upper-class courses S/U if that option is made available by the course instructor). In order to have directed readings, supervising writing, supervised teaching, and courses taught in other university division applied toward the Law School’s degree credit requirements, students must obtain advanced permission by submitting the appropriate forms available on the Forms and Requests page of the Registrar’s website.

Based on the faculty’s policy, a student may not be enrolled at any time in coursework that would exceed 20 percent of the total coursework for the degree. Therefore, the Dean of Students will not allow students in the J.D. program to take more than 17 credits in any one semester. Students in the J.D./LL.M. program will be allowed to take a maximum of 21 credits per semester. The Registrar will provide similar maximum per semester credit information for those in various joint degree programs in separate registration documents. To timely complete degree requirements and maintain academic rigor, students are expected to be registered for at least 12 credits (at least 9 of which must be at the Law School). Students may petition for a one-semester reduced course load, if special circumstances arise, by submitting the following form at the Registrar’s Office Forms page – Exception to Hours form. You will receive an email from the Law School Registrar’s Office when a decision has been made on your petition. To be considered full-time in the Law School for visa, financial aid, and registration purposes, a student must enroll in at least 10 credit hours each semester, 9 of which must be in the Law School. The Law School does not have a part-time J.D. program. –

Writing Requirement

The upper-class writing requirement for the J.D. degree is met by satisfactorily completing one colloquium, seminar, or problem course of at least 3 credits. The course cannot be taken S/U. Courses satisfying the requirement are identified each semester in the Course Catalog.

Problem courses explore actual or simulated problems in a field of law. Students prepare memoranda of law, legal instruments, legislative drafts, and similar documents. Seminars entail extensive reading and reflection in the field of law. Students prepare one or more substantial research papers in article, comment, or note form.

A three-hour problem course or seminar that satisfies the writing requirement requires the student to produce high-quality legal writing demonstrating substantial effort. Although the form, nature, and length of the written work may vary across courses, the preparation of this written work will involve extensive faculty supervision, criticism, review, and, when appropriate, rewriting. Attention is given to structure, rhetoric, and English composition as well as legal analysis and expression.

Work that has been done in another context, including a summer job or one of the Law School’s student journals, may not be used to satisfy the writing requirement unless the student submits a paper that represents a substantial further development of work done in one of those contexts with the instructor’s informed approval. A student seeking to submit or extend a colloquium, seminar, or problem course paper to a journal must fully disclose the paper’s origin to the journal, which may decide whether to accept it.

Professional Responsibility Requirement

All candidates for the J.D. degree must satisfactorily complete an upper-level course in professional responsibility of at least two credits before graduation. Courses satisfying the requirement are identified each semester in the Course Catalog.

Upper-Level Recommended Foundational Courses

Although no particular course is required in the upper-class years other than those indicated above, the faculty strongly recommends that students take four foundational courses during the second year: Administrative Law, Business Organizations, Evidence, and Federal Income Taxation. Course enrollment may need to be limited by the availability of classroom capacity or by teacher preference.

The faculty further recommends that students take courses in the following area(s) before they graduate. Note that enrollment in particular courses may need to be limited by the availability of classroom capacity or by teacher preference.

Law, Inequity, and Structural Exclusion. The faculty believe that a well-rounded legal education should include an understanding of how law can act not only as an instrument for furthering particular client goals or as a basis for rights promotion but also as a mechanism for inequity and structural exclusion.

International and Comparative Law. The world has become deeply interconnected across countries and cultures through the transnational movement of people, products, and ideas. In light of the increasingly globalized nature of many legal practice areas, and the way in which comparative perspectives may provide insight into domestic issues, lawyers should have an understanding of how the law operates in international and comparative contexts.

Concentrations & Specializations

Concentration Options

Third-year students may concentrate in a particular field of law. To encourage such focus, the school grants certificates to students who complete the requirements of one of seven concentrations: advocacy; business law and regulation; conflict resolution; general practice; law, inequity, and structural exclusion; public law, and technology and law. A student may receive recognition for fulfilling only one concentration. Each concentration program requires the completion of 14 credit hours, including a writing course, in the designated area.

Honors in International Legal Affairs

J.D. students may elect to specialize in International Legal Affairs. Ordinarily, students make this election at the beginning of their second year, although they may join the program later provided it is still possible to satisfy the requirements of the specialization before graduation. The Law School offers from thirty to forty courses in international law, comparative law, international economic law, and related fields. To receive the J.D. degree with Honors in International Legal Affairs, candidates must satisfactorily complete eighty-nine total credit hours of study (five more than standard JD requirements), which must include a pre-determined number of hours in required courses in each of three groups, found here. 

Please note that in deciding whether you can complete the program requirements, J.D./ILA program students will be allowed to take a maximum of 18 credits per semester during the second and third years. No exceptions can be made to this 18-credit maximum.

Semester at NY Tech

J.D. Program in Information and Technology Law at Cornell Tech Campus

J.D. students in good academic standing may apply to spend a semester in their second or third years studying in the Program in Information and Technology Law at the Cornell Tech Campus (the “JD Tech Program”). Students may select from the law courses available at the Tech Campus and may also take Johnson School courses offered at the Cornell Tech campus, subject to the usual restrictions on the number of credits that may be taken outside the Law School, and any prerequisites or instructor permission that may be required by the course.

Students are eligible for and encouraged to seek out part-time in-person externships in New York City at technology companies, with judges, or in legal aid organizations. Application processes for the Program in Information and Technology Law are announced each year by e-mail and usually run in the early part of the spring semester for attendance the following academic year.

Study Abroad

Students in the J.D. program have an opportunity to study abroad for a semester with law faculties at partner institutions around the world. More information about the law school’s exchange programs is available at Semester Abroad – Cornell Law School Community, and a list of participating Partner Schools can be found here.  Students seeking to participate in the study abroad programs are encouraged to do so in the Spring Semester of their second year or Fall semester of their third year. Students are generally not approved to study abroad in their final semester. Any student with extenuating circumstances that may warrant an exception to this practice should consult with the Assistant Dean of External Education prior to petitioning for approval.

Students must meet the following requirements to be considered eligible for Study Abroad: have a minimum required cumulative MPR of 3.2 and not be on Academic Watch or Academic Intervention status; receive and acknowledge receipt of disclosures regarding accommodations and support services available at host schools; meet with the Dean of Students for approval of plans for degree completion; and submit a complete and compelling application including a statement of purpose indicating how Study Abroad ties to overall academic and career goals. Applications that do not meet those requirements will not be considered.

Students participating in the study abroad program must register at the host institution for the equivalent of 12 Cornell Law credits. If, due to extenuating circumstances beyond the student’s control, the equivalent of 12 Cornell Law credits is not offered or available, the Dean of Students may authorize a lower credit load, in which case no less than the equivalent of 10 Cornell Law credits will be approved, as required for full-time status. A student must receive a passing grade, as determined by the host law school’s grading scale, in order to receive Cornell credit for a course.

Cornell A.B.A. Approved Summer Study Program (Cornell-Paris I Summer Institute of International and Comparative Law in Paris)

Cornell Law School jointly sponsors a four-week program held at the Université Paris I every July. Six to eight Cornell Law School courses are offered each summer. All instruction is in English. Students in the summer program come from Cornell, other U.S. law schools, and from 15-20 other countries. For more information about the Paris Institute, please visit Cornell-Paris 1 Summer Institute – Cornell Law School.

International Joint & Dual Degrees

Three-Year J.D./LL.M. Program in International and Comparative Law

Cornell Law School offers certain J.D. students the opportunity to receive both the J.D. degree and an LL.M. (Master of Laws) in International and Comparative Law in three years. The combined pathway for the J.D. and LL.M. degrees is a more comprehensive approach and requires 20 credits more than the standard J.D., for a total of 104 credit hours. Students may earn both a J.D. degree and an LL.M degree with a specialization in International and Comparative Law by taking courses on a compressed timeline with the inclusion of a Summer Session at Cornell-Paris 1 Summer Institute.

In addition to the credits required for the J.D. degree, the requirements for the program include completing an additional 20 credit hours of study in international, comparative, and foreign law subjects. The twenty credits must include required courses in conflict of laws and public international law, as well as a specifically designated comparative law course that is general in scope and includes instruction in civil law systems (several options may be available).

Students seeking both the J.D. and LL.M degree through the three-year pathway may take a maximum of 21 credits per semester. The degree requirements also include participation in the Paris Summer Institute for at least 4 credits. In no event may a student receive a total of more than 12 credits toward the required 20 credits from summer/winter intersession courses, including credits earned from the Paris Summer Institute. Students in the program must maintain an overall grade point average of at least 3.0 to graduate with the joint degree. Students may apply for the program in their initial application to the Law School or in the spring semester of their first year.

Participants in this program are subject to the same limitations on semesters away, and rules regarding regular vs non-regular credit hours as traditional J.D. candidates.

Four-Year J.D./ French Master en Droit Degree Program

The Law School offers a four-year J.D./Master en Droit dual degree program with the Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne. The J.D./Master en Droit requires fluency in French and English. The program is small and extremely selective. For participants admitted by Cornell with Paris I concurrence, it involves legal studies for two years at Cornell and two years at Paris I. Students may apply to the program in their initial application to the Law School or, if spaces are available, following matriculation. Participants admitted by Paris I with Cornell’s concurrence have a Baccalaureate degree or a first-level Master’s degree before arriving at Cornell. They must complete 62 credits at Cornell over two years and return to Paris I for their final year of study. Following completion of studies in Paris the participants receive both a J.D. degree from Cornell University and a master’s degree (at the M1 and/or M2 level) from the Université Paris I. Students must complete the requirements for a Paris I Master’s degree before they can receive their Cornell J.D. and be certified to take the bar exam of a U.S. state. In some cases, the timing of the dual degree program may require students to receive their J.D. degree in August and sit for a U.S. bar exam in February rather than July.

Three-Year J.D./ LL.M. Program with Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne

Students who are admitted by Cornell into the J.D./Master en Droit dual degree program may, if spaces are available, apply to transfer into the three-year J.D./LL.M. in French, European, and International Business Law dual degree program with the Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne. Students who are interested in transferring into this program should discuss their interest with International Programs (1-607-255-2434), by the start of their second year at Cornell. Requests to transfer into the program also require approval by the Université Paris I Panthéon- Sorbonne. The program requires complete fluency in French and English. It involves legal studies for two years at Cornell and one year at Paris I. Following completion of studies in Paris the participants receive both the J.D. degree from Cornell University and the LL.M. degree in French, European, and International Business Law from Université Paris I.

Three-Year J.D./LL.M. Program with Universidade Católica Portuguesa

The Law School offers a three-year J.D./LL.M. dual degree program with Católica. LL.M. courses are taught mainly in English. Students may apply for the program in their initial application to the Law School or, if spaces are available, following matriculation. The J.D./LL.M. program involves legal studies for two years at Cornell followed by one year at the Universidade Católica Portuguesa. Following the completion of studies there, the participants receive both the J.D. from Cornell University and the LL.M. from the Universidade Católica Portuguesa. The program is small and extremely selective.

Joint Degree Programs with Other Cornell University Graduate Divisions

The Law School offers the following joint degree programs with other Cornell University graduate divisions:

J.D./M.B.A. (4 year)	Master of Business Administration
J.D./M.B.A. (3 year)	Master of Business Administration
J.D./M.I.L.R.	Master of Industrial and Labor Relations
J.D./M.P.A.	Master of Public Administration
J.D./Ph.D.	Doctor of Philosophy in Developmental Psychology
J.D./Ph.D. or M.A.	Doctor of Philosophy in other fields of the Cornell Graduate School

Admission to these joint degree programs is obtained by applying directly to the other schools. Contact the admissions office in the other school as soon as interest arises as deadlines and procedures vary. In general, after a student completes their first year of Law School, the second year is completed entirely in the other unit, but some variations on this pattern have been permitted in individual cases. Admissions criteria in other units may be quite different than the Law School’s criteria, so make no assumptions about admissibility. Once a student has been admitted to the other program, it is their responsibility to notify the Law School Registrar’s Office and Dean of Students.

J.D./M.B.A. (4 year)

Candidates for the J.D./M.B.A. (4 years) must apply to and be accepted by both schools. Students will spend their first year entirely in one school and their second year entirely in the other school. During the third and fourth year, they will take a mix of courses from the Law School and Johnson to meet the degree requirements of both programs.

Candidates for the J.D./M.B.A. must satisfactorily complete 84 credit hours of Law School coursework and are required to choose Business Organizations in the spring as their 1L elective. 72 of the 84 credits for the law degree must be earned in the Law School. Cross-listed courses will count towards the 72 credits and will be factored in the student’s law school merit point ratio (MPR). In addition, students may take up to 12 credits of courses related to legal training taught by members of the university faculty outside of the Law School, subject in each case to the approval of the Law School’s Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. To receive credit for such courses they must fill out and submit the Notification of University (Non-law) Course Enrollment for Law Students form available from the Registrar’s office before the end of the add/drop period for the course in the semester the course is taken.

During six of the eight terms, they must register for at least 9 credits in the Law School (which may include courses cross-listed between Johnson and the Law School). A total of 117 credits is required for the receipt of both degrees.

J.D./M.B.A. (3 year)

Candidates for the J.D./M.B.A. (3-year) will spend their entire first year at the Law School, totaling 32 credits. Candidates for the J.D./M.B.A. are required to choose Business Organizations in the spring as their 1L elective. The entire second year is spent primarily in Johnson. During the second year, students must also take a minimum of 9 credits of Law School coursework each semester (which may include courses cross-listed between Johnson and the Law School). The third year is spent mainly in the Law School. During the third year, students must take a minimum of 9 credits of Law School coursework per semester. They should take one course in Johnson each semester (which may be a cross-listed course). Students should expect to take a total of up to 30 credits or more for the third year. All courses for credit must be taken at either Johnson or be Law School classes. In total, students must take 21.5 credits of foundational courses and 21.5 credits of elective courses at Johnson and a minimum of 9 credits per semester and a total of 72 credits of the 84 credits for the law degree earned in the Law School. Cross-listed courses will count towards the 72 credits and will be factored in the student’s law school merit point ratio (MPR). In addition, students may take up to 12 credits of courses related to legal training taught by members of the university faculty outside of the Law School, subject in each case to the approval of the Law School’s Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. To receive credit for such courses they must fill out and submit the Law Credit for Non-law Courses form available from the Registrar’s Office before the end of the add/drop period for the course in the semester the course is taken.

As part of the Law School curriculum, students who wish to pursue the 3 Year J.D./M.B.A. are required to take Business Organizations during the spring semester of the first year.

LL.M. students may take no more than six (6) credits total outside of regularly scheduled law school classes without approval from the Dean of the Students. These six credits include externships of 4 hours or less, directed readings, supervised writings, and courses taught in other university divisions.

Experiential Learning

LL.M. students are eligible to apply for and enroll in experiential learning clinics, but should limit registration to a total of 6 hours or less of clinical courses. Students may register for up to 15 credits and no less than 10 credits per semester or seek approval from the Dean of Students.

Writing Requirement

LL.M. students must satisfactorily complete one 3-credit seminar with a substantial writing component that satisfies the writing requirement or take Principles of American Legal Writing. The course cannot be taken S/U. Courses that fulfill the writing requirement will be noted on the Course Catalog.

Additional New York Bar Exam Eligibility Requirements

It is the responsibility of the LL.M. student to familiarize themselves with the requirements of the New York Bar, which are subject to change. Those planning to sit for the New York Bar exam must complete 24 credits of classroom coursework, which must include a professional responsibility course, a legal research course, and foundational subjects covered by the New York Bar Exam. More information can be found on the Graduate Legal Studies New York State Bar Examination Memorandum.

Special Student Status

Students currently enrolled in the General LL.M. program who wish to continue taking courses during the next academic year after completing current degree requirements must apply to the Dean of Students office email by April 1^st. Email requests should include a brief statement of plans for the next academic year, including reasons for continuing with coursework, financial support for continued study if student visa status will need to be extended, and a current Cornell Law School transcript.

Transferring to J.D. Program from Cornell Law School’s General LL.M. Program

Candidates for the LL.M. degree who wish to transfer to the J.D. program must submit a transfer application no later than April 1. The transfer procedures and requirements will, in general, be the same as those applicable to J.D. students at other law schools who seek to transfer into the Cornell J.D. program (including the requirement of an acceptable admissions test). However, at least one letter of recommendation should be from a Cornell Law faculty member who has taught the student. Only LL.M. students who have elected to be graded on the J.D. scale and curve will be considered for transfer to the J.D. class. Cornell LL.M. students who are accepted into the J.D. program as transfers are eligible to receive up to 24 law credits obtained in pursuit of the LL.M. degree toward the J.D. degree requirements and must complete an additional four semesters at Cornell enrolled in J.D. courses. Cornell LL.M. students who transfer into the J.D. program are ineligible to receive the pending LL.M. degree.

Candidates for the Master of Science in Legal Studies (M.S.L.S.) degree must satisfactorily complete 30 credits of work of part-time study. All M.S.L.S. students are required to enroll in: 5 foundational online courses totaling 12 credits, elective courses totaling 13.5 credits, and completion of a capstone project totaling 4.5 credits. More information on required courses and faculty can be found here.

M.S.L.S. students are not permitted to enroll in any residential or online courses at Cornell Law School or any other unit of Cornell University beyond what is offered for the M.S.L.S. program.

Advanced Standing for the Master of Science in Legal Studies through Prior Learning Assessment:

The Master of Science in Legal Studies (MSLS) program will grant advanced standing to individuals that have completed prior learning assessments through identified certificates from eCornell.

• A maximum of 4.5 credits of advanced standing will be awarded. 
• Advanced standing is only available towards the completion of the Master of Science in Legal Studies and cannot be used towards any other degree offered by Cornell Law School.
• A score commensurate with B (85%) or higher must be achieved in the certificate to be considered for advanced standing.
• Certificates that correspond to the following courses in the MSLS will be the only courses considered for Advances Standing:

• Business Contracts: students who have completed the eCornell Certificate in Business Contracts will be eligible to apply for a 3-credit reduction credits required for the degree.
  • Conducting Legal Research: students who have completed the eCornell Certificate in Conducting Legal Research will be eligible to apply for a 1.5-credit reduction credits required for the degree. 
  • Additionally, any students that meet both criteria will be eligible to apply for 4.5-credit reduction credits required for the degree.

Any applications received after the first 7 weeks of the MSLS program will not be considered for advanced standing.

Students must apply for advanced standing upon admission to the program. 

Candidates for the Master of Laws degree in Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship (Tech LL.M.) must satisfactorily complete a minimum of 33 credits of work over two semesters at the Cornell Tech campus. The program contains 25 credits of requirements, including several foundational technology law courses, introductions to business and programming fundamentals, and Cornell Tech’s cross-disciplinary Studio program. Students also must complete 8 credits of electives distributed across various categories.

Candidates who timely applied for and were admitted to the three-semester Tech LL.M. Program must additionally complete at least 12 credits of further legal study among specified courses offered at the Cornell Law School campus in Ithaca, and which must include a professional responsibility course, a legal research course, and foundational subjects covered by the New York Bar Exam.

The minimum residency for the Doctor of the Science of Law (J.S.D.) degree is two semesters, although the program usually requires four to six semesters to complete. Additional degree program expectations are outlined in the J.S.D. Field of Law Handbook.