Juris Doctorate

Program Description/Overview

The Law School currently offers only a part-time, four-year curriculum. Each course offered is carefully structured for the student to achieve knowledge of the subject sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the California Bar Examination and/or to prepare them for the competent and ethical practice of law.

Program Learning Outcomes/Goals

San Francisco Law School has four learning outcomes: Doctrinal Knowledge, Professional Analysis, Communication Skills and Professional Responsibility.

1. Doctrinal Knowledge:  Students will master knowledge and understanding of pertinent principles and theories of the law, their relationships, and limitations.
2. Professional Analytics: (aka Thinking Like a Lawyer) Students will analyze the legal rules and principles applicable to a problem and formulate legal theories; Students will apply problem solving skills to diagnose a legal problem, generate alternative solutions, and develop a plan of action.
3. Communication Skills: (oral and written) Students will communicate effectively, whether advocating, advising a client, eliciting information, or effectuating a legal transaction.
4. Professional Responsibility: Students will have knowledge and understanding of established standards related to a lawyer’s professional conduct including the ability to recognize and resolve ethical issues and multicultural issues arising in practical situations.

Programmatic Accreditation

San Francisco Law School is a Registered Unaccredited Law School with the State Bar of California.

The method of instruction at this law school for the Juris Doctorate (J.D.) degree program is principally by technological means including interactive classes.

Students enrolled in the J.D. degree program at this law school who successfully complete the first-year law study must pass the First-Year Law Students’ Examination required by Business and Professions Code §6060(h) and Title 4, Division 1, Chapter 1 Rule 4.3(l) of the Rules of The State Bar of California as part of the requirements to qualify to take the California Bar Examination. A student who passes the First-Year Law Students’ Examination within three (3) administrations of the examination after first becoming eligible to take it will receive credit for all legal studies completed to the time the examination is passed. A student who does not pass the examination within three (3) administrations of the examination after first becoming eligible to take it must be promptly disqualified from the law school’s J.D. degree program. If the dismissed student subsequently passes the examination, the student is eligible to reenrollment in this law school’s J.D. degree program, but will receive credit for only one year of legal study.

Study at, or graduation from, this law school may not qualify a student to take the bar examination or to satisfy the requirements for admission to practice in jurisdictions other than California. A student intending to seek admission to practice law in a jurisdiction other than California should contact the admitting authority in that jurisdiction for information regarding the legal education requirements in that jurisdiction for admission to the practice of law.

Credit Units

Total Credit Units: 87

Total Core Credit Units: 81

Total Elective Credit Units: 6

Total Concentration Credit Units: N/A

Elective Requirements

Elective courses are offered throughout the year in a variety of subjects. Six (6) units of elective courses are required to meet the 87-unit graduation requirement. Elective courses are offered from time to time based on student interest and instructor availability. Following are examples of elective courses that may be offered:

• LAW70041 - Mediation II (1 unit)
• LAW70140 - Consumer Credit Protection (1 unit)
• LAW70170 - E-Discovery (2 units)
• LAW70185 - Secured Transactions (1 unit)
• LAW70190 - Elder Law (1 unit)
• LAW70195 - Mock Trial Court Competition (2 units)
• LAW70200 - Elimination of Bias (1 unit)
• LAW70210 - Entertainment Law (1 unit)
• LAW70221 - Entertainment Law II (1 unit)
• LAW70230 - Employment Law (1 unit)
• LAW70281 - Immigration Law (2 units)
• LAW70292 - Administrative Law (2 units)
• LAW70310 - Intellectual Property (1 unit)
• LAW70340 - Disability Law (2 units)
• LAW70360 - Law Practice Management (1 unit)
• LAW70410 - Bankruptcy Law (1 unit)
• LAW70430 - Advanced Criminal Law (1 unit)
• LAW70440 - Mediation (1 unit)
• LAW70450 - Moot Court Competition (3 units)
• LAW70462 - Contracts Drafting (2 units)

Curriculum Plan