Learning Outcomes: Law, JSD
Learning Outcomes for the Doctor of the Science of Law
- Demonstrate basic knowledge of American substantive and procedural law. This requires:
- The foundational rules governing liability for civil and criminal wrongdoing.
- The foundational rules that regulate the transaction of business among individuals and the ownership of property.
- The constitutional rules that shape the American legal system.
- The procedural rules that govern court adjudication.
- Several advanced areas of substantive or procedural law or both.
- Use legal reasoning and legal analysis. This requires:
- The ability to identify, formulate, and apply legal rules.
- The ability to read and analyze judicial opinions.
- The ability to parse and interpret statutes, regulations, contracts, and other similar legal texts.
- The ability to construct legal arguments and evaluate critically one’s own and others’ legal arguments.
- The ability to identify and evaluate the practical consequences of various legal rules and to formulate policy arguments for and against those rules.
- Develop practical legal skills. This requires:
- The ability to write clearly and effectively in a wide range of legal contexts and for various audiences, such as courts, clients, opposing counsel and academics.
- The ability to articulate one’s thoughts verbally in a clear and effective manner.
- Knowledge of and ability to use tools of legal research.
- The ability to identify and gather factual information relevant to the application of legal rules.
- The ability to work collaboratively with others, including others with opposing interests.
- Conduct himself or herself professionally and in keeping with the highest standards of civic virtue. This requires:
- Knowledge and appreciation of the ethical rules governing legal practice and/or academic research.
- The ability to learn and grow professionally through self-reflection and continuing education.
- An understanding of the lawyer’s distinctive role in society and of the lawyer’s concomitant responsibility to contribute to society through public service and pro bono representation.
- The ability to understand and be understood across various social, economic, cultural, political, national, racial, gender, and ethnic backgrounds.
- Produce a substantial piece of original academic research. This requires:
- Mastery of literature in a particular area.
- Mastery of the sub-field in which a thesis will be written.
- Acquisition of expertise in the subject area of one’s thesis.