Emory University School of Law Student Handbook 2023-2024

Student Handbook

2023-2024

Emory University School of Law

Student Handbook

2023-2024

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Table of Contents  
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. 7 
Disclaimer ......................................................................................................................................... 7 
Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Policy.................................................................................. 7 
Department of Veterans Affairs Pending Payment Rights ............................................................... 7 
Accessibility ...................................................................................................................................... 8 
Confidentiality of Student Records ................................................................................................... 8 
Use of Library Facilities ................................................................................................................... 8 
SACSCOC Accreditation.................................................................................................................. 9 
American Bar Association Character and Fitness Standard Statement ............................................ 9 
PART 1: DEGREE REQUIREMENTS .............................................................................................. 10 
Juris Doctor (J.D.) Program ................................................................................................................. 11 
General Requirements ..................................................................................................................... 11 
•  Experiential Education ........................................................................................................... 12 
•  Evidence ................................................................................................................................. 12 
•  Kessler-Eidson Trial Techniques Program ............................................................................. 12 
•  Legal Profession ..................................................................................................................... 12 
•  Upper-Level Writing Requirement ......................................................................................... 12 
Three-Year J.D. Students ................................................................................................................ 12 
Early Decision J.D. Program .......................................................................................................... 13 
Woodruff Fellows ........................................................................................................................... 14 
Accelerated J.D. (A.J.D.) Students ................................................................................................. 15 
Transfer Students ............................................................................................................................ 17 
Master of Laws (LL.M.) Program ....................................................................................................... 18 
Admission Requirements ................................................................................................................ 18 
General Requirements ..................................................................................................................... 19 
Juris Master (J.M.) Program ............................................................................................................... 20 
Admission Requirements ................................................................................................................ 20 
General Requirements ..................................................................................................................... 20 
Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) Program ..................................................................................... 22 
Admission Requirements ................................................................................................................ 22 
General Requirements ..................................................................................................................... 22 
Master of Comparative Law (M.C.L.) Program .................................................................................. 27 
Admission Requirements ................................................................................................................ 27 
General Requirements ..................................................................................................................... 27 
Dual-Degree Programs ........................................................................................................................ 29 
General Requirements ..................................................................................................................... 29 
Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration (J.D./M.B.A.) .............................................. 29 
Juris Doctor and Master of Arts in Bioethics (J.D./M.A.) .............................................................. 29 
Juris Doctor and Master of Divinity (J.D./M.Div.)......................................................................... 30 
Juris Doctor and Master of Theological Studies (J.D./M.T.S.) ...................................................... 31 
Juris Doctor and Master of Public Health (J.D./M.P.H.) ................................................................ 32 
Juris Doctor and Doctor of Philosophy (J.D./Ph.D.) ...................................................................... 32 
Juris Master and Master of Business Administration (J.M./M.B.A.) ............................................. 33 

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Juris Master and Master of Public Health (J.M./M.P.H.) ............................................................... 33 
PART 2: ACADEMIC STANDARDS ................................................................................................ 35 
Emory Law Enrollment ....................................................................................................................... 36 
Registration Policies ....................................................................................................................... 36 
Tuition and Fees .............................................................................................................................. 36 
Reimbursements .............................................................................................................................. 36 
Financial Aid Awards and Scholarships ......................................................................................... 36 
International Students—Visas ........................................................................................................ 36 
Academic Advising ......................................................................................................................... 37 
Leave of Absence ............................................................................................................................ 37 
Program Withdrawal ....................................................................................................................... 37 
Involuntary Withdrawal .................................................................................................................. 38 
Non-Good-Standing Petition Procedures and Practices ................................................................. 38 
Course Enrollment ............................................................................................................................... 39 
Pre-Registration .............................................................................................................................. 39 
Registration ..................................................................................................................................... 39 
Add/Drop ........................................................................................................................................ 39 
Waitlist ............................................................................................................................................ 40 
Course Enrollment Caps ................................................................................................................. 40 
Low Enrollment .............................................................................................................................. 40 
Credit Hour Policy .......................................................................................................................... 40 
Credit for Non-Classroom Courses and Activities ......................................................................... 40 
Credit for Non-Law School Courses............................................................................................... 40 
Directed Study and Directed Research ........................................................................................... 41 
Supervised Research ....................................................................................................................... 41 
Pass/Fail .......................................................................................................................................... 41 
Class Attendance ............................................................................................................................. 43 
Use of Recording Devices .............................................................................................................. 43 
Online Behavior and Privacy............................................................................................................... 43 
Collegiality ...................................................................................................................................... 43 
Humor and Extraneous Comments ................................................................................................. 43 
Prohibited Behavior ........................................................................................................................ 43 
Privacy ............................................................................................................................................ 44 
Examinations ....................................................................................................................................... 44 
Scheduling & Administration ......................................................................................................... 44 
Length of Time for Exams .............................................................................................................. 44 
English as a Second Language Policy ............................................................................................ 44 
Use of Laptop Computers ............................................................................................................... 45 
Deferral of Examinations and Exam Conflicts Policy .................................................................... 45 
Retention of Exams ......................................................................................................................... 46 
Grading ................................................................................................................................................ 46 
Anonymously Graded Exams ......................................................................................................... 46 
Openly Graded Exams .................................................................................................................... 46 
Grading Scale .................................................................................................................................. 46 
Mandatory Mean ............................................................................................................................. 47 

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Failed Courses ................................................................................................................................. 47 
Incompletes ..................................................................................................................................... 48 
Reporting of Grades and Release to Students ................................................................................. 48 
Class Rank ...................................................................................................................................... 48 
Academic Honors............................................................................................................................ 49 
PART 3: CURRICULAR OPPORTUNITIES ..................................................................................... 52 
Non-Transcripted Certificate Programs ............................................................................................... 53 
Technological Innovation: Generating Economic Results (TI:GER) Program Certificate in 
Intellectual Property ........................................................................................................................ 53 
Transactional Law and Skills Certificate ........................................................................................ 53 
Concentration in Health Law .......................................................................................................... 57 
Concentration in Civil Litigation and Dispute Resolution ............................................................. 59 
Concentration in Criminal Litigation .............................................................................................. 60 
Concentration in Law and Religion ................................................................................................ 62 
Journals ........................................................................................................................................... 63 
Interschool Competitions ..................................................................................................................... 65 
Moot Court Society ......................................................................................................................... 65 
Mock Trial Society ......................................................................................................................... 65 
Transactional Law Program Negotiation Team .............................................................................. 66 
Skills Programs.................................................................................................................................... 66 
General ............................................................................................................................................ 66 
Credit-Bearing Clinics .................................................................................................................... 66 
•  Barton Child Law and Policy Center Clinics ......................................................................... 66 
•  Public Policy Clinic ............................................................................................................... 66 
•  Legislative Advocacy Clinic .................................................................................................. 67 
•  Juvenile Defender Clinic (JDC) ............................................................................................. 67 
•  Appeal for Youth (AFY) Clinic ............................................................................................. 67 
•  International Humanitarian Law Clinic .................................................................................. 67 
•  Turner Environmental Law Clinic .......................................................................................... 68 
Externships ...................................................................................................................................... 68 
Pro Bono Program........................................................................................................................... 69 
PART 4: PROFESSIONAL REQUIREMENTS ................................................................................. 70 
Graduation, Certification, Transcripts, and Diplomas ......................................................................... 71 
Bar Examinations ................................................................................................................................ 71 
Required Coursework ..................................................................................................................... 71 
Preparing for the Bar ....................................................................................................................... 71 
Character and Fitness ...................................................................................................................... 72 
PART 5: PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT CODE ................................................................................. 73 
The Values Underlying Emory’s Legal Education ............................................................................. 74 
Values and Misconduct ....................................................................................................................... 75 
PART 6: AMENDMENTS; EFFECTIVE DATES ............................................................................. 85 
Amendments........................................................................................................................................ 86 

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Effective Date ...................................................................................................................................... 86 
APPENDIX A ..................................................................................................................................... 87 
Upper-Level Writing Requirement Guidelines ............................................................................... 87 
APPENDIX B: .................................................................................................................................... 89 
Information Technology Policies .................................................................................................... 89 
 

INTRODUCTION

The Emory Law Student Handbook is a reference guide for law students and the law school

community regarding the academic and administrative policies, rules, and requirements of Emory

University School of Law. These policies and procedures are intended to ensure student success

and to help students achieve the high academic and professional standards expected of those

entering the legal profession. Part of being an excellent lawyer involves understanding and abiding

by relevant rules and procedures.

Disclaimer

This student handbook is subject to amendment and change by the law school without prior notice.

Any amendment that goes into effect during the 2023-2024 academic year will be posted on the

Emory Law website in the student handbook section. It is the responsibility of each student

enrolled in the law school to understand and comply with all regulations and policies within this

student handbook, including any posted amendments and the Emory University School of Law

Professional Conduct Code (Part 5 of this handbook).

The provisions of this student handbook do not constitute a contract, express or implied, between

any applicant or student and Emory University School of Law or Emory University.

Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Policy

Emory University is dedicated to providing equal opportunities and equal access to all individuals

regardless of race, color, religion, ethnic or national origin, gender, genetic information, age,

disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and veteran's status. Emory

University does not discriminate in admissions, educational programs, or employment on the basis

of any factor stated above or prohibited under applicable law. Students, faculty, and staff are

assured of participation in university programs and in the use of facilities without such

discrimination. Emory University complies with Executive Order 11246, as amended, Section 503

of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Vietnam Era Veteran's Readjustment Assistance Act, and

applicable executive orders, federal and state regulations regarding nondiscrimination, equal

opportunity, and affirmative action. Emory University is committed to achieving a diverse

workforce through application of its affirmative action, equal opportunity, and nondiscrimination

policy in all aspects of employment including recruitment, hiring, promotions, transfers, discipline,

terminations, wage and salary administration, benefits, and training. Inquiries regarding this policy

should be directed to the Emory University Office of Equity and Inclusion, 201 Dowman Drive,

Administration Building, Atlanta, GA 30322. Telephone: 404-727-9867 (V) | 404-712-2049

(TDD).

Department of Veterans Affairs Pending Payment Rights

In compliance with Title 38 United States Code Section 3679(e) Emory University adheres to the

following provisions for any student(s) that are/is considered “a covered individual” who are using

Chapter 33 Post 9/11 Gi Bill, or Chapter 31 Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment, U.S.

Department of Veterans Affairs benefits, the University will not: 1.) Prevent the student’s

enrollment in classes 2.) Assess a penalty fee (late fees, administrative fees) due to delayed

disbursements from the Department of Veterans Affairs under Chapter 31 or Chapter 33 3.) Deny

access to any school resources, classes, libraries, or other institutional facilities that are available

to other paid students 4.) Require the student to borrow additional funds for the length of time

these provisions are applicable. The university will require students to provide the following

documents to be considered a “covered individual”:

An official “Certificate of Eligibility”, or

“Statement of Benefits” from the VA website or ebenefits [Chapter 33] or a VAF 28-1905 [Chapter

31] on or before the first day of class for the semester.

A completed Veterans Enrollment

Certification Student Data Form Any additional documentation required to ensure proper

certification of benefits Having met all requirements, the Department of Veterans Affairs will

provide the university with payment ending on the earlier of either: The date on which payment

from VA is made to the institution, Ninety (90) days after the date the institution certified tuition

and fees Any difference in the amount of the student’s financial obligation to the university and

the amount the student is eligible to receive from the Department of Veterans Affairs may incur

an additional fee, or payment/payment arrangement may be required to cover the difference. Please

note that all eligibility documents must be submitted to the School Certifying Official in the Office

of the University Registrar. Instructions for submission of this paperwork can be found here.

Accessibility

Reasonable accommodations are made for students with documented disabilities to ensure equal

access to law school programs. Accommodations are based on medical documentation and the

directions of the University’s Department of Accessibility Services (DAS). Disability

accommodations are coordinated through the Associate Dean for Academic Programs & Students,

or their designee.

Confidentiality of Student Records

Use and release of information in student records is governed by federal law (the Family

Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 [FERPA], also known as the Buckley Amendment)

as interpreted by the University and its Office of General Counsel. Faculty members have access

to individual student files in non–good standing matters. To review individual student files for

good standing matters (e.g., letters of recommendation), faculty should have a signed student

release.

Some students may choose to suppress release of such information as their date and status of

enrollment, birthplace, institutions attended, degree(s) earned, and last known address and

telephone number. To protect their confidentiality, requests for such information are referred to

the Office of the University Registrar. A request to suppress release of information signifies that

the University will not release that information to third parties without the written consent of the

student, excluding if the law allows for disclosure exception. The request will remain in effect

unless and until the student rescinds it.

Students may request to review their own files, but confidential materials therein, such as

confidential letters of recommendation, will be removed before release of the file.

Use of Library Facilities

Law students duly enrolled have access to the Hugh F. MacMillan Law Library and all other

University libraries subject to any limitations set forth in the rules and regulations promulgated by

those libraries. All users are subject to the rules for use of the law library promulgated periodically

by the Law Librarian. Students may be subject to proceedings under the Professional Conduct

Code for violation of library rules.

SACSCOC Accreditation

Emory University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission

on Colleges to award associate, baccalaureate, master’s, doctorate, and professional degrees.

Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097, call

404.679.4500, or visit the web at http://www.sacscoc.org for questions about the accreditation of

Emory.

American Bar Association Character and Fitness Standard Statement

In addition to a bar examination, there are character, fitness, and other qualifications for admission

to the bar in every US jurisdiction. Applicants are encouraged to determine the requirements for

any jurisdiction in which they intend to seek admission by contacting the jurisdiction. Addresses

for all relevant agencies are available through the National Conference of Bar Examiners.

Emory University is a tobacco-free campus.

PART 1: DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

Juris Doctor (J.D.) Program

General Requirements

Academic Standing

Academic standing is determined on the basis of work done at Emory Law alone. To remain in

good standing, students must maintain an overall cumulative minimum grade point average of 2.50

on all coursework completed at the conclusion of the second term (i.e., the term after which the

student has completed at least 25 semester hours). Thereafter, at the conclusion of each term,

students must maintain a cumulative average of at least 2.50 to be in good standing. Any student

not in good standing is presumptively ineligible to continue in, or graduate from, the J.D. program.

A student who becomes presumptively ineligible to continue in the program because of a lack of

good standing may petition the Academic Standing Committee for continuation in the program.

Students granted continuation remain in the program on probationary status and must raise their

cumulative grade point average to at least 2.50 by the end of the probationary period. It is the

student’s obligation to petition for continuation and probationary status and to monitor his or her

own probation and eligibility to continue in the program.

Students who are advised administratively at the conclusion of their first semester that their

performance indicates possible academic standing problems in the future may, subject to other

rules regarding withdrawal, withdraw in good standing during the second semester and thereby

avoid possible academic exclusion at the conclusion of the first-year program.

Academic Course Load

In any fall or spring semester, a student may not take fewer than 12 semester hours nor more than

16 semester hours without the consent of the Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Students

or their designee. A student may not take more than 8 hours for credit or transfer credit during the

summer term. Audited courses are counted in determining the maximum allowable course credit

load but do not count toward credits for purposes of the residency requirement.

First-Year Program

In the first year, students must take the following courses:

Fall

Spring

Civil Procedure (4)

Criminal Law (3)

Contracts (4)

Constitutional Law (4)

Torts (4)

Property (4)

Legislation & Regulation (2)

Elective (3)

Introduction to Legal Advocacy, Research &

Communications (2)

Introduction to Legal Advocacy(2)

TOTAL: 16 credits

Students must also complete a mandatory program on race and the law.

The following policies govern the first-year spring semester elective course:

• Students must select their elective course from among the designated list of first-year electives

for the relevant semester.

• Students must select a course (i.e., they cannot choose to not take an elective).

• First-year students may not take the elective course pass/fail.

• First-year students in upper-level elective courses will be graded against all students in the

class, in accordance with the standard grading curve.

Required Courses

• Experiential Education

Students must complete at least six credit hours in designated experiential courses, in

accordance with ABA Standard 303. Experiential courses include simulation courses,

practicum courses, law clinics, externships, and the Trial Techniques program. A full listing

of eligible courses may be found on the law school website here. Only courses specifically

approved as experiential under ABA Standard 303 and listed on the law school website may

be used to satisfy this degree requirement.

• Evidence

Evidence is a pre-requisite or co-requisite for the required Trial Techniques course.

• Kessler-Eidson Trial Techniques Program

Trial Techniques is a two-hour required course normally taken during the 2L year. The course

meets on five Friday afternoons during the spring semester and eight full days following the

examination period in the spring. Students earn two hours of pass/fail credit for this program.

Attendance at all sessions is mandatory; attendance is taken daily.

Occasionally, students are permitted to withdraw for cause because of unforeseen

circumstances such as accident, illness, or involuntarily assumed obligations, but only with the

express consent of the faculty member in charge of the program. Students so excused must

take the program when next regularly offered in order to satisfy the graduation requirement.

• Legal Profession

The Legal Profession course may be taken in any semester prior to graduation.

• Professionalism

Students are required to take two sessions of professionalism unless they obtain a waiver from the

Associate Dean of Academic Programs and Students or their designee. Sessions are offered in

August and January and are typically completed in the 1L year. Professionalism is pass/fail.

• Upper-Level Writing Requirement

Every student is required to research a topic in depth, to submit drafts of a paper to the

supervising faculty member for revision, and to produce a substantial research paper at least

30 pages in length, exclusive of endnotes (i.e., 30 pages of text). A minimum grade of “C” is

necessary to satisfy the writing requirement. This requirement may be fulfilled through a

seminar, directed research, or by writing a journal comment as a board candidate.

A more detailed description of the requirements and guidelines for the Upper-Level Writing

Requirement may be found in Appendix A.

Three-Year J.D. Students

Admission Requirements

Relevant application deadlines are located on www.lsac.org under the Emory Law application. An

application must be accompanied by a non-refundable fee or fee waiver code.

The following items are required to complete the application, unless waived by the appropriate

administrator:

• Credential Assembly Service (CAS) report from the Law School Admission Council (LSAC),

which includes official transcripts and two letters of recommendation

• LSAT Score including the writing assessment

• Application form and fee

• CV/resume or statement of activities

• Personal statement

• TOEFL or academic IELTS score submitted via LSAC’s document assembly service: Students

whose native language is not English and students from non-English standard countries must

submit either an official TOEFL Score Report (Test of English as a Foreign Language) from

Educational Testing Service or an official IELTS score report with their application. An

applicant may contact the admission office for a TOEFL waiver, based on previous course

work in English, employment experience in English, and LSAT scores.

The Office of Admission may determine that an interview is warranted. In such cases, Emory Law

will contact the applicant to schedule the interview.

It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the file is complete by the deadline.

Early Decision J.D. Program

Applicants to Emory Law may choose to apply through the Early Decision Program. The deadline

for Early Decision applications is indicated on the admission website, and an “Early Decision

Program Agreement” must be submitted directly to Emory Law once the admission application is

transmitted through LSAC.

Early Decision applicants will be notified of their decision no later than 14 days after the

application for admission is complete. If admitted under the Early Decision program, the candidate

must submit a nonrefundable deposit as indicated in the admission notification.

This is a binding-decision program. An Early Decision applicant must enroll at Emory Law if

accepted under this program. An Early Decision applicant may apply to other law schools, but

once admitted to Emory Law through this program, he or she must withdraw all other law school

applications and may not apply to any other law schools. An Early Decision applicant may not

apply for another binding early decision program at another law school. Emory Law reserves the

right to provide other law schools with the names of applicants admitted under the Early Decision

program.

Merit-based scholarships will be awarded following admission. However, the Early Decision

program is not recommended for those who need to know their full financial aid package before

paying a deposit.

Candidates admitted under Early Decision program may not defer admission. Early Decision

applicants who are not admitted through the Early Decision program but are transferred to the

regular applicant pool may keep admission applications to other law schools open and initiate new

applications. These Early Decision applicants are not bound to enroll at Emory Law if offered

admission later in the admission season as part of the regular decision process.

Woodruff Fellows

A limited number of Woodruff Fellowships in Law are awarded each year to outstanding admitted

applicants to the three-year J.D. program. Each three-year fellowship provides all tuition and a

stipend. Woodruff Fellows in Law may have the opportunity to participate with other Woodruff

Scholars and Fellows in other divisions of the University in interdisciplinary activities and special

programs. Information on applying to the Woodruff Fellowship is located in the application for

admission through www.lsac.org.

Degree Credit Hours

To receive the J.D. degree, students must complete a minimum of 90 semester hours of course

credit, including required courses.

In compliance with American Bar Association (ABA) standards, students must complete all degree

requirements within 84 months of the date of first matriculation into the J.D. program.

Residency

In conformity with ABA and Association of American Law Schools (AALS) standards,

completion of a course of study of at least six semesters is required. To be considered “in

residence” during a fall or spring semester, a student must be enrolled in and complete at least 12

semester hours of credit.

If appropriate, students with special needs may be permitted to enroll for fewer than 12 semester

hours and/or to graduate in more than six semesters, at the discretion of the Associate Dean for

Academic Programs & Students. However, students on academic probation may not take fewer

than 12 hours during a probationary semester.

Summer School Attendance

A three-year student in good standing and with the approval of the Associate Dean for Academic

Programs & Students may take a minimum of three, and a maximum of eight, semester hours in

each of two summer sessions at an ABA-accredited law school. For each eight-credit summer

session, a student may earn a half-semester of residence. Classes taken in the summer can be

transferred for pass/fail credit only.

Transfer and accelerated J.D. (A.J.D.) students may not take non-Emory Law summer courses for

program credit.

Study Abroad & Exchange Opportunities

A designate of the Dean administers the selection and coordination of students for study abroad.

Students may study abroad only in the first semester of their third year.

Transfer and A.J.D. students are not eligible for study abroad.

Study abroad credits are recorded on a student’s transcript with a pass/fail grade. These credits

count towards the pass/fail credit-limit for purposes of Order of Coif academic honors and

maximum pass/fail limits.

Emory Students Transient Elsewhere

In extraordinary circumstances, a three-year J.D. student may be permitted to spend up to two non-

summer semesters as a transient student at another ABA-accredited law school. Requests for

transient student status must be directed to the Associate Dean for Academic Programs & Students

or their designee and should describe a compelling reason for the request. Compelling reasons

typically include such situations as family illness or existing marriage to a spouse located in

another city. Other reasons will be evaluated by the Associate Dean for Academic Programs &

Students or their designee on a case-by-case basis.

Transient student status is not granted to students in or near academic difficulty.

Students must have satisfactorily completed the first-year program at Emory Law. Transient

student status is not permitted for any part of the first year. A student must complete a minimum

of 60 hours over four full semesters of residence at Emory to earn the Emory Law degree. As a

transient, the student must take sufficient course work to meet the degree requirements of 90

semester hours and six semesters of residence.

Credits earned as a transient student at a school on the quarter system will be converted to semester

hours at a ratio of 3:2. Transient students must obtain approval from the Associate Dean for

Academic Programs & Students or their designee of their proposed course work in advance of the

semester in which it will be undertaken and provide course descriptions or syllabi on request.

Courses taken as a transient must not be duplicative or substantially duplicative of courses taken

at Emory. To transfer credits, grades earned must be equivalent to a “C” (not a “C-”) or better.

Official transcripts must be received together with an explanation of the grading system at the

transient school to certify that the grades are transferable to the Emory record.

Students will not receive credit for courses taken as a transient student on a pass/fail basis. Such

courses will be shown on the Emory record as “S” (satisfactory). All courses required for the

degree must be satisfactorily completed at Emory or at the transient school with the proviso that,

because of the nature of the program, the Trial Techniques program must be taken at Emory.

Accelerated J.D. (A.J.D.) Students

Admission Requirements

Students who wish to complete the J.D. degree and have earned a first law degree or completed at

least one year of graduate legal study at an accredited university in a jurisdiction outside of the

United States may apply for acceptance into the J.D. program as an accelerated student, on a space-

available basis.

Applicants should submit all application materials through the Law School Admission Council

(LSAC) website by the application deadline listed on the LSAC website.

The following items are required to complete the application unless waived by the appropriate

administrator:

• Credential Assembly Service (CAS) report from the Law School Admission Council (LSAC),

which includes official transcripts and two letters of recommendation;

• Application form and fee

• CV/resume or statement of activities

• Personal statement

• Interview

• TOEFL or academic IELTS score submitted via LSAC’s document assembly service: Students

whose native language is not English and students from non-English standard countries must

submit either an official TOEFL Score Report (Test of English as a Foreign Language) from

Educational Testing Service or an official IELTS score report with their application. An

applicant may contact the admission office for a TOEFL waiver, based on previous course

work in English, employment experience in English, and LSAT scores.

Degree Credit Hours

To receive the J.D. degree, A.J.D. students must complete a minimum of 62 hours at Emory Law.

Students must complete all degree requirements within 84 months of the date of first matriculation

into the J.D program.

Residency

A.J.D. students must complete four semesters in residence at Emory Law. To be considered “in

residence” for this purpose, a student must be enrolled in and complete at least 12 semester hours

of credit.

Where appropriate, students with special needs may be permitted to enroll in fewer than 12

semester hours and/or to graduate in more than four semesters, at the discretion of the Associate

Dean for Academic Programs & Students.

Please note that for financial aid and other purposes, such as certain student visa

requirements, full-time students are those enrolled in at least 12 semester hours.

Under no circumstances may a student on academic probation take fewer than 12 hours during a

probationary semester.

Summer School Attendance

A.J.D. students may not take non-Emory Law summer courses for program credit.

Study Abroad & Exchange Opportunities

A.J.D. students are not eligible for study abroad.

Emory Students Transient Elsewhere

A.J.D. students are not eligible for transient study elsewhere.

Transfer Students

Admission Requirements

Space available for transfers varies from year to year, depending upon a variety of factors. A

student in good standing at another accredited law school (ABA-AALS) may be eligible to begin

studies at Emory Law as a transfer student after the first year (28 credits).

Emory Law will begin reviewing applicants after one semester of law school grades and rank. The

Office of Admission and Financial Aid may defer a final decision until a full year of academic

grades and rank are available. A Dean’s Certification Letter is required after admission indicating

that the student is in good standing and that the class rank is consistent with the application’s self-

disclosure Deadlines are listed on the LSAC application.

The following items are required to complete the application, unless waived by the appropriate

administrator:

• Credential Assembly Service (CAS) report from the Law School Admission Council (LSAC)

• Application form (including self-disclosure of law school class rank) and fee

• CV/Resume

• Personal statement

• Transcripts (including official first-semester law school transcripts and unofficial second-

semester grades)

• At least one letter of recommendation

• TOEFL or academic IELTS score submitted via LSAC’s document assembly service: Students

whose native language is not English and students from non-English standard countries must

submit either an official TOEFL Score Report (Test of English as a Foreign Language) from

Educational Testing Service or an official IELTS score report with their application. An

applicant may contact the admission office for a TOEFL waiver, based on previous course

work in English, employment experience in English, and LSAT scores.

If the Office of Admission and Financial Aid determines that an interview is necessary, the office

will contact the applicant.

Degree Credit Hours

To receive the J.D. degree, transfer students must complete a minimum of 60 credit hours at Emory

Law.

Students must complete all degree requirements within 84 months of the date of first matriculation

at their original law school.

Residency

Transfer students must complete four semesters in residence at Emory Law. To be considered “in

residence” for this purpose, a student must be enrolled in and complete at least 12 semester hours

of credit.

Where appropriate, students with special needs may be permitted to enroll in fewer than 12

semester hours and/or to graduate in more than four semesters, at the discretion of the Associate

Dean for Academic Programs & Students. However, under no circumstances may a student on

academic probation take fewer than 12 hours during a probationary semester.

Please note that for financial aid and certain other purposes, such as student visa

requirements, full-time students are those enrolled in at least 12 semester hours.

Summer School Attendance

Transfer students may not take non-Emory law summer courses for program credit.

Study Abroad & Exchange Opportunities

Transfer students are not eligible for study abroad.

Emory Students Transient Elsewhere

Transfer students are not eligible for transient study elsewhere.

Transfer Credits

If a transfer student has taken a course required in the first year at Emory for which the hours

earned were less than those that would have been accrued in the Emory program, the individual

course will be assessed to ensure that the coverage was roughly equivalent to the coverage in the

Emory course. The Associate Dean for Academic Programs & Students is responsible for

evaluating transfer student records to ensure that course requirements have been met. In cases of

significant disparity, Emory Law may require that the transfer student retake the course entirely or

take part of the course to ensure that the course requirement is properly fulfilled. Such decisions

are at the sole discretion of the Associate Dean for Academic Programs & Students and may not

be appealed.

In order to receive credit at Emory Law for a course taken at the prior institution, the student must

have earned a grade equivalent to a “C” (not a “C-”) or better. If a grade of less than “C” was

earned in a course required for the Emory degree, the transfer student must repeat the course at

Emory. Waivers may be granted only by the Associate Dean for Academic Programs & Students

on petition by the student. The Associate Dean may require the student to retake the course at

Emory; accept the credits; or waive the course requirement, permitting the student to substitute

another course.

Master of Laws (LL.M.) Program

Admission Requirements

To be considered for admission to Emory Law’s LL.M. program, candidates must have received a

first degree in law, or be eligible for license to practice law, in their home country. For U.S.

graduates, applicants must have earned a J.D. degree from an ABA-accredited law school. For

foreign-trained attorneys, first law degree designations vary by country. For a list of law degrees

that meet this requirement, please refer to the Minimum Degree Requirements by Country chart

found on the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) website.

Applicants should submit all application materials through the LSAC website by the application

deadline listed on the LSAC application.

The following items are required to complete the application, unless waived by the appropriate

administrator:

• Credential Assembly Service (CAS) report from the Law School Admission Council (LSAC),

which includes official transcripts (translated, if not in English), and two letters of

recommendation

• Application form and fee

• CV/resume

• Personal statement

• Interview by invitation

• TOEFL or academic IELTS score submitted via LSAC’s document assembly service: Students

whose native language is not English and students from non-English standard countries must

submit either an official TOEFL Score Report (Test of English as a Foreign Language) from

Educational Testing Service or an official IELTS score report with their application. An

applicant may contact the admission office for a TOEFL waiver, based on previous course

work in English, employment experience in English, and LSAT scores.

General Requirements

Academic Standing

Academic standing is determined on the basis of work done at Emory Law alone. To be in good

standing, students must maintain an overall cumulative minimum grade point average of 2.50 on

all coursework. Any student not in good standing is presumptively ineligible to continue in, or

graduate from, the LL.M. program.

A student who becomes presumptively ineligible to continue in the program because of a lack of

good standing may petition the Academic Standing Committee for continuation in the program.

Students granted continuation remain in the program on probationary status and must raise their

cumulative grade point average to at least 2.50 by the end of the probationary period. It is the

student’s obligation to petition for continuation and probationary status and to monitor his or her

own probation and eligibility to continue in the program.

Degree Credit Hours

LL.M. students must complete a minimum of 24 hours at Emory Law.

Residency

LL.M. Students must be in residency for a minimum of two semesters. Students must complete the

program within four years of their initial admittance. Students who fail to complete the program

within four years will be discontinued, though they may apply for readmission.

Required Courses – Foreign-Trained Attorneys

• Introduction to the American Legal System (2 credits)

• American Legal Writing, Analysis, and Research (2 credits)

• Earn a total of 20 credits of electives within the law school

Required Courses – Graduates from ABA-Accredited J.D. Programs

• Introduction to the American Legal System (2 credits)—waived

• American Legal Writing, Analysis, and Research (2 credits)—waived

• Earn a total of 24 credits of electives within the law school

Juris Master (J.M.) Program

Admission Requirements

To be considered for admission into Emory Law’s J.M. program, candidates must have received a

bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university by the time of J.M. enrollment. All

applications must be accompanied by a non-refundable fee or fee waiver. The application

deadlines may be found on the Emory Law website.

The following items are required to complete the application, unless waived by the appropriate

administrator:

· Application form and fee

· CV/resume

· Personal statement

· Official transcripts

· Two letters of recommendation

· Interview

· TOEFL or IELTS score: Students whose native language is not English and students from non-

English standard countries must submit either an official TOEFL Score Report (Test of English

as a Foreign Language) from Educational Testing Service or an official IELTS score report

with their application. An applicant may contact the admission office for a TOEFL waiver,

based on previous course work in English, employment experience in English, and LSAT

scores.

General Requirements

Degree Credit Hours

J.M. students must complete a minimum of 30 credits within four years.

Curriculum

All J.M. students must successfully complete the following required courses:

· Introduction to the American Legal System (three credits, graded, online only)

· Analysis, Research, and Communications for Professionals (three credits, graded, online

only)

· Contracts for Professionals (three credits, graded, online only) or residential Contracts

(three or four credits, graded, taken with J.D. and LL.M. students)

· Law and Legal Professionals (three credits, graded, online only)

*Note: for students matriculating before 2022, Contracts may be substituted by another course

in the 1L J.D. curriculum.

In addition, all J.M. students must complete the following synchronous Zoom experiences:

• Virtual Bootcamp

• Capstone Experience

Several J.M. concentrations are available:

• Health Care Law

• Business Law and Regulation

• Employment Law and Human Resources

• Data, Privacy, and Technology Law

J.M. students are limited to taking courses within these concentrations but may take courses in one or

more concentrations during the program. A student wishing to take a course not listed in the

concentrations needs prior permission from the Associate Director. For more information about the

concentrations, including available courses, prerequisites, and enrollment limits, please go to the J.M.

Floor site.

Format and Pace

Courses are offered in the fall semester, spring semester, and in two summer terms. Students may

take the program in an asynchronous online or hybrid format. In the hybrid format, students

complete at least 3 of the 4 required courses online and may take the remainder courses either

asynchronous online or on campus. J.M. students may not take more than 2 asynchronous online

courses per semester, but they may add additional residential courses. In the summer terms, J.M.

students are limited to one online course each term. Emory Law does not offer residential courses

in the summer. J.M. students are not permitted to take courses pass/fail.

Academic Standing

To be in good standing, students must maintain an overall cumulative minimum grade point

average of 2.50 on all coursework completed in the J.M. program. Any student not in good

standing is presumptively ineligible to continue in, or graduate from, the J.M. program.

A student who becomes presumptively ineligible to continue in the program because of a lack of

good standing may petition the Academic Standing Committee for continuation in the program.

Students granted continuation remain in the program on probationary status and must raise their

cumulative grade point average to at least 2.50 by the end of the probationary period. It is the

student’s obligation to petition for continuation and probationary status and to monitor his or her

own probation and eligibility to continue in the program.

Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) Program

Admission Requirements

This degree program is designed for those seeking to pursue careers as teachers and scholars of

law. It is a highly selective program open only to applicants who possess a distinguished

academic record in law, show promise of outstanding scholarship, and demonstrate high

potential for completing a scholarly dissertation of required quality. The law school admits a

small group of candidates to the S.J.D. class each year through a highly competitive admission

process. The S.J.D. Committee will admit only the most highly qualified candidates who

complete all elements of the application for admission, provide clear evidence of academic

excellence, and demonstrate high potential for completing a scholarly dissertation that

constitutes a substantial contribution to knowledge in his or her intended field. All applicants

must have a first degree in law to be eligible to apply for the S.J.D. Students may meet this

requirement either: • By holding a Juris Doctor from an A.B.A. approved law school, or • By

holding a bachelor’s degree in Law (LL.B.) or a related field from an accredited college or

university outside of the United States, and an LL.M degree (or its equivalent). • Students with

an LL.B may apply to the joint LL.M./S.J.D. dual program of Emory Law School or for those

students who so wish and who are admitted, the A.J.D./S.J.D. dual degree program. The

application deadline for the fall semester is listed on the Emory Law website. The following

items are required to submit an application through the LSAC website. No materials submitted

directly to Emory Law will be accepted. Applications must include: • Application form and fee.

• CV/resume. • Personal statement. • Research proposal. • A TOEFL score for those who did

not receive a B.A. from an American college nor have a J.D. from an ABA accredited school.

(No TOEFL required for students from a university with an English language curriculum.) • All

official transcripts including LL.B., LL.M, and J.D. degree transcripts. • Three letters of

recommendation. One letter may be from a supporting Emory Law faculty member, as

appropriate who Could be a faculty mentor. • A substantial research paper written in, or

translated into, English or in a language that can be read by an Emory faculty member.

Faculty Mentor: Prior to submitting their application, prospective students may seek to contact

and secure a potential faculty mentor for their S.J.D. studies. Our faculty directory is available

here. Applicants should contact their potential faculty mentor via email. This message should

provide the following: an introduction; a brief explanation of the applicant's educational

background, professional work, and proposed research; and how the applicant believes that this

faculty member could provide proper mentorship for their proposed S.J.D. academic work. If

the faculty member agrees to serve as a mentor, the applicant ought to ask that faculty member

to be one of their letters of recommendation. (Please note that receiving approval from a

potential faculty mentor does not guarantee an offer of admission from the Admission

Committee.)

General Requirements

Academic Standing

To remain in good standing, students must maintain an overall cumulative minimum grade point

average of 2.70 on all coursework at the conclusion of the first term and be certified as making

sufficient progress by the program administrator. In each term beyond the first, a student must

have a cumulative grade point average of 2.70 and continue sufficient progress toward

completion

to be in good standing. Any student not in good standing is presumptively ineligible

to continue in, or graduate from, the S.J.D. program.

A student who becomes presumptively ineligible to continue the program because of a lack of

good standing may petition the Academic Standing Committee for continuation in the program.

Students granted continuation remain in the program on probationary status and must raise their

cumulative grade point average to at least 2.70 by the end of the probationary period. It is the

student’s obligation to petition for continuation when no longer in good standing and to monitor

his or her own eligibility to continue in the program.

No student will be permitted to start writing their S.J.D. thesis who has not taken a total of 54

credits of post B.A. or LL.B. credits in law. Students with a J.D. definitionally fulfill this

requirement and other students need to demonstrate such.

S.J.D. Coursework and Other Requirements

There are five stages to the S.J.D. program:

1. Completion of a study plan which includes course work, typically in the first year of a

student’s enrollment in the S.J.D. program.

2. Successful completion of a prospectus defense, typically in the first two years of the

student’s enrollment in the S.J.D. program.

3. Two presentations at the S.J.D. Colloquium, typically in year two or three of a student’s

enrollment in the S.J.D. program.

4. Submission and acceptance of a doctoral dissertation in the last year of a student’s

enrollment in the S.J.D. program.

5. Successful oral defense of the dissertation, typically in the last semester of a student’s

enrollment in the S.J.D. program.

All S.J.D. students are expected to take the following courses in their first year or two of the S.J.D.

program:

• Methods (3 credits, Fall semester). First year S.J.D. students take this class their Fall

semester. Its purpose is to launch students on the path to writing a successful dissertation.

Specifically, students refine their dissertation topic and write a thesis statement as well as

tentatively decide on a structure for their dissertation and discuss writing strategies. The

course examines and compares concepts and features of different legal scholarship

methodologies. Finally, students are introduced to the Zotero/Juris M database and citation

manager.

• Presentation Skills for Law School Academics (2 credits, Spring or Summer semester).

First year S.J.D. students take this course to receive training in presentations and practice

their skills in moot sessions. Specifically, the course aims to provide the opportunity for

students to refine their communication skills in order to effectively communicate research

projects to listeners, enhance listening skills, adapt messages to desired purposes and target

audiences, and manage information before, during, and after presentations. This course

culminates in presentations at the National S.J.D. Roundtable.

• Scholarly Paper Seminars (3 credits times three, either Fall or Spring semesters) Over

the course of their years in the S.J.D. Program, students take at least three seminars or

directed readings from the law school’s regular curriculum or specifically given by their

thesis advisor or a member of their doctoral committee that require a scholarly paper.

Students select their three seminars in consultation with their faculty supervisor. The

purposes of this requirement are to add to students’ intellectual foundations for the

dissertation; to give them additional experience writing a scholarly paper; to get them

started drafting portions of their dissertations; and, if appropriate, to enable them to submit

an article for publication

Beside these courses, students who are enrolled in the S.J.D. program must take in their first year

of residence at Emory Law a total of 30 credits which include a mixture of the following:

1. A course on methodology in their field of study.

2. Any advanced courses they feel they need to take or that their advisor recommends.

3. Directed readings under their faculty advisor.

4. Courses in other divisions of the University.

5. Any foreign language needed for their course of study.

After two or three semesters of course work are successfully completed, S.J.D. students will have

four years in which to complete the dissertation and a one-year extension may be granted. S.J.D.

students are expected to spend at least one year in residence at the Emory campus to meet regularly

with their dissertation advisor. In the case of the LL.M/S.J.D. dual degree program, student who

have completed the LL.M portion and are enrolled in the S.J.D. program, may be granted another

extension of time at the discretion of their dissertation advisor.

Students will be required to make presentations at the S.J.D. Colloquium, General Faculty

Colloquium, or other academic conferences at Emory at the direction of their S.J.D. advisor or the

director of the S.J.D. program.

At the end of each academic year of enrollment, the dissertation advisor must certify to the S.J.D.

Committee that the candidate has made satisfactory progress. If a dissertation advisor determines

that a S.J.D. student has not made satisfactory progress at the end of any academic year, the student

will be given a written warning that they must make satisfactory progress at the end of the

following semester to continue in the program.

After all mandatory coursework is completed, S.J.D. students shall register for “Thesis Writing”

until their dissertation is completed. In his or her final semester, S.J.D. students will register for a

no less than three credits course entitled “Thesis Defense.” He or she may register for more credits

as deemed needed. Students shall confirm that the registered credits received during this time meet

any relevant student visa, residency, or financial aid requirements.

S.J.D. Residency

Students in the S.J.D. program must be physically in residence and conduct their work from

Emory Law’s Atlanta campus during the first two semesters of the program. After the first two

semesters in residency, students must be enrolled in the program but may complete their research

and writing from another location if remote work is approved by the student’s faculty supervisor

and the Director of S.J.D. Programs. Students are strongly encouraged to stay in residence in

Atlanta for at least their third and fourth semesters. Students must complete the program within

eight years of their initial admittance. Students who fail to complete the program within eight

years will be discontinued though they may apply for readmission.

Dissertation Requirements

Prospectus Defense. Upon successful completion of the first two semesters and performance in

courses at a level substantially above the quality expected of J.D. candidates, the S.J.D.

Sample Coursework for Year One of S.J.D. student:

Fall:

•

S.J.D. Methods Seminar:

Scholarly Paper Seminar:

Advanced Course selected with advisor:

Advanced Course offered by LGS in related field:

Thesis Research and writing:

15 credits total

3 credits

Spring:

•

Presentation Skills for Law Academics:

Scholarly Paper Seminar:

Advanced Course selected with advisor:

Thesis Research and writing:

15 credits total

2 credits

3 credits

4 credits

Committee shall constitute a doctoral committee consisting of three faculty members which may

include a single faculty member from a division outside of the law school. In the third semester

of enrollment, the student will present a research prospectus to his or her doctoral committee and

complete a successful defense of the prospectus before the doctoral committee. Students may

petition to accelerate the prospectus defense to the first semester or delay it to the fourth

semester. Petitions to accelerate or delay the prospectus defense will be granted or denied by the

Director of the S.J.D. Program on recommendation of the student’s supervisor and committee.

Upon successful completion of the defense and acceptance of the prospectus by a student’s

doctoral committee, the S.J.D. Committee shall allow the students to proceed in the program. If

a student fails to successfully complete the prospectus defense and/or the student’s doctoral

committee does not accept the prospectus, the student will be discontinued from the program.

Students who fail may appeal that decision to the Director of S.J.D. Program who, in

consultation with the Graduate Studies Committee, will give a final decision on any appeal. Any

student dismissed from the program may not reapply.

Dissertation Completion Process. After a student has completed and passed the prospectus

defense, the student may continue research and writing under the supervision of his or her

committee subject to the residency and enrollment requirements outlined above. No later than

their seventh semester, students must declare their intent to schedule their oral defense

examination of their dissertation. The defense and submission of a final dissertation will take

place during the student’s eighth semester unless, under exceptional circumstances, an extension

is granted by the S.J.D. Committee.

After the prospectus defense and examination of the dissertation, the student’s committee may

rule as follows: Full pass; pass with minor revisions required; pass with major revisions

required; or fail. The decision of the committee to grant a pass, or a pass requiring any sort of

revision, is not appealable. The decision to fail a candidate in his or her dissertation will result

in immediate dismissal from the S.J.D. program and granting of the LL.M terminal degree. The

decision of the committee to fail a candidate may be appealed to the Executive Director of

Graduate Programs who, in consultation with the Dean, will give a final decision on any appeal.

Any student dismissed from the program may not reapply.

In his or her final semester, a candidate shall submit and successfully defend in an oral

examination his or her dissertation in the form of a monograph or a series of closely related

essays suitable for publication and constituting a substantial contribution to knowledge in its

intended field. To graduate, the student must submit a final copy of his or her dissertation along

with his or her committee’s final approval as directed by the Executive Director of S.J.D.

Programs.

Final Graduation. To graduate, a student must meet all final dissertation deadlines:

Spring Graduation

Fall Graduation

Declare intent to schedule oral defense next semester

December 1

May 1

Notice of intent to defend and graduate

February 1

September 1

Oral defense and committee action (pass, pass with

minor revisions, pass with major revisions, fail)

By March 1

By September 15

Minor revisions to committee for review

April1

October 15

Final signoff by supervising professor

April 15

November 1

Final dissertation submitted

May 1

November 15

Students who pass with major revisions required will be automatically deferred to the next

semester’s graduation. Students who fail the dissertation will be discontinued from the S.J.D.

program. Any student who misses these deadlines will be automatically deferred to the next

semester’s graduation.

Master of Comparative Law (M.C.L.) Program

Admission Requirements

The Master of Comparative Law is currently offered in partner with Shanghai Jiao Tong

University, Koguan Law School and offers students the opportunity to engage in a one-year

comparative law experience, spending a semester of full-time enrollment at each law school. The

program is open to those who have earned a first degree in law, those who are eligible for practice,

or other qualified individuals. Candidates must apply through Koguan Law School and admission

decisions are made collaboratively with Emory Law.

The following items are required to complete the application unless waived by the appropriate

administrator:

• Application form and fee

• Interview (by invitation)

• English Proficiency Test administered by Emory Law representative or its designee

• TOEFL or IELTS score, for students interested into transferring into LL.M. program,

submitted via LSAC’s document assembly service: Students whose native language is not

English and students from non-English standard countries must submit either an official

TOEFL Score Report (Test of English as a Foreign Language) from Educational Testing

Service or an official IELTS score report with their application. An applicant may contact the

admission office for a TOEFL waiver, based on previous course work in English, employment

experience in English, and LSAT scores.

General Requirements

Academic Standing

Academic standing is computed on the basis of work done at Emory Law alone. To be in good

standing, students must maintain an overall cumulative minimum grade point average of 2.50 on

all coursework. Any student not in good standing is presumptively ineligible to continue in, or

graduate from, the M.C.L. program.

A student who becomes presumptively ineligible to continue in the program because of a lack of

good standing may petition the Academic Standing Committee for continuation in the program.

Students granted continuation remain in the program on probationary status and must raise their

cumulative grade point average to at least 2.50 by the end of the probationary period. It is the

student’s obligation to petition for continuation and probationary status and to monitor his or her

own probation and eligibility to continue in the program.

Degree Credit Hours

M.C.L. students must complete a minimum of 24 hours. Up to 11 hours may be earned at a

student’s home institution and applied to the M.C.L. degree under the governing articulation

agreement.

Residency

The M.C.L program is currently only open to students through articulation agreement with their

home institution outside the United States. Students must spend two semesters (or a minimum of

five months) in residency at Emory Law to complete the M.C.L. degree. Students must complete

the program with four years of their initial admittance. Students who fail to complete the program

within four years will be discontinued though they may apply for readmission. Additional

residency or program completion requirements may be imposed by the governing articulation

agreement between schools.

Required Courses

• Introduction to the American Legal System (two credits)

• American Legal Writing, Analysis and Research (two credits)

• One course in comparative law/comparative law experience (one credit or more)

Dual-Degree Programs

In addition to the requirements for each individual degree awarded by the law school, the following

special circumstances apply to admission and enrollment in dual-degree programs.

General Requirements

Academic Course Load

Dual-degree candidates may not take courses in the law school and another school that are

duplicative in content. For information on duplicative courses, see the current course listing.

Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration (J.D./M.B.A.)

Admission Requirements

Candidates for this degree program apply to each school independently and must meet the criteria

for admission at each school to be admitted to the joint program.

Degree Credit Hours

To receive the J.D. portion of the J.D./M.B.A. degree, students must complete a minimum of 79

semester hours of law school course credit, including all required courses.

The J.D. degree will be conferred when the joint-degree candidate has successfully completed all

course work required in both academic programs. If the requirements for the M.B.A. are not

fulfilled, a student must complete all traditional J.D. requirements, including residency, and 90

law school credit hours.

Residency

In conformity with the American Bar Association (ABA) and Association of American Law

Schools (AALS) requirements, completion of a course of study in residence equivalent to a

minimum total of five semesters at the law school is required.

For the purpose of residency only, courses taken at the Goizueta Business School are included in

determining Emory Law residence in any term taken jointly at Emory Law and the Goizueta

Business School, provided that a minimum of three semester hours of course work are taken at

Emory Law. In order that law school residency accrues, the normal rules regarding fractional

residency apply and a candidate must complete no fewer than four academic years in the entire

cooperative program.

After completion of the first year in the law school, cross registration is freely permitted as long

as tuition is paid for five semesters at the law school and three semesters at the Goizueta Business

School at the respective rates for those schools.

Juris Doctor and Master of Arts in Bioethics (J.D./M.A.)

Admission Requirements

In addition to all J.D. application material, applicants to the J.D./M.A. in bioethics program should

include in their application a personal statement about their interest in the Bioethics Program, a

sample analytical essay offering a brief analysis of a bioethics case, and an additional letter of

recommendation that speaks to their critical thinking and written and verbal communication skills.

Degree Credit Hours

To receive the J.D. portion of the J.D./M.A. degree, students must complete a minimum of 79

semester hours of law school course credit, including all required courses.

To receive the M.A. portion of the J.D./M.A. degree, students must complete a minimum of 30

semester hours of graduate credit with a GPA of 3.0 during two semesters of residence at the Laney

Graduate School.

The J.D. degree will be conferred when the joint-degree candidate has successfully completed all

course work required in both academic programs. If the requirements for the M.A. are not fulfilled,

a student must complete all traditional J.D. requirements, including residency and 90 law school

credit hours.

Residency

In conformity with the American Bar Association (ABA) and Association of American Law

Schools (AALS) requirements, completion of a course of study in residence equivalent to a

minimum total of five semesters at the law school is required.

For the purpose of residency only, courses taken at the Laney Graduate School are included in

determining Emory Law residence in any term taken jointly at Emory Law and the Laney Graduate

School, provided that a minimum of three semester hours of course work are taken at Emory Law.

In order that law school residency accrues, the normal rules regarding fractional residency apply

and a candidate must complete no fewer than three-and-a-half academic years in the entire

cooperative program.

After completion of the first year at the law school, cross registration is freely permitted as long

as tuition is paid for five semesters at the law school and two semesters at the Laney Graduate

School at the respective rates for those schools.

Juris Doctor and Master of Divinity (J.D./M.Div.)

Admission Requirements

Candidates for this degree program apply to each school independently and must meet the criteria

for admission at each school to be admitted to the joint program. Students are assigned a faculty

advisor from each school.

Degree Credit Hours

To receive the J.D. portion of the J.D./M.Div. degree, students must complete a minimum of 79

semester hours of law school course credit, including all required courses.

The J.D. degree will be conferred when the joint-degree candidate has successfully completed all

course work required in both academic programs. If the requirements for the M.Div. are not

fulfilled, a student must complete all traditional J.D. requirements, including residency and the 90

law school credit hours.

Residency

In conformity with the American Bar Association (ABA) and Association of American Law

Schools (AALS) requirements, completion of a course of study in residence equivalent to a

minimum total of five semesters at the law school is required.

For the purpose of residency only, courses taken in the Candler School of Theology are included

in determining Emory Law residence in any term taken jointly at Emory Law and the Candler

School of Theology provided that a minimum of three semester hours of course work are taken at

Emory Law. In order that law school residency accrues, the normal rules regarding fractional

residency apply and a candidate must complete no fewer than four academic years in the entire

cooperative program.

After completion of the first year in the law school, cross registration is freely permitted as long

as tuition is paid for five semesters at the law school and three semesters at the Candler School of

Theology at the respective rates for those schools.

Juris Doctor and Master of Theological Studies (J.D./M.T.S.)

Admission Requirements

Candidates for this degree program apply to each school independently and must meet the criteria

for admission at each school to be admitted to the joint program.

Degree Credit Hours

To receive the J.D. portion of the J.D./M.T.S. degree, students must complete a minimum of 79

semester hours of law school course credit, including all required courses.

The J.D. degree will be conferred when the joint-degree candidate has successfully completed all

course work required in both academic programs. If the requirements for the M.T.S. are not

fulfilled, a student must complete all traditional J.D. requirements, including residency and 90 law

school credit hours.

Residency

In conformity with the American Bar Association (ABA) and Association of American Law

Schools (AALS) requirements, completion of a course of study in residence equivalent to a

minimum total of five semesters at the law school is required.

For the purpose of residency only, courses taken in the Candler School of Theology are included

in determining Emory Law residence in any term taken jointly at Emory Law and the Candler

School of Theology, provided that a minimum of three semester hours of course work are taken at

Emory Law. In order that law school residency accrues, the normal rules regarding fractional

residency apply and a candidate must complete no fewer than four academic years in the entire

cooperative program.

After completion of the first year in the law school, cross registration is freely permitted as long

as tuition is paid for five semesters at the law school and three semesters at the Candler School of

Theology at the respective rates for those schools.

Juris Doctor and Master of Public Health (J.D./M.P.H.)

Admission Requirements

Candidates for this degree program apply to each school independently and must meet the criteria

for admission at each school to be admitted to the joint program. Students are assigned a faculty

advisor from each school.

Degree Credit Hours

To receive the J.D. portion of the J.D./M.P.H. degree, students must complete a minimum of 79

semester hours of law school course credit, including all required courses.

The J.D. degree will be conferred when the joint-degree candidate has successfully completed all

course work required in both academic programs. If the requirements for the M.P.H. are not

fulfilled, a student must complete all traditional J.D. requirements, including residency and 90 law

school credit hours.

Residency

In conformity with the American Bar Association (ABA) and Association of American Law

Schools (AALS) requirements, completion of a course of study in residence equivalent to a

minimum total of five semesters at the law school is required.

For the purpose of residency only, courses taken in the Rollins School of Public Health are

included in determining Emory Law residence in any term taken jointly at Emory Law and the

Rollins School of Public Health provided that a minimum of three semester hours of course work

are taken at Emory Law. In order that law school residency accrues, the normal rules regarding

fractional residency apply and a candidate must complete no fewer than four academic years in the

entire cooperative program.

After completion of the first year at the law school, cross registration is freely permitted as long

as tuition is paid for five semesters at the law school and two semesters at the Rollins School of

Public Health at the respective rates for those schools.

Required Courses

• Administrative Law

• An additional five credit hours in public health or policy-related law courses

Juris Doctor and Doctor of Philosophy (J.D./Ph.D.)

Admission Requirements

A student already enrolled at the law school or the Laney Graduate School may apply to the other

school for admission to candidacy for the J.D./Ph.D. If admitted, the student’s previous degree

work will be counted toward the joint-degree requirements.

Degree Credit Hours

To receive the J.D. portion of the J.D./Ph.D. degree, students must complete a minimum of 79

semester hours of law school course credit, including all required courses.

The J.D. degree will be conferred when the joint-degree candidate has successfully completed all

course work required in both academic programs. If the requirements for the Ph.D. are not fulfilled,

a student must complete all traditional J.D. requirements, including residency and 90 law school

credit hours.

Residency

In conformity with the American Bar Association (ABA) and Association of American Law

Schools (AALS) requirements, completion of a course of study in residence equivalent to a

minimum total of five semesters at the law school is required.

A candidate for the joint J.D./Ph.D. program must spend the first full year at either the law school

or the Laney Graduate School. The second year must be spent at the other school. Thereafter, the

candidate must spend three semesters in residence at the law school and one semester in classes at

the Laney Graduate School. This represents a one-semester reduction in the normal course

requirements within each school. Beyond classes, the candidate is required to put in whatever

additional time is needed to successfully meet the requirements of the Ph.D. program.

For the purpose of residency only, courses taken at the Laney Graduate School are included in

determining Emory Law residence in any term taken jointly at Emory Law and the Laney Graduate

School, provided that a minimum of three semester hours of course work are taken at Emory Law.

In order that law school residency accrues, the normal rules regarding fractional residency apply.

Juris Master and Master of Business Administration (J.M./M.B.A.)

Admission Requirements

Candidates for this degree program apply to each school independently and must meet the criteria

for admission at each school to be admitted to the joint program. Both schools must agree to admit

the applicants to the J.M./M.B.A. joint-degree program. Should one school deny admission to an

applicant, the applicant would be denied admission to the J.M./M.B.A. joint-degree program. The

applicant may still be accepted to either academic program independent of the other academic

program.

Academic Course Load

While enrolled in the J.M. program, J.M./M.B.A. dual-degree students must carry at least 12 credit

hours each semester at the law school.

Residency

Students may apply to earn the J.M. and M.B.A. degrees from Emory Law and Goizueta Business

School with an additional one semester for the one-year M.B.A. program and two semesters for

the two-year M.B.A. program.

Juris Master and Master of Public Health (J.M./M.P.H.)

Admission Requirements

Candidates for this degree program apply to each school independently and must meet the criteria

for admission at each school to be admitted to the joint program. Both schools must agree to admit

the applicant to the J.M./M.P.H. joint-degree program. Should one school deny admission to an

applicant, the applicant would be denied admission to the J.M./M.P.H. joint-degree program. The

applicant may still be accepted to either academic program independent of the other academic

program.

Academic Course Load

J.M./M.P.H. dual-degree students need to carry at least 12 credit hours each semester at the law

school and a minimum of nine credit hours each semester at the Rollins School of Public Health.

Residency

Accelerated M.P.H. students would complete the J.M./M.P.H. degrees in five semesters: three

semesters at Rollins and two semesters at the law school.

PART 2: ACADEMIC STANDARDS

Emory Law Enrollment

Registration Policies

Policies regarding registration are established by Emory University and implemented by the

University Registrar’s office in coordination with the Law Registrar.

Students with an outstanding debt-hold with the Bursar from a previous semester will not be

permitted to register.

It is each student’s responsibility to ensure that they have properly registered for and successfully

completed all required courses and the required number of credit hours necessary to complete their

degree.

Tuition and Fees

Each year’s tuition and fees are posted on the law school’s website. Students taking fewer than 12

credit hours in a fall or spring semester are billed for tuition on a per-credit basis. The rate per

credit hour is established each year together with the full-time tuition rate and is determined by

dividing a semester’s tuition by 12. Note that this is not an alternative to the residency requirement

(page 16) and applies only on permission of the law school in exceptional circumstances where

the residency requirement does not apply.

Reimbursements

Reimbursements of tuition and fees are governed by the University’s published policy, adjusted to

meet the start date of each law school semester. More information can be found here.

Financial Aid Awards and Scholarships

Financial aid awards are governed by University policy and are within the sole purview of the

Emory University Office of Financial Services.

Law school scholarship awards are governed and administered by the law school’s Office of

Admission and Financial Aid. Financial aid and scholarship awards are conditioned on continued

residency, good standing, and compliance with the codes and policies of Emory Law and Emory

University.

International Students—Visas

Admission and enrollment of international students to the law school is subject to U.S. Citizenship

and Immigration Service (USCIS) regulations. Foreign students are required to comply with health

insurance and health coverage clearance rules and must be found eligible for a U.S. student visa

before being permitted to register as students in the program. Most international students enter the

U.S. on an F-1 student visa. Evidence of financial capability will be requested only after an offer

of admission is made to the applicant. Applicants must include a copy of their passport

identification with the correct spelling and version of their names in order to process the I-20 form.

After receipt of acceptable financial aid documents, the applicant will be sent the I-20 form in

order to apply for an F-1 student visa. Visa applications are usually made at the U.S. Embassy or

Consulate in the applicant’s country of residence.

Academic Advising

The Emory Law Office of Academic Engagement & Student Success (OAESS) is available to

provide academic advising and support for all students and students are encouraged to explore the

range of programs and workshops available to support academic success. In addition, students

whose cumulative law school GPA drops below 3.0 after any academic term are required to meet

with a member of the Office of Academic Engagement & Student Success (OAESS) for

individualized academic advising and support. These students will have an opportunity to discuss

academic support, bar readiness, course selection, and options for enhancing their academic

records.

Leave of Absence

When a student wishes to suspend their course of study for one or more terms, they may submit a

leave request to the Assistant Dean for Academic Engagement & Student Success, who has

discretion to grant such a leave upon finding that it is warranted by the particular circumstances.

Students granted a leave of absence must designate a specific date when they will resume their

studies. This date may be extended once. If the student has not returned by the designated date, the

leave of absence will be converted to a discontinuation. If a leave of absence is granted before

grades have been assigned for the current term, the student will receive a grade of withdrawal

(“W”) or incomplete (“I”) for all unfinished courses, depending on the circumstances.

Students granted leaves of absence must confer with the Office of Student Financial Services for

regulations regarding their financial obligations. Students are encouraged to consult with the

Office of Financial Aid regarding their student loans. Questions about law school-funded merit aid

should be directed to the Emory Law Office of Admission and Financial Aid.

Program Withdrawal

A student may withdraw from the J.D. program for good cause during the semester with the written

consent of the Assistant Dean for Academic Engagement & Student Success. If a program

withdrawal is granted before any grades have been assigned for that term, the student will receive

a grade of “W” for all unfinished courses. Failure to obtain the specific prior written consent of

the Assistant Dean for Academic Engagement & Student Success to withdraw from the J.D.

program will result in a grade entry of “F” in all courses for which the student is registered.

First-year J.D. students who withdraw must meet with the Associate Dean for Academic Programs

& Students or their designee to determine circumstances for the student to return to the law school.

Three-year J.D. students who withdraw during the second semester of their first year must return

in a spring semester to complete the first-year program before advancing to the second year.

All other J.D. students who withdraw are eligible to return in a subsequent semester without going

through the admission process a second time, but they must obtain permission to re-enroll from

the Associate Dean for Academic Programs & Students or their designee. However, following a

second Program Withdrawal, a student must re-apply for admission to the J.D. program.

Students may withdraw from graduate programs (LL.M., S.J.D., M.C.L., J.M.) for good cause

during the semester with the consent of the Director of Graduate and Online Programs

or their designee. If a program withdrawal is granted before grades have been assigned for that

term, the student will receive a grade of “W” for all unfinished courses. Failure to obtain consent

will result in a grade entry of “F” in all courses for which the student is registered.

Graduate students who withdraw are eligible to return in a subsequent semester without going

through the admission process a second time, but they must obtain leave to re-enroll from the

Executive Director of Graduate and Online Programs or their designee. However, following a

second Program Withdrawal, a student must re-apply for admission to the relevant graduate

program.

Involuntary Withdrawal

The University reserves the right, through the Dean, to involuntarily withdraw individuals for

reasons of academic dismissal, moral turpitude, or medical reasons and to make return to the

University conditional upon medical certification of fitness.

Non-Good-Standing Petition Procedures and Practices

Petition Procedures

A student seeking relief from any requirement submits a written petition to the Associate Dean for

Academic Programs & Students or their designee containing a short statement of the circumstances

that led to the student requiring relief, how these circumstances have or will be corrected, and the

good cause upon which relief is sought. The Associate Dean refers this petition and the student’s

file to the duly appointed Academic Standing Committee. The student may appear in person before

the committee. The committee considers the petition, the student’s file, and all other materials

presented by the student. The committee votes to grant or deny the petition; the affirmative vote

of a majority of the entire membership of the committee is required to grant a petition. The petition,

the student’s file, and copies of the documents are available in the Office of the Assistant Dean for

Academic Engagement & Student Success for review.

The committee action becomes final if the committee has granted probation prior to a J.D. student’s

fifth term, an S.J.D. student’s fifth term, an LL.M. student’s second term, or a J.M. student’s third

term.

The committee action becomes final and is not subject to any further review by faculty (but may

be reviewed by the Dean) if the committee has denied probation or granted probation beyond the

associated term limit.

Petition Practices

There is a strong practice against granting probationary status to a student who has previously been

on probationary status and whose cumulative average has declined at the end of the probationary

term or to a student who has failed to meet special conditions attached to the grant of probationary

status.

Conditions of Probation

Students on probation must take a course load designated by the Academic Standing Committee

(normally a full-time course load for full-time students) and must achieve a cumulative average

meeting or exceeding the programmatic good standing cutoff by the end of the probationary period.

Students on probation are specifically required to meet all conditions imposed by the Academic

Standing Committee, including class attendance and regular meetings with the Assistant Dean for

Academic Engagement & Student Success.

Students on probation may take a leave of absence any time after the petition is granted and during

the probationary period. Students must get consent from the Assistant Dean for Academic

Engagement & Student Success. If granted, the probationary conditions apply to the fall or spring

semester in which they return.

Course Enrollment

Pre-Registration

Students admitted or approved to select programs and externships may pre-enroll for classes by

special permission of the instructor or program coordinator. Priority will be given to pre-

registration students in select classes.

Registration

The Emory Law Registrar, in conjunction with the Admission Office, pre-enrolls all first-semester,

three-year J.D. and A.J.D. law students. Transfer J.D. students self-enroll. J.M., LL.M., and S.J.D.

students enroll with assistance from their respective program coordinator. M.C.L. students are

block-enrolled by the Registrar.

In the second semester, three-year J.D. and A.J.D. students are block-enrolled by the Registrar in

all but one elective course. All other law students self-enroll for all courses. It is each student’s

responsibility to ensure that they are enrolled in the correct courses to satisfy degree and credit

requirements.

During open enrollment, students may self-enroll in the number of credits appropriate to the

academic course load designated by their degree program. Across the J.D. programs, students who

wish to take more than 16 credits must have prior approval by the Assistant Dean for Academic

Engagement & Student Success. Across the LL.M., J.M., and S.J.D. programs, students who wish

to take more than 16 credits must have prior approval by the Executive Director of Graduate and

Online Programs.

Students may not take more than 8 hours in any classes for credit or transfer credit during the

summer term.

J.D. and LL.M. students may not take courses offered in the J.M. online curriculum for credit

towards a degree.

Audits are counted in determining the maximum allowable course load, but do not count toward

residency credit requirements.

Add/Drop

At the start of each semester, the registration opens briefly for a period of add/drop. During the

add/drop period, students may drop courses without penalty and add available courses so long as

their total credit count remains within prescribed loads. Three-year J.D. students in their first year

may not add or drop courses. Students may withdraw from a course after the scheduled change

period for cause only with the consent of both the course instructor and the Assistant Dean for

Academic Engagement & Student Success. Courses dropped after the end of the add/drop period

will be reflected as a “W” (withdrawal without penalty), “WU” (unsatisfactory withdrawal), or

“WF” (withdrawal while failing) on a student’s transcript. Grades of “WF” are counted as “F”

(failing) in computing a student’s GPA.

Under no circumstances may a student seek to withdraw from a course after the final examination.

Waitlist

The OPUS registration system supports a limited waitlist functionality. Students who are waitlisted

or are unable to register for a desired class should register for an alternative course.

Course Enrollment Caps

Course caps are set by the instructor or required by classroom size and cannot be lifted by the Law

Registrar.

Low Enrollment

There is no general rule for cancellation of courses based on low enrollment. Emory Law reserves

the right to cancel any course at its discretion.

Credit Hour Policy

The credit hours associated with a non-experiential course shall ordinarily be determined using the

following formula: one credit hour for the combination of each 50 minutes of classroom time or

direct faculty instruction and each additional two hours of out-of-class work per week, over the

course of a 14-week semester with a one-week exam period. Designated seminar courses shall be

scheduled for two hours per week of classroom time and carry three credit hours based on the

substantial weekly reading, research, and writing that they entail. Deviations from the foregoing

shall be subject to approval by the Curriculum Committee.

Credit for Non-Classroom Courses and Activities

J.D. students may take a maximum total of 18 credits in courses or approved law school activities

that do not meet in the classroom for traditional coursework. Examples of courses and activities

included under the 18-credit limit include Moot Court, Mock Trial, Journals, the non-classroom

portion of Externships, Directed Research, Directed Study, and Practicums in which students are

required to do work outside of the traditional classroom setting. They do not include approved

experiential courses that are taught in a classroom setting such as ADR, Negotiation, Doing Deals,

and Clinics.

Credit for Non-Law School Courses

Three-year J.D. students may take courses in other schools or divisions of Emory University for

up to six credit hours towards the J.D. degree with permission from the Associate Dean of

Academic Programs and Students. Transfer and A.J.D. students are not permitted to take non-law

school courses for program credit. J.D. dual-degree candidates may not take courses in other

divisions of Emory University for degree credit, nor take classes for degree credit beyond those

accrued as part of the joint-degree program. LL.M. and J.M. students may take one three-

credit class outside the law school and apply those credits toward their degree on a pass/fail basis

with permission of their program director.

Students must formally petition the Associate Dean for Academic Programs & Students for

permission to enroll in any courses not offered at the graduate level. Petitions must demonstrate a

significant nexus between the desired course and the student’s professional goals and must

demonstrate that those goals cannot be met with courses offered within the law school.

Directed Study and Directed Research

Students may register for directed study or directed research opportunities, with the approval of a

sponsoring faculty member and the Associate Dean for Academic Programs & Students or their

designee. Students may not do a Directed Study and a Directed Research course with the same

professor in the same semester. J.D. students may take a maximum of 18 credits of directed study

and/or directed research over the course of the J.D. program. Students wishing to do directed

research or directed study in excess of the 18-credit limit must petition the Associate Dean for

Academic Programs & Students or their designee. Finally, while Directed Study may be taken

either for a letter grade or on a pass/fail basis, Directed Research must be taken for a letter grade.

The expectation is that directed study and directed research should account for no more than 2

credits of a student’s course load for any given semester but may receive more credit under

extraordinary circumstances and where their work meets the criteria set forth below.

For Directed Research, the submission of 15 pages, exclusive of endnotes (i.e., 15 pages of text),

is worth one credit; the submission of 30 pages, exclusive of endnotes (i.e., 30 pages of text), is

worth two credits; the submission of 45 pages, exclusive of endnotes (i.e., 45 pages of text), is

worth three credits; and the submission of 60 pages, exclusive of endnotes (i.e., 60 pages of text),

is worth four credits.

For a Directed Study, students will work one-on-one with a faculty member on projects related to

the faculty member’s scholarly research. Students will submit periodic reports to the professor on

their research and analysis and receive specific feedback and guidance from the professor. Students

should work 50 hours over the semester if they are registered for one credit, 100 hours for two

credits, or 150 hours for three credits. To obtain approval, the student must submit a syllabus,

including learning outcomes, readings, formative assessments, and indicate how the grade will be

determined.

Supervised Research

Students may also elect to register for supervised research with the approval of a sponsoring faculty

member and the Associate Dean for Academic Programs & Students or their designee. A student

engaged in supervised research will assist a faculty member on that faculty member’s research and

receive academic credit for the time devoted to projects in furtherance of the supervising faculty’s

work. The expectation is that a student who works 15 hours a week over the course of 10 weeks

for a total of 150 hours would receive two credits, whereas, a student working a total of 75 hours

over the course of a semester would receive one credit. This does not preclude a student earning

additional credit for working more hours than set forth by the above expectations.

Pass/Fail

The option to take a course pass/fail is available only to three-year J.D. students taking a full load

of law school courses. Dual- or joint-degree, transfer, and A.J.D. students are not eligible to elect

to take courses on a pass/fail basis. Graduate students (J.M., LL.M., M.C.L., S.J.D.) are not

permitted to select the pass/fail option for any of their coursework, unless they are taking a non-

law class, as approved by their program director, or unless that is the predetermined grading

scheme for all students in a particular course.

J.D. students may elect to take a total of nine credit hours pass/fail out of the 90 total credit hours

required for graduation. A maximum of six of these nine pass/fail credit hours may be taken in law

school courses. All courses taken in other Emory University schools and colleges that are not cross

listed are automatically designated pass/fail. Law courses designated by the professor as

exclusively pass/fail, including Trial Techniques, do not count towards the total of nine allowed

pass/fail credit hours. The option to take a course pass/fail applies only to elective, upper-level

courses that indicate “student option” under the class details. Seminars, first-year required courses,

first-year electives, and courses that indicate “graded” under class details may not be taken

pass/fail.

A student who wishes to take a course pass/fail must make the selection in OPUS by the University

deadline. Students may elect to make this change in a course only once. A student who has elected

to take a course pass/fail may not subsequently change the grading status to a letter grade, so

students should ensure that their choice is final before making the selection in OPUS. No pass/fail

elections or other changes in grading status can be made after the deadline. If a student does not

affirmatively elect to take a course pass/fail, it will be assumed that the course is being taken for a

letter grade.

Further details about the process for pass/fail selection may be found on the Law Registrar’s

section of the law school website here. Faculty members do not have the option to change the

course designation of pass/fail.

Class Attendance

Class attendance is an integral part of the learning process and reflects professional responsibility.

Consistent with American Bar Association requirements, the law school requires regular

attendance in all courses. A student who attends fewer than 80% of classes in a course, whether

due to excused or unexcused absences, is presumed to have excessive absences. Excessive

absences can result, without advance notice or warning, in any of the following sanctions:

1. reduction of the student’s final grade;

2. denial of permission to complete course work, or sit for examinations; or

3. receipt of a grade of F (Failing), all at the discretion of the faculty member involved.

Students are advised that faculty members may, and often do, establish their own specific

attendance and preparation requirements, which may be stricter than this general standard. A

student who has been notified that they will receive a grade of F due to excessive absences may

petition the Associate Dean for Academic Programs & Students, prior to the end of the final exam

period, to instead receive a grade of W (Withdrawn).

Use of Recording Devices

Students may not record faculty or staff. Students may not record classes except with the express

permission of the class instructor. Classes may be recorded in accordance with disability

accommodations granted by the Office of Accessibility Services (OAS), or at the discretion of the

instructor for such reasons as religious observance, illness, or accident (or for any reason that the

instructor deems appropriate). Instructors may also choose to make class recordings available to

all students as a matter of classroom policy.

Online Behavior and Privacy

Collegiality

Students at Emory Law commit to a spirit of collegiality and respect in both residential classes and

the online environment. Students will be respectful, positive, and constructive when responding to

peers, instructors, and Emory Law staff and administrators.

Humor and Extraneous Comments

In an online environment, sarcasm or certain types of humor can be misconstrued. Students shall

strive to be aware of cultural differences among their peers and avoid humor related to

controversial subjects or that might be misinterpreted. Students should also avoid extraneous

comments that may be distracting, disruptive, or potentially offensive to others.

Prohibited Behavior

Behavior toward community members. Students shall refrain from profanity, obscene content,

threatening or abusive comments, online bullying, and cyber-stalking. Such behavior will not be

tolerated and may subject offenders to sanctions, including suspension or termination of access;

disciplinary actions in accordance with applicable university policy; civil or criminal prosecution.

See Information Technology Conditions of Use, Emory University Policy 5.1.

Class material, lectures, recordings, discussions, images, or other materials. Students will not

download, retain, publish, or post any material generated by professor or by any other student for

anything outside the immediate class. Students may not retain or post faculty materials, may not

post any portion or image of live or asynchronous classes to any medium outside those approved

for a particular class. Students shall not share classmates' academic work, including group work,

in social media or other forums without explicit permission.

Privacy

Students shall not post photos, recordings, or videos of classmates without their explicit

permission on social networks or elsewhere.

Examinations

Scheduling & Administration

A final examination schedule is published each semester at pre-registration for the next semester.

Faculty reserve the right—prior to the start of the final exam period—to remove a scheduled exam,

offer a paper option in lieu of said exam, or change a scheduled in-class exam to a take-home

exam, unless the take-home exam poses undue hardship for the students or creates an unresolvable

conflict with other scheduled exams. Faculty cannot add a final exam to the schedule once the

semester has started.

All sections of the same first-year course are examined concurrently.

Students who require testing accommodations for a disabling condition should register with the

Department of Accessibility Services (DAS) to request reasonable accommodations. Please be

mindful of DAS deadlines, posted on the DAS web page, when requesting accommodations for

midterm or final examinations. Accommodated exams may be administered at the DAS Testing

Center rather than at the law school, depending upon space and proctor availability.

Length of Time for Exams

The length of a final examination in an individual course generally corresponds to the number of

credit hours, i.e., a two-hour course normally has a two-hour final examination, a three-hour course

a three-hour final examination.

Every effort is made by the faculty member administering the examination to ensure that students,

regardless of the location chosen, are held to a uniform length of time for the examination, except

as a required accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

English as a Second Language Policy

J.D. candidates for whom English is a second language receive no additional time for final exams. For

students pursuing a J.D. degree, the use of a dictionary depends on the type of exam being

administered. For a law school exam that is designated “closed book, closed note,” the use of a

dictionary is strictly prohibited. For a law school exam that is designated “open book” or “partially

open book,” the use of a dictionary is subject to the professor’s discretion. If permitted, a dictionary

must be paper, not electronic, and may not contain any markings that are not permitted by the exam

rules. If a professor permits the use of dictionaries in some form, the same rule shall apply to every

J.D. student, as well as to other degree students, in the class that term. The fact that students in

prior terms were allowed to use dictionaries does not establish a right to dictionary use for students

in later terms. The professor should announce his or her class policy about the use of dictionaries

in the course syllabus and remind students of this policy in advance of the exam period.

S.J.D., M.C.L. and LL.M. candidates may receive 25% additional time for graded exams, including

quizzes and midterms, if English is their second language and the TOEFL or the IELTS exam score

was part of their application for admission. Students electing to receive additional time will be

tested in a separate room from the general examination. Students pursuing an S.J.D., M.C.L. or

LL.M. degree for whom English is not their first language (those who utilized a TOEFL/IELTS

score as part of their application for admission) are entitled to use a bilingual translation dictionary

on all law school exams, even those that are otherwise considered “closed book, closed note”

exams. Any such dictionary must be paper, not electronic, and must not be a law or legal dictionary.

A student may not, under any circumstances, use the pages or cover of this dictionary to take notes

or to bring extra material not normally allowed into the exam room. The professor or exam proctor

may review the dictionary in advance of the exam to ensure that it does not contain any extraneous

markings (e.g., markings that were not part of the original publication). Any dictionary found to be

in violation of this policy will be confiscated immediately; the professor may also elect to impose a

penalty for this violation of exam rules (e.g., impose a grade penalty and/or initiate a Professional

Conduct Code procedure).

Use of Laptop Computers

Students may use their laptop computers to take examinations only with the consent of the faculty

member and after the successful installation of the Registrar-designated examination software

prior to the examination period. Arrangements are made by the Registrar of the law school for the

printing of exam responses and their distribution to individual faculty members unless faculty have

made alternative arrangements.

Deferral of Examinations and Exam Conflicts Policy

It is faculty policy that examinations be taken on the day and at the time scheduled unless the

student is excused by accident, illness, involuntarily assumed obligations, pursuant to the ADA, or

as designated by the Registrar of the law school. A student who is ill on the day of the examination

must contact the Associate Dean for Academic Programs & Students or their designee before the

exam and must present medical certification of the excuse to the Associate Dean for Academic

Programs & Students or their designee. It is within the discretion of the Associate Dean for

Academic Programs & Students or their designee to accept or reject the excuse offered.

Exam Conflicts: If a student has two examinations scheduled at the same time or within a 24-hour

period, i.e., at 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. on the same day or at 2:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. the next day,

a conflict is deemed to exist. Prior to exams, the Registrar’s office will conduct a conflict check,

notify any student who has an exam conflict under this policy via email, and offer an alternative

plan that resolves the conflict. The Registrar’s offered conflict plan cannot be altered or appealed,

but the student may choose to take all exams as originally scheduled, unless there is a direct

conflict, rather than accepting the Registrar’s conflicts plan. If the student chooses to reject the

conflict plan and take their exams as originally scheduled despite the conflict, the student must

notify the Registrar within 24 hours of receiving their conflict resolutions.

Any student who fails to appear for an examination without an excuse obtained in advance receives

an automatic grade of “F.”

Once a student has started an exam, they must complete the exam or forfeit the right to finish.

Students who become ill during examinations or who miss a part of an examination for some other

reason are dealt with by the Associate Dean for Academic Programs & Students or their designee

and the faculty instructor.

The Emory Law Registrar’s office administers off-schedule exams given under this section.

Retention of Exams

ABA standards require retention of student exams for a minimum of one year. Most faculty

members as a matter of practice retain exams for two years or until the students involved have

graduated.

Grading

Anonymously Graded Exams

Standard scheduled exams are graded anonymously. Each semester, students are randomly

assigned examination numbers to be used as identification for examinations. Identification of

examinations by name, student identification number, or social security number is specifically

prohibited.

When exams are graded anonymously, faculty members submit a list of grades by examination

number to the Registrar of the law school for identification of students, and a copy is retained.

Thereafter, faculty members enter grades into the University registration system (OPUS). Grades

are not changed after identification of the students except in accordance with the mandatory mean

and an announced policy by the faculty member to adjust grades to reflect class participation and/or

attendance. Grades cannot be changed after entry unless adjusted for proven mathematical or

administrative error.

Openly Graded Exams

In some classes, faculty do not grade anonymously either because of the size or the nature of the

exam or cumulative project. When named exam projects are graded, faculty must enter grades into

the University registration system (OPUS) prior to announcing those grades to students. Grades

cannot be changed after entry unless adjusted for proven mathematical or administrative error.

Grading Scale

Faculty members use a letter grading system, ranging from “F” to “A+.” The following table

reflects the numerical equivalent of the letter grades:

Letter

Quality Points

Letter

Quality Points

A+

4.3

D+

1.3

4.0

1.0

A-

3.7

D-

0.7

B+

3.3

0.0

3.0

0.0

B-

2.7

0.0

C+

2.3

2.0

C-

1.7

A student must receive a grade of “D-” or above to receive credit for the course. A grade of “F,”

“IF,” or “WF” is a failing grade with no credit for the course.

Grades of “S” (satisfactory) that are assigned for courses graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory

basis carry academic credit but no quality points toward students’ grade point average. Grades of

“U” (unsatisfactory), “IU” (unsatisfactory incomplete), or “WU” (withdrawal while

unsatisfactory) carry no academic credit and no quality points.

With respect to S.J.D., M.C.L., and LL.M. degree candidates who are enrolled in courses along

with J.D. candidates, grades for J.D. degree candidates are curved to the mandatory 3.3 mean,

without the grades of these other degree candidates being considered. After that J.D.-only curve

is established, then the grades for these other degree candidates are assigned using the J.D.-only

curve.

J.M. degree candidates have (1) different learning objectives, (2) should not be evaluated on the

same basis as J.D. degree candidates, and (3) should be graded with rubrics that are unique to J.M.

degree candidates, using a unique curve. These different learning objectives must apply equally to

all residential and on-line J.M. degree candidates, and all law school offerings in which J.M. degree

candidates are enrolled must be evaluated to establish whether these differences properly are

reflected in their learning objectives, evaluations, and grading.

Mandatory Mean

A class mean of “B+” (3.30) is mandatory in every non-seminar class in which more than 10

Emory J.D. students are taking the class for a grade and no portion of a student’s grade is group-

based. A mean of 3.30 is recommended in all other classes.

Failed Courses

A student earning a grade of “F” in any course has received a failing grade. A student failing a

required course must retake that course. Failing grades will be computed into a student’s overall

average and additional courses must be taken to earn the required hours. Failing grades may not

be expunged, even if the course is repeated.

Failing a required course that is a prerequisite for other courses will not absolutely prevent students

from taking another course in sequence. However, permission from the Associate Dean for

Academic Programs & Students or their designee is required for the student to take the sequential

course.

Incompletes

A student receiving a grade of “I” (Incomplete) in any course in which the grade is determined by

an examination, course work, or project work must complete the course requirements within

twelve months; after twelve months, the incomplete will be automatically converted to an “F.”

No student will be certified for graduation nor receive a diploma if incompletes remain on their

record. It is the student’s obligation to clear their record.

Reporting of Grades and Release to Students

Posting of grades outside of the University registration system (OPUS) by the faculty is

specifically prohibited. Students can check grades online as they are posted. Final course grades

may not be communicated via email or telephone. Graduating students may be informed by the

Registrar’s office that they have passed or failed individual courses if such information is relevant

to graduation.

Final course grades are entered into OPUS by the faculty in accordance with a timetable

established each semester by the University Registrar.

Class Rank

Class rank is computed for all J.D. students on the basis of work done at Emory Law alone. LL.M.,

J.M., M.C.L., and S.J.D. students do not receive a class rank. Transfer students and A.J.D. students

are inserted in the class ranks for the second-year class after one semester of work at Emory. Class

rank is calculated for dual-degree students at different times depending on their status at the law

school. Dual-degree students are assigned a class rank during their first year of study at the law

school and are recalculated into class rank in any semester in which they are in residency at the

law school with a minimum of 6 graded law credits. Students are not calculated into class rank

during semesters in which they are in residency at another school or program, regardless of how

many law school courses they take during that time. Final class rank is calculated at the conclusion

of a student’s J.D. course of study, regardless of the residency of that final semester.

Each semester, class ranks are compiled by the Registrar of the law school. Exact numerical ranks

are only made available for students in the top 10% of each class. The Registrar of the law school

will report only the class ranks of students in the top 33%. Individual class ranks are not posted.

Students, therefore, receive their individual class ranks through the Office of the Registrar of the

law school.

When reporting class ranks or grades on resumes, students must strictly comply with the policies

of the Center for Professional Development and Career Strategy. Students who violate Emory Law

or University policies with regard to reporting of grades or class rank will be subject to sanction

under the Professional Conduct Code.

Academic Honors

J.D. Awards in Individual Courses

Certificates signed by the Dean are awarded to the student(s) who receives the highest grade in

each individual course. Duplicate awards may be made for the highest grades in sections of an

individual course.

J.D. Dean’s List

A full-time candidate for the J.D. degree who has attained a semester average of 3.45 or above on

at least 10 hours of law school course work shall be placed upon the Dean’s List for that semester.

Dual- or joint-degree candidates who are jointly registered in the law school and another division

of Emory University must have a minimum of five graded law school credit hours to be eligible

for the Dean’s List (assuming that they are carrying a course load of 10 or more credits overall that

semester).

J.D. First Honor Graduate

The First Honor Graduate is the three-year J.D. student in the graduating class with the highest

overall academic grade point average computed on all three years of graded law schoolwork done

at Emory (summer school attendance excluded). That student serves as student marshal at

commencement.

In the event that two or more students in the graduating class have averages too close to be certain

of their exact rank after the final semester, the student with the highest average after five semesters

may be named as Student Marshal, but the First Honor Graduate award may not be made until all

grades are received for the sixth semester and final ranks are established.

Transfer students, A.J.D. students, students who are or have been transient at another ABA school,

and students who have not completed the J.D. requirements in six consecutive semesters are not

eligible to be named the First Honor Graduate.

J.D. Graduation with Distinction

All J.D. students graduating with cumulative averages of 3.80 or above graduate with high honors.

All J.D. students graduating with a 3.45 or above graduate with honors. Transfer students and

A.J.D. students can graduate with high honors or honors if their averages on work at Emory meet

the above requirements. Emory students, transient elsewhere, are eligible for graduation with high

honors or honors if their cumulative grade point average for work done at Emory meets the above

requirements and their average grade for work done while on transient status was at least a “B” or

an equivalent numerical grade.

J.D. Order of the Coif

Election to the Order of the Coif is reserved for JD students who have graduated in the top 10% of

their class and who are elected to the Order by the Emory chapter, which consists exclusively of

full-time Emory Law faculty members.

• Students are eligible for election only if they have completed 75% of their coursework for the

Juris Doctor degree in graded courses. “Graded coursework” includes courses taken for a grade

at Emory or taken for a grade at another ABA-accredited law school and reported as a pass on

the Emory transcript, for which the credit was used to satisfy the Emory Juris Doctor degree

requirements. It does not include courses taken pass/fail at Emory or elsewhere, and it does not

include courses taken at non-ABA-accredited law schools. This requirement is waived for the

J.D. class of 2022.

• Students who come to Emory as transfer students, or who visit elsewhere as Emory students,

are subject to the same eligibility rules as Emory students who begin their law school careers

at Emory.

Order of the Coif is an honor society, and each new member must be truly worthy of the honor.

For that reason, it is within the discretion of the chapter to refuse membership to a student in the

top 10% of the graduating class whom the chapter determines is unfit for membership, based on

the chapter’s assessment of his or her character and behavior while at Emory. The determination

of unfitness may include, but is not limited to, consideration of whether there were Professional

Conduct Court proceedings brought by faculty, students, or staff against the student resulting in a

finding of responsibility or admission of guilt (adjudicated or negotiated resolution), or whether a

summary sanction was issued against the student for a Conduct Code issue.

J.M. Leadership Award

Each year, the J.M. program selects a J.M. Leadership Award recipient based on academic merit

and contribution to the Emory Law community.

LL.M. Leadership Award

Each year, the LL.M. program selects an LL.M. Leadership Award recipient based on academic

merit and contribution to the Emory Law community.

Law School Awards

Each year, a number of awards are made to outstanding students for their academic achievement,

Moot Court achievement, and/or contribution to the law school community. Some of these awards

are made on the basis of grades earned in individual courses or areas of concentration; others are

service awards.

Nominations are usually made by an ad hoc committee of the faculty and then submitted to the

faculty as a whole for ratification. Faculty members teaching in the area of the awards are consulted

before nominations are made. The Associate Dean for Academic Programs & Students or their

designee convenes the faculty committee that selects award candidates.

Law student organizations may be recognized for their contributions to the community at an annual

award ceremony sponsored by the Student Bar Association in coordination with the Division of

Campus Life.

University Awards

Students are named annually to “Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities” by the

Dean’s office in coordination with the faculty. Recipients are honored at a special ceremony

sponsored by the Division of Campus Life.

Individual law students may be nominated to receive the Brittain Award. This award is given to

the one graduating student in all the divisions of the University who has made the most outstanding

contribution to the University community. Selection is by a committee composed of

representatives from all the divisions of the University. The recipient is honored at the main

University graduation ceremony.

PART 3: CURRICULAR OPPORTUNITIES

Non-Transcripted Certificate Programs

Technological Innovation: Generating Economic Results (TI:GER) Program Certificate in

Intellectual Property

TI:GER is a joint program with Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology. The

program brings together graduate students in law, business, science, and engineering to work on

innovative ways to take ideas from the lab to the marketplace. Students work in multidisciplinary

teams to evaluate the commercial prospects for certain university technology and to develop

strategies for their exploitation, including writing and presenting business plans for the projects.

Admission Requirements

The TI:GER program is open to any student pursuing a juris doctor degree, including AJD and

transfer students. Participants are selected by the Emory Law TI:GER Program Director. The

program typically admits 12 to 16 students each year.

Required Courses

Students are required to complete two courses: Fundamentals of Innovation (I & II) to receive the

TI:GER certificate.

Law students may choose either the technology/business law track or the patent law track.

Depending on the track, students may take additional classes such as Business Associations,

Securities Regulation, Intellectual Property, Trademark, and Copyright and Patent Law).

Transactional Law and Skills Certificate

The Center for Transactional Law and Practice, which offers a Certificate in Transactional Law

and Skills, prepares students for practice in the transactional law area. The program gives students

the opportunity to become financially literate and acquire a strong foundation in doctrinal business

law as well as to practice contract drafting and other critical deal skills.

Admission Requirements

Any J.D. student who completes the course requirements is eligible to receive the Certificate in

Transactional Law and Skills. No prior clearance is required for admission, though meeting with

the Executive Director or Assistant Director upon enrollment is required.

Required Courses

In order to receive the Certificate in Transactional Law and Skills, students must complete the

following courses:

• Business Associations

• Contract Drafting

• Deal Skills

• Federal Income Tax: Individuals (or Fundamentals of Income Taxation)

• Corporate Finance (or Real Estate Finance)

• Accounting in Action (or Analytical Methods)

• Federal Income Tax: Corporations (or Federal Income Tax: Partnerships)

There are 4 concentrations available to J.D. students: Health Law; Civil Litigation and Dispute

Resolution; Criminal Law; and Law and Religion. The Health Law and Law and Religion

concentrations require an application, but all students can complete the litigation concentrations.

Even if you do not complete a concentration, the required and recommended courses can help you

prepare for a career in these fields.

Concentrations

There are 4 concentrations available to J.D. students: Health Law; Civil Litigation and Dispute

Resolution; Criminal Law; and Law and Religion. The Health Law and Law and Religion

concentrations require an application, but all students can complete the litigation concentrations. Even

if you do not complete a concentration, the required and recommended courses can help you prepare

for a career in these fields.

Concentration in Health Law

Eligibility

A concentration in health law is available for J.D. students only. To earn the concentration in health

law, students must (1) first be accepted into the health law program through a competitive process,

(2) complete a minimum of 12 credits in the required and elective health law offerings listed below,

(3) complete an additional 2-3 credits m the capstone experience requirement.

Required Courses (6 credits)

• Administrative Law

• 1 of Health Law or Health Care Organization, Finance, and Administration

Elective Courses (6 additional credits)

• Health Law

• Health Care Organization, Finance, and Administration

• Law in Public Health

• Insurance Law

• Global Public Health Law

• Mental Health Law

• Veterans Benefits

• Food & Drug Law

• Health Law Research

• Fundaments of Public Health Law (RSPH)

• Seminar: Public Health

• Seminar: Disability Law

• Seminar: Genetics, Ethics, and the Law

• Seminar: Health Law & Ethics in Narrative Seminar: Patents and Global Health

• Seminar: Access to Essential Medicines

• Other health law courses approved by Faculty Advisors

In addition, one of the following courses can also count toward the elective requirement:

• Advanced Torts

• Employment Law

• Family Law

• Intellectual Property

• Patent Law

• Products Liability

• Antitrust

• Business Associations

• Environmental Law

Capstone Experience requirement (2-3 additional credits)

To fulfill the capstone experience requirement, students must either complete an upper-level writing

project in health law or an experiential offering in health law.

The writing project could be completed as a student's journal comment, in a seminar, or through

directed research. A seminar paper in the following courses would automatically satisfy this

requirement: Seminar: Public Health; Seminar: Disability Law; Seminar: Genetics, Ethics, and the

Law; Seminar: Health Law & Ethics in Narrative; Seminar: Patents and Global Health; or Seminar:

Access to Essential Medicines. If the writing project is completed through a different seminar, a journal

comment, or through directed research, the faculty advisors must approve the writing project topic in

advance to ensure that it is a rigorous analysis of a health law issue.

The experiential offering could include either a health law externship or an approved health law related

clinic experience. The following externships would automatically satisfy this requirement: the CDC-

Public Health Law Program; the CDC-Legal Counsel Department; the American Cancer Society;

Children's Healthcare of Atlanta; U.S. Department of Health & Human Services; Health Law

Partnership; or Feminist Women's Health Center. Alternatively, if a student seeks to fulfill this

requirement through another externship or health law related clinic experience, the faculty advisors

must approve the experience in advance to ensure that it gives students a significant opportunity to

engage hands on with one or more health law issues.

Faculty Advisors

The advisory role for the health law concentration will rotate among our health law faculty and will be

part of their annual service obligations.

Selection for the Program

Emory Law students will generally apply for concentration during the spring semester of their first

year or their second year. In addition, the advisors may consider awarding the concentration to other

students that have met the requirements on a case-by-case basis. The competitive process includes

submitting a statement of interest, a resume, academic records, and any other relevant experience. The

faculty advisors review the applications using a rigorous selection process. Selection to the program

will be based on demonstrated interest, experience, and proficiency in the area of health law. Up to 18

students from each class will be selected to participate. Students who successfully complete the

concentration requirements will have "Health Law Concentration" listed on their transcript.

Concentration in Civil Litigation and Dispute Resolution

Eligibility: All Emory Law students must successfully complete the following courses that cover

important concepts and skills in civil litigation and dispute resolution: Civil Procedure, Evidence, Legal

Profession, and Trial Techniques. To earn the Civil Litigation and Dispute Resolution Concentration,

students must take an additional 11-15 credits in the following categories. No one course may satisfy

more than one requirement, and students cannot satisfy any requirement with a course taken pass/fail.

Two of the following foundational courses (6 credits):

• Complex Litigation

• Federal Courts

• Administrative Law

• Conflict of Laws

• Remedies

Two of the following litigation advocacy courses (4-6 credits):

• Advanced Civil Trial Practice

• Trial Practice Advocacy

• Pretrial Litigation

• Advanced Pretrial Litigation

• Negotiations

• Expert Witness Examination

• Cross-Examination

• Civil Trial Practice: Family Law

• Deposition Practice (future class)

One of the following alternative dispute resolution courses (2-3 credits):

• Alternative Dispute Resolution

• Mediation Advocacy

• Arbitration Law: Survey

• International Commercial Arbitration

• Negotiations

• Landlord-Tenant Mediation Practicum

• Advanced International Negotiations

Other Recommended Organizations and Courses in Specialized Areas:

• Mock Trial

• Moot Court

• Transnational Civil Litigation

• Antitrust

• Products Liability

• Family Law

• Securities Regulation

• Employment Law

• Employment Discrimination

• Constitutional Litigation

Faculty Advisors:

The advisory role for the concentration will rotate among our civil litigation faculty and will be part of

their annual service obligations.

Completion of Concentration Requirements:

The concentration webpage will include a link to a form where students can indicate the courses,

they've completed that fulfill the concentration requirements. The courses listed by the students will be

audited to ensure that students have completed the concentration requirements. Students who

successfully complete the concentration requirements will have "Civil Litigation and Dispute

Resolution Concentration" listed on their transcript.

Concentration in Criminal Litigation

Eligibility for Concentration: All Emory Law students must successfully complete the following

courses that cover important concepts and skills in criminal litigation: Criminal Law, Evidence, and

Trial Techniques. To earn the Criminal Litigation Concentration, students must take an additional 12-

18 credits that include Criminal Procedure: Investigations and one of each course in the following

categories. No one course may satisfy more than one requirement, and students cannot satisfy any

requirement with a course taken pass/fail.

Required Courses (3 credits):

Criminal Procedure: Investigations

One of the following substantive courses (2-3 credits):

• Criminal Procedure: Adjudication

• Kids in Conflict with the Law

• White Collar Crime

• International Criminal Law

• Rights of Prisoners

• Criminal Procedure: Sentencing

Sentencing Law and Policy (cannot also be used for a justice-focused course)

One of the following skills courses (2-3 credits):

• Criminal Competency practicum

• Criminal Pre-Trial Motions Workshop

• Cross Examination

• Trial Practice Advocacy

• Expert Witness Examination

• Negotiations

• Advanced Criminal Trial Advocacy

• Federal Criminal Practice

• DUI Trials

Jury Selection

Post-Conviction and Appeals Writing

One of the following justice-focused courses (2-3 credits):

• Ethics of Criminal Justice Practice

• Access to Justice

• Mental Health Issues in Criminal Justice

• Wealth-Based Justice

• Miscarriages of Justice

• Crimmigration

Sentencing Law and Policy (cannot also be used for a substantive course)

One Capstone Experience requirement (3-6 credits):

To fulfill the capstone experience requirement, students take one of the following:

• Juvenile Defender Clinic

• Capital Defender practicum

• Any externship with a prosecution or criminal defense office or firm, in which the student is

working on or assisting with litigation matters in the pretrial, trial, appellate, or post

conviction/habeas stage, including City of Atlanta Office of the Public Defender, Immigration

Defense Unit; Cobb County District Attorney's Office; DeKalb County District Attorney's

Office; DeKalb County Public Defender's Office; Douglas County District Attorney's Office;

Federal Defender Program Northern District of Georgia; Georgia Innocence Project; Georgia

Justice Project; Georgia Public Defender Council - Appellate Division; Southern Center for

Human Rights; or U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Georgia. Note: the student must

also complete the companion prosecution or criminal defense externship course.

If a student seeks to fulfill the capstone requirement through another externship or capstone experience,

the faculty advisor must approve the experience in advance to ensure that it gives students an

opportunity to engage hands on with a criminal practice issue. Judicial externships, criminal justice

policy work, volunteer work, and paid work do not meet this requirement.

Other Recommended Courses in Specialized Areas:

• Legal Issues in Domestic Violence

• Human Sex Trafficking

• Advanced Issues in White Collar

• Courtroom Persuasion and Drama

• Transnational Criminal Litigation

• Criminal Defenses

• Forensic Science

• Law and the Unconscious Mind

Faculty Advisors: The advisory role for the criminal litigation concentration will rotate among our

criminal law faculty and will be part of their annual service obligations.

Completion of Concentration Requirements: The concentration webpage will include a link to a form

where students can indicate the courses and capstone experience, they've completed that fulfill the

concentration requirements. The courses and externships listed by the students will be audited to ensure

that students have completed the course requirements. Students who successfully complete the

concentration requirements will have "Criminal Litigation Concentration" listed on their transcript.

Concentration in Law and Religion

Description: The law and religion concentration contains two possible tracks: (1) a practice track and

(2) an academic track. The practice track emphasizes the skills and knowledge relevant to practicing

law with a specialization in law and religion. The practice track prepares students to litigate cases that

involve religious freedom questions, to represent and advise religious organizations, to practice

religious arbitration or within religious legal systems, and to work in legal advocacy with or on behalf

of religious communities. The academic track emphasizes the skills of academic research and writing.

The academic track prepares students for teaching and scholarship in the legal academy and for PhD

or SID study in the areas of law, religion, theology, or associated fields.

Eligibility for the Concentration: To earn the Law and Religion Concentration, students must (1) be

accepted into the Law and Religion Concentration and (2) complete 11 to 15 credits in law and religion,

including the two required courses, one religious legal systems course, one law and religion elective,

and a capstone experience. A thesis option, in addition to the capstone, is also available and encouraged

for students pursuing the academic track. No one course may satisfy more than one requirement, and

students cannot satisfy any requirement with a course taken pass/fail.

Two Required Courses (6 credits)

• Law and Religion: Theories, Methods & Approaches

• First Amendment: Religious Freedom

One of the following courses in religious legal systems (2-3 credits)

• Canon Law

• Christianity and Law

• Indigenous Legal Systems

• Islamic Law

• Jewish Law

One of the following law and religion electives (2-3 credits)

• Canon Law

• History of Church-State Relations

• Indigenous Law

• Islamic Finance

• Islamic Law

• Jewish Law

• Religion, Culture, and Law in Comparative Perspective

• Religious Organizations Law

• A seminar in law and religion

• A course from another division approved by the concentration advisor

One of the following capstone experiences (1-3 credits)

• The student completes a law and religion seminar, which will be offered each spring.

• The student completes a relevant externship experience, either from a list of pre-approved

externships to be created in consultation with the externship office or an externship experience

approved by the concentration advisor.

• The student completes a relevant internship (without receiving credit) approved by the faculty

advisor and the student completes a one credit, ungraded directed study with a faculty member

in which the student writes 10-15 pages of substantive analysis on an issue they encountered

during the internship. The analysis may take the form of a legal memo, research paper, or other

form as determined by the supervising faculty member.

Thesis (optional)

Students pursuing the academic track are encouraged to write an original thesis on a subject of their

interest under the supervision of a faculty member for 3 hours of graded directed research credit. The

thesis should be written in the final year of coursework.

Other Recommended Courses

• Alternative Dispute Resolution

• Arbitration

• Asylum Law

• Comparative Constitutional Law

• Constitutional Litigation

• Employment Law

• Family Law

• Federal Indian Law

• Human Rights Advocacy

• International Human Rights Law

• Jurisprudence

• Land Use and Zoning

• Nonprofit Law

• Roman Law

Faculty Advisors: The advisory role for the concentration will rotate among the Emory Law faculty

and residential fellows affiliated with the Center for the Study of Law and Religion. The Executive

Director of the Center may also serve as or appoint a Center staff person to serve as concentration

advisor. Concentration advising will be part of the annual service obligations of faculty or otherwise

recognized within the job duties of the advisor.

Selection for the Concentration: Emory Law students will apply for concentration during the spring

semester of their first year or fall of their second year. The application process includes submitting a

statement of interest, a resume or CV, and an unofficial transcript. The faculty advisor(s) review the

applications and selection to the program will be based on demonstrated interest, experience, and

proficiency in the area of law and religion. Students who successfully complete the concentration

requirements will have "Law and Religion Concentration" listed on their transcript.

Journals

Insofar as the law journals consider grades in making selections of candidates, grades earned in

elective courses will be excluded from consideration.

Members of the Emory Law Journal, the Emory International Law Review, the Emory Bankruptcy

Developments Journal, and the Journal of Law and Religion may earn up to four semester hours

of academic credit for two academic years of participation in these journals.

Candidates receive two hours of graded credit in their fourth semester (their second semester of

journal work), and satisfy the writing requirement, by completing their journal comment under

faculty supervision.

Members may receive an additional two hours of pass/fail, non-residence academic credit,

awarded in their sixth semester, upon satisfactory completion of all duties as a member or officer

of the editorial board for two academic years.

Members of the Emory Corporate Governance and Accountability Review may receive two hours

of pass/fail, non-residence academic credit for four semesters of participation, awarded in their

sixth semester, upon satisfactory completion of all duties as a member or officer of the editorial

board.

Journal comment grades received during the fourth semester (the second semester of journal work)

are entered into OPUS by the student’s faculty advisor. Each journal’s editor-in-chief is

responsible for certifying that journal board members have satisfactorily completed their journal

duties so as to receive appropriate credit for their four semesters of ungraded journal work.

Journal editors may promulgate guidelines and policies governing candidacy requirements. As a

matter of current practice, candidates for the Emory Bankruptcy Developments Journal are

required to take Bankruptcy Law in their third semester, and candidates for the Emory

International Law Review must take International Law. Candidates enrolled in these courses to

satisfy journal requirements may not elect to take them pass/fail.

Students transferring to Emory at the end of their first year are eligible to compete for selection by

means of a special writing competition organized for transfer students.

Interschool Competitions

Other students and student organizations may not use the Emory name in connection with a

publication or interschool competition team without the consent of the Dean's office. The law

school maintains an active interest in any function held on or off campus in which the name of

Emory University School of Law is used.

Moot Court Society

The Moot Court Society is comprised of second- and third-year students interested in pursuing

excellence in oral and written advocacy through interschool competitions. Activities of the society

are administered by a student board of directors elected by the membership, which may promulgate

guidelines governing membership. To be eligible to join the Moot Court Society, students must

have successfully completed both semesters of ILA/ILARC or their equivalent. Therefore, some

transfer students may not be eligible.

Students who successfully complete the fall program and compete in the spring tournament or

serve on a “special team” may receive two hours of pass/fail, non-residence Moot Court credit in

the spring semester. The Moot Court Board, in conjunction with the Moot Court Adviser, certifies

those candidates whose work meets the standard set forth by the society to be eligible to register

for two hours of non-residence, pass/fail Moot Court credit in the spring semester. Students cannot

receive partial credit for completing only one semester of this sequential fall-spring program. The

top forty students who satisfactorily complete the year-long candidacy program will be certified

as members of the Moot Court Society and may receive an additional two hours of pass/fail, non-

residence Moot Court credit in the following spring semester.

Participants on the Thomas Tang and Frederick Douglass Moot Court teams will receive one hour

of non-residence, pass/fail credit in the spring semester for their participation in those programs.

The academic credit must be approved by the Moot Court Adviser. These students may receive an

additional hour of pass/fail credit the following spring semester.

Mock Trial Society

The Mock Trial Society consists of second- and third-year students interested in encouraging

excellence in oral advocacy through interschool competitions. Activities of the society are

administered by a student board of directors elected by the membership, which may promulgate

guidelines governing membership, and the Mock Trial Advisor.

The Mock Trial Adviser will certify those candidates whose work meets the standard set forth by

the Mock Trial Society to be eligible to register for two hours of non-residence, pass/fail Mock

Trial credit in the spring semester. Students who serve as a member or coach of a fall and spring

interschool competition team may receive two hours of pass/fail, non-residence Mock Trial credit

in the spring semester of their 2L and 3L years. Students cannot receive partial credit for

completing only one semester of this sequential fall-spring program.

As Mock Trial participation by its very nature does not lend itself to production of substantial

written work, Mock Trial credit cannot be used by students to satisfy the writing requirement.

Other students and student organizations may not use the Emory name in connection with an

interschool mock trial competition team without the consent of the Dean's office.

Transactional Law Program Negotiation Team

Students selected to participate on the Transactional Law Program Negotiation Team receive one

credit hour of pass/fail credit for the semester in which they participate. Eligibility for team

membership and for receipt of credit are determined by the faculty advisor(s) for the team.

Skills Programs

General

Emory has a wide range of skills offerings, including simulation courses, clinics, and externships.

The skills program is under the overall supervision of the faculty skills and experiential learning

committee. The externship program is monitored and supervised by the Director of Externships.

The general eligibility of students to enroll in externships is determined by the Skills/Experiential

Learning Committee. Some externships are restricted to rising third-year students in accordance

with the third-year practice rules of the Supreme Court of Georgia or of the U.S. District Court for

the Northern District of Georgia. For those placements, students must be certified by the Dean as

being in good standing, of good moral character, and as having completed at least two-thirds of

their law schoolwork. Individual programs may have other prerequisites.

Credit-Bearing Clinics

Students enrolled in the following faculty-supervised clinics receive graded academic credit. The

number of credits earned and hours worked may vary from year to year and among the clinics.

Students should consult the individual clinic web pages and course offerings for details. All clinics

are open to second- and third-year law students; 2Ls enrolling in the Juvenile Defender Clinic must

be eligible to practice under the Student Practice Rule.

• Barton Child Law and Policy Center Clinics

The Barton Child Law and Policy Center offers four in-house clinical experiences: the multi-

disciplinary Public Policy Clinic (offered in the fall semester); the multidisciplinary Legislative

Clinic (offered in the spring semester); the Juvenile Defender Clinic (JDC); and the Appeal for

Youth (AFY) Clinic. All of the Barton Center clinics work to promote and protect the legal

rights and interests of children involved with the child welfare, juvenile justice, and criminal

justice systems.

• Public Policy Clinic

The Public Policy Clinic engages students in the process of policy development, from

conceptualization to the drafting of concrete proposals for reform. Working in teams, students

begin by identifying and researching real life problems relating to children and youth. Research

is qualitative and quantitative, involving both the examination of scientific or statistical data

and interaction with affected and interested stakeholders. Student teams explore options for

addressing complex social problems—for example, through administrative policy changes,

public education, legislation, litigation, or a combination of strategies -- and produce blueprints

to guide system change and improvement efforts. Students also participate in ongoing

initiatives in the Georgia child advocacy community and in building and sustaining

partnerships with state agencies and with public interest organizations.

• Legislative Advocacy Clinic

The Legislative Advocacy Clinic engages students in the real-world process of taking a reform

from the proposal stage to actual enactment. Students hone their advocacy skills by interacting

with legislators and elected officials on current law reforms spearheaded by the Barton Center

and its community partners. They attend legislative sessions and present evidence-based

testimony in support of statutory changes and policy reforms. They live the life of a legislative

advocate, experiencing first-hand the realities of relationship-building and compromise that

are hallmarks of the legislative process. Students also provide technical assistance to legislators

and other stakeholders in assessing the merits and legality of various proposals.

• Juvenile Defender Clinic (JDC)

The Juvenile Defender Clinic (JDC) provides holistic legal representation for children in

delinquency and status offense proceedings. Student attorneys represent youth clients in

juvenile court and provide legal advocacy in areas derivative of a client’s juvenile court case.

By allowing students to work directly with clients and take responsibility for the caseload, the

JDC aspires to help students understand the impact of the legal system on a community.

Students will establish attorney-client relationships with the youth and learn to be responsible

for all aspects of the client representation. Specific goals include:

• To train law students to become skilled, ethical, and reform-minded professionals

• To provide highly effective representation to the clinic’s clients

• To teach law students how to think independently, synthesize facts and legal principles,

and plan litigation strategies

• To improve an adolescent’s chance of becoming a productive citizen

• To develop a law student’s ability to analyze the substantive law and apply it to the practical

courtroom experience

• To help law students understand the impact of the legal system on a community.

• Appeal for Youth (AFY) Clinic

The Appeal for Youth (AFY) Clinic provides holistic appellate representation for youthful

offenders in the juvenile and criminal justice systems. The goal of the AFY Clinic is to

dismantle the “school-to-prison” pipeline through skillful and strategic litigation. By

increasing the number of appeals from adjudications of delinquency and by providing post-

conviction representation for youth who were tried and convicted as adults, the AFY clinic

seeks to end the unwritten policies and practices that result in youth being committed to

juvenile detention facilities and to decrease the number of youthful offenders who languish in

Georgia’s prisons.

• International Humanitarian Law Clinic

The International Humanitarian Law Clinic works directly with international tribunals,

militaries, non-government organizations, and other entities to enhance protections during

wartime and ensure accountability for war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity.

Students work directly with attorneys at one or more organizations and, under the supervision of

the clinic director, engage in a wide range of complex and sophisticated legal writing and

analysis on challenging issues across the spectrum of the law of armed conflict..The

International Humanitarian Law Clinic is open to second- and third-year law students. Students

receive three credit hours and must work a minimum of 150 hours on their assigned clinic

projects. Students may enroll in the IHL Clinic for two semesters.

• Turner Environmental Law Clinic

The Turner Environmental Law Clinic provides important pro bono legal representation to

individuals, community groups, and nonprofit organizations that seek to protect and restore

the natural environment for the benefit of the public. Through its work, the clinic offers

students an intense, hands-on introduction to environmental law and trains the next

generation of environmental attorneys.

The Clinic enrolls up to ten second-year and third-year students each semester. Student-

attorneys work a minimum of 150 hours in the Clinic and receive three credit hours towards

graduation. Students may work in the Clinic for two semesters.

Credit for Clinical Programs Not Undertaken at Emory

Students wishing to receive credit for clinical experiences and programs taken other than through

an Emory-sponsored program must petition the Skills/Experiential Learning Committee in writing.

Credit is never granted for clinical experiences not sponsored by ABA-accredited law schools. The

amount of Emory credit afforded is usually three hours for engagements comparable to the hours

required in the Emory Law clinical program, regardless of the amount of credit afforded to the

program by another school. Credit is never granted when the student received monetary

compensation for the clinical experience. Conditions on the grant of credit are established by the

Skills/Experiential Learning Committee and may be waived only by that committee.

Externships

Students enrolled in externships will ordinarily receive three hours of credit (including both

academic and fieldwork components). For students who have completed their second year of law

school study, select externship placements may be eligible for up to six credit hours (including

both academic and fieldwork components), subject to the placement’s demonstration that

additional fieldwork will provide students with a distinct and significantly enhanced educational

experience. The Director of Externships may also place additional restrictions on the eligibility of

students for such an externship. Any graded credits authorized for externships shall be limited to

the academic component.

Students who have completed their second year may petition to receive academic credit for a

summer externship for three to six total credit hours, depending on the number of work hours

proposed. To do so, students must first locate and apply to the placement and secure an offer of

employment for the summer. Students may then submit a proposal to the Director of Externships

to accept that placement as a for-credit externship. Externships will be approved based on the

individual proposal and will not, in any case, be approved retroactively. As with school-year

externships, students will be required to complete a concurrent academic component, which will

make up part of the total credit hours for the externship. However, as an alternative to the standard

one-credit externship academic component (which may be offered in tutorial format during the

summer), students may instead opt to write a paper under the supervision of a faculty member on

a topic closely related to their externship fieldwork. Depending on length, any such paper will be

eligible for one or two hours of graded credit out of the total credit hours the student has elected.

As part of the process for approving the externship, the topic of the proposed paper must be

approved in writing by the supervising faculty member, the attorney supervisor at the placement,

and the Director of Externships. To the extent the paper will also be used to satisfy the upper-level

writing requirement, the topic must also be approved by the Associate Dean for Academic

Programs & Students. Regardless of the academic component alternative chosen, externship

students will be required to provide learning objectives for and written reflection on their

externship experience.

Students ordinarily may enroll in no more than one externship, clinic, or practicum in any one

semester. The Director of Externships will determine and publish the process by which students

will be selected for and enrolled in each type of externship and will be responsible for evaluating

the suitability of placements.

Emory will not grant credit to a student for participation in an externship or internship for which

the student receives compensation. This does not preclude reimbursement of reasonable out-of-

pocket expenses related to the externship.

The director will evaluate the scope of externship offerings that current staffing can support on an

ongoing basis, in order to ensure adequate supervision and oversight of students and placements.

Any expansion or adjustment of the Externship Program’s offerings will be keyed to the capacity

for such supervision.

Pro Bono Program

All students are encouraged to undertake pro bono work on behalf of indigents and under-

represented groups in our society. Pro bono opportunities are posted on the public interest section

of the law school website. Pro bono hours are reported to the Assistant Dean for Public Service

through timesheets posted on the website. Students who complete at least 25 hours of pro bono

work during a year are recognized with a certificate of accomplishment and a special celebration

event in the spring. Students who complete at least 75 hours of pro bono work over three years

receive a medal to wear at graduation and special recognition in the graduation program.

To qualify as pro bono work, the work must be in the legal field, unpaid, and the student must not

receive academic credit for it. However, students in public interest externships or in faculty-

supervised clinics may report overage hours (i.e., those hours above the minimum required for

academic credit) as pro bono.

PART 4: PROFESSIONAL REQUIREMENTS

Graduation, Certification, Transcripts, and Diplomas

Students who have satisfied their degree requirements must apply for their degree by a deadline

set by the University Registrar. Those students will then be certified for graduation to the

University Registrar by the Law Registrar. Penalties are imposed for failure to meet the deadline,

including a $25 late application fee.

Attendance at graduation is mandatory. Any student who will be unavoidably absent at graduation

must make a request in writing to the Law Registrar for permission to graduate in absentia.

Graduating students do not receive their diploma at the graduation exercise. Diplomas are sent to

students when grades are received and indicate a cumulative average adequate to graduate.

Students must request their official transcript through the University Registrar. The Law Registrar

does not have the ability to print or send transcripts on behalf of a student. Graduating students

who are applying for a state bar or who need an official transcript for employment purposes should

request their official transcript once degrees have been awarded by the University Registrar.

Bar Examinations

Required Coursework

It is students’ responsibility to ensure they have all the credits and required courses for each state

in which they wish to sit for the bar exam and apply for licensure.

Students can find information online about bar admission in every state. In August, students

entering their final year of study who plan to sit for the July bar exam the following year should

check the relevant websites for information on obtaining an application package.

Preparing for the Bar

While not every student who matriculates to law school intends to enter the practice of law, we expect

that most of our graduating students will be law practitioners in the many jurisdictions spread across

the United States. And while each jurisdiction may have differing requirements for admission, all

U.S. jurisdictions require an applicant to take and pass its respective bar exam.

Your law school curriculum is designed to prepare you to pass whichever licensing exam you choose

to take. That coursework will expose you to the substantive material you will encounter on the exam

along with additional courses and programming specifically focused on preparing you to take and

successfully pass the bar exam. Further, all students will have access both to bar resources available

to the law school as well as the opportunity to work with faculty and staff tasked with delivering our

bar curriculum and programming.

Given the importance of your preparation for and passing of the bar exam to your legal career we will

closely monitor your progress towards that goal. During your time at Emory Law School we may

intervene should we determine there may be need for additional or more intensive preparation to better

assure your success on the bar exam. For example, there may be one or more required programmatic

offerings to assist you in passing the bar exam of your choice. In addition, any J.D. student whose

cumulative GPA falls below 3.1 may be asked to participate in specialized programming and

coursework designed to identify and fill any gaps in that student’s substantive knowledge and provide

successive opportunities to take practice exams and receive personalized feedback.

Character and Fitness

In addition to a bar examination, there are character, fitness, and other qualifications for admission

to the bar in every U.S. jurisdiction. Applicants are encouraged to determine the requirements for

any jurisdiction in which they intend to seek admission by contacting the jurisdiction. Addresses

for all relevant agencies are available through the National Conference of Bar Examiners.

PART 5: PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT CODE

Professional Conduct Code

Preamble

The Emory University School of Law Professional Conduct Code has two important elements at its

core. First, it is not confined to misbehavior or dishonesty, but instead begins by emphasizing the

positive: specifically, the basic values shared by the entire law school community. This feature is

reflected in the Code’s title—it is a “conduct” rather than “misconduct” Code. Second, because of its

ambitious scope, this Code requires Emory students to think beyond the boundaries of the law school,

to understand themselves as part of a larger professional context. This, too, is acknowledged in the

title: the Code is addressed to “professionals” rather than “students.”

The Conduct Code reflects the law school’s strong commitment to a set of sustaining, shared values

that bind all its elements—students, faculty, and staff—into a true community rather than merely an

accidental collection of individuals. These values are also not accidental—they are drawn from the best

traditions of the practice of law.

Our values cause us to welcome diversity of all kinds among us. They permit us, like the membership

of the legal profession generally, to remain connected despite inevitable disagreement among ourselves

on controversial social and legal policies. These values also allow us to identify forms of behavior and

interaction we will not tolerate because they are inconsistent with the mission we have jointly set for

the institution and ourselves. These values will assist our community in working to secure a more fair

and just society by advancing the rule of law.

The Values Underlying Emory’s Legal Education

The following four values characterize and animate Emory Law:

In the context of a professional education, information alone is never the ultimate goal. What

we seek is the wisdom and judgment to use information to its fullest, most appropriate potential.

This means that the key, unavoidable test to be applied to any decision made by any member of

our community is whether it moves that person—and us as a whole—in the direction of

distinction rather than the merely adequate. This value is therefore an attitude, not a result.

Excellence means that Emory Law faculty’s standards for itself and its students must be high.

Integrity. For everyone in our professional context—practicing lawyers, professors, staff, and

students—an ethic of integrity is essential as well. This value means much more, however, than

simply honesty. It is the consistent personal application of an inner ethic of excellence. Law

students must recognize that they are no longer mere consumers of education. As “professionals”

rather than just “students,” Emory Law students are expected to be full-fledged participants in their

professional development. When they become practicing lawyers, integrity means remaining

faithful to the bedrock elements of the rule of law on which the legitimacy of their work depends.

Respect. In the context of a professional education, the ethic of respect also has a more focused

meaning than its conventional moral form. Although all members of the law school community should

treat each other with personal respect, professional respect is dependent on a person’s commitment to

the values of excellence and integrity. Law students at Emory are entitled, then, to demand the

professional and educational best from the faculty and their fellow students, just as faculty are

entitled to demand the same from fellow faculty and students. When these demands are met, all

members of the law school community can enjoy the respect that becomes a natural and integral

part of the environment.

Service. The legal system exists not for its own sake, but to regulate and facilitate social interaction.

Lawyers operate within a service industry vital to the country’s entire population, providing expert

assistance in sometimes difficult and controversial circumstances. Lawyers consequently have a

special responsibility to see that legal assistance is as widely available in society as it can be. We

encourage the Emory Law community to participate in activities that stretch the impact of our

educational efforts well beyond Gambrell Hall, and in particular to segments of our society that

have historically been underserved by the legal profession.

Values and Misconduct

These values in turn provide the necessary perspective for the remainder of this Code, which

identifies conduct the Emory Law community considers unacceptable and the procedures for

responding to it.

Unacceptable conduct by students is subject to prosecution before the Professional Conduct Court

(“Conduct Court”) as described in this Code.

Jurisdiction

All students registered at Emory University School of Law are subject to this Code. Students

include full-time and part-time students, students in degree courses in any division of the University,

and special students such as visiting and transient students.

Notice

All students shall receive a copy of the Code upon matriculation.

Pledge

As a condition of registration, each student must file with the Office of the Law School

Registrar a copy of the following pledge signed by the student:

I, _______________, as a student entering Emory University School of Law, understand that I

am joining an academic community and embarking on a professional career. The law school

community and the legal profession share important values that are expressed in the Emory

University School of Law Professional Conduct Code. I have read the Code, I accept its terms

and procedures as a condition of registration, and I will conduct my academic, professional,

and personal life to honor those shared values.

If a student is mistakenly permitted to register without having a written pledge on file, this fact will not

permit that student to contend that the student is not subject to this Code.

Section I. Misconduct Under This Code

The following are acts of misconduct that will subject a student to prosecution under this Code.

A. Academic Misconduct

1) Intentionally obtaining or giving information about the content of an examination, knowing that

the release of that information has not been authorized, or otherwise intentionally giving or

obtaining unauthorized assistance on any academic assignment or examination.

2) Failing to report to the Assistant Dean for Academic Engagement and Success unintentional

receipt of information about the content of an examination, knowing that the release of that

information has not been authorized.

3) Plagiarizing or plagiarism, which means using, intentionally or not, a written document or

electronic record reflecting the ideas or words of another as one’s own without proper

attribution to the source of those ideas or words.

4) Intentionally using, giving, or obtaining unauthorized assistance on any academic assignment

or examination.

5) Intentionally mis-shelving, hiding, or damaging library property or intentionally removing

library property without authorization.

6) Intentionally misappropriating another student’s books, notes, outlines, papers, or study

materials without permission, including without limitation electronic equipment and digital

information.

7) Intentionally giving false or misleading information to any member of the law school

community or a committee thereof for the purpose of gaining any academic advantage or

influencing a decision on any academic matter.

8) Intentionally violating the law school’s administrative policies or those of any of its programs,

including but not limited to, Moot Court, Mock Trial, any Emory Law official competition

team, the law journals, the law library, the externship program, TIGER, clinics, the Kessler-

Eidson Program for Trial Techniques, the Transactional Law Program, and the Center for

Professional Development and Career Strategy, with the intent of gaining unfair academic

benefit or evading previously assumed obligations.

B. Violation Of University Policies

1) Violating the University’s prohibitions against sexual and gender-based misconduct,

discrimination, or harassment, or the University’s policies on Equal Opportunity and

Discrimination Harassment or the University’s policies on Non-Discrimination and Equal

Opportunity.

Emory University is committed to maintaining an environment that is free of unlawful

harassment and discrimination. See Equal Opportunity and Discriminatory Harassment Policy

(1.3). Emory University does not discriminate against individuals on the basis of race, color,

religion, ethnic or national origin, sex, gender, genetic information, age, disability, sexual

orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or veteran's status, as required by Title IX of

the Education Amendments of 1972, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended,

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,

the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and other applicable statutes and university policies.

Emory University prohibits sexual and gender-based harassment, including sexual assault, and

other forms of interpersonal violence. See Emory University Notice of Non-Discrimination

and Equal Opportunity.

Allegations of misconduct under this section shall be referred to the University’s Office of

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for investigation and disposition.

2) Violating the University’s Respect for Open Expression Policy (“the OEP”).

Recognizing that the educational process of our institution requires diverse forms of open

expression – including freedom of thought, inquiry, speech, activism, and assembly – the

University affirms the rights of members of the community to assemble, demonstrate

peaceably, express views on controversial social and political issues, and engage in any other

activities that are protected by the University Respect for Open Expression Policy (“the OEP”).

Should a student against whom a complaint has been filed believe that their actions are

protected by the OEP, that student must raise that claim as an affirmative defense, as provided

for in this Code in Section II.D.

3) Deception in University matters, including but not limited to, knowingly furnishing false

information to the University or to third parties regarding academic performance at the

University or at any academic institution previously attended; counterfeiting, forging, or

altering any University document, record, registration, or identification; knowingly furnishing

false or misleading information to the University or its agents for the purpose of gaining

admission, financial assistance or avoiding payment of financial obligations; or falsely holding

oneself out to be an employee of the University or an officer of a student organization.

4) Intentionally violating any other University rule or regulation applicable to law students; see

the University Policies.

C. Unlawful Conduct

1) Abusing the person or property of another in any way forbidden by the laws of the United

States, or any state or local government, or by University policies, including conduct

occurring on University property that threatens the personal safety or the property or the

physical or mental health of a member of the University community; or stealing or

misappropriating another person’s property while that person is on University property.

2) Conviction for breach of the law of the United States or any state.

D. Unethical Conduct

1) In the context of any externship, internship, or any employment situation in which local legal

rules would apply if the student were a member of the local Bar, engaging in conduct that would

be sanctionable under those local rules.

2) Intentionally breaching the confidentiality of proceedings under this Code.

3) Giving false information or testimony to the Investigator or to the Conduct Court.

4) Failing to report to the Assistant Dean for Academic Engagement and Success, or their

designee, conduct that would subject a student to prosecution under this Code.

5) Acting in a manner not otherwise directly covered in this section that shows an intentional

disregard for the ethical standards of the legal profession, as embodied by the Model Rules of

Professional Conduct.

Section II. Process & Pre-Trial Resolutions

A. “Formal Written Notice”

Any student subject to action under this Code shall receive “Formal Written Notice” of the

Summary Sanction, Complaint, Charge, and Final Resolution as follows:

(1) Via certified mail, return receipt, if reasonably possible to do; or

(2) Via email to the student’s Emory email account, accompanied by a delivered receipt.

B. Summary Sanction for Misconduct

Offenses of misconduct related to a student’s presence or enrollment at Emory Law may be

summarily sanctioned by the faculty member, librarian, or senior staff person who learns of the

misconduct. Examples of summary sanctions can include, but are not limited to, an oral reprimand, a

grade penalty (including a failing grade), restrictions on library use, restrictions on participation in

externships and competition teams, restrictions on access to services, staff, and privileges at the Career

Center and in other student service areas at Emory Law.

The faculty member, librarian, or senior staff person sanctioning the conduct will provide in

writing to the Assistant Dean for Academic Engagement and Success or their designee the name of the

student, the offense sanctioned, and the sanction imposed. Summary sanctions will not become a part

of the student’s permanent academic record if the misconduct is not repeated. They may be considered

by the Conduct Court only in determining the appropriate sanction should the student be convicted of

a subsequent violation of this Code.

When a faculty member, librarian, or senior staff person imposes a summary sanction, that

faculty member, librarian, or senior staff person must inform the student with Formal Written Notice

of the offense sanctioned, the sanction imposed and that the student is not required to accept the

summary sanction and may, instead, request that the matter be referred for investigation and further

proceedings under the Conduct Code.

Any student who disputes the imposition of a summary sanction may appeal by contacting the

Assistant Dean for Academic Engagement and Success, or their designee, in writing, including email,

and requesting that the sanction be vacated and that prosecution under this Code be undertaken. This

appeal must be initiated by the student within five (5) business days of receiving the Formal Written

Notice.

C. Complaint

If a Summary Sanction is not imposed or if the person accused appeals the Summary Sanction,

then the faculty member, librarian, or senior staff person shall file a Conduct Code Complaint with the

Assistant Dean for Academic Engagement and Success and the Associate Dean for Academic

Programs and Students, or their designee, as a Complaining Party. A currently enrolled Emory Law

student may also file a Conduct Code complaint as a Complaining Party.

The Complaint must be in writing, which includes email. The Complaint should set forth the

conduct that allegedly violated this Code but need not include every relevant fact or circumstance.

Upon receipt of a Complaint, the Assistant Dean for Academic Engagement and Success or the

Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Students, or their designee, shall within five (5) business

days provide Formal Written Notice to the student who is the subject of the Complaint. The Formal

Written Notice shall inform the student that the student is the subject of a Complaint, provide a

summary of the allegations, provide the student with the identity of the Investigator, inform the student

that the student may seek the advice of the Defender, and inform the student that any sanction that

results from Charges in the event a pre-Charge Negotiated Resolution is not reached will automatically

be reported to the Bar of any jurisdiction where that individual applies for admission.

D. Investigation

The Dean of the Law School shall create a pool of potential investigators that shall be comprised

of members of staff who have a bar license in any jurisdiction (the “Investigators”). When a Complaint

is filed, the Assistant Dean for Academic Engagement and Success, the Associate Dean for Academic

Programs and Students, or their designee shall, within five (5) business days, randomly designate one

member from the pool of Investigators to investigate the Complaint. The Investigator may be subject

to a motion for recusal. All motions for recusal shall be made in writing addressed to the Chief Justice,

including email, within five (5) business days of the date the accused is notified of the Investigator’s

identity. The recusal motion shall be heard and decided upon by the Chief Justice within five (5)

business days of receiving the written motion.

Once the Investigator is designated, the Investigator will investigate the Complaint as

expeditiously as possible but shall not take longer than two weeks to complete the investigation.

A student who is the subject of an investigation is required to cooperate with the Investigator

by responding promptly, but not later than three (3) business days, to all requests for information from

the Investigator or their designee. The accused student may seek the assistance of the Student Defender

during the investigation process. A failure to provide any response will result in immediate referral to

the Conduct Court for a hearing on the underlying Complaint, without the option of a Negotiated

Resolution.

If the student who is the subject of an investigation believes that their alleged conduct is

protected by the Open Expression Policy, the student is required to raise this protection as a defense

during the investigation process. The student may, at any time prior to a Hearing held pursuant to

Section III.G., seek the opinion of the University Committee for Open Expression (the “Committee”)

by filing a complaint pursuant to OEP Section 8.14.4. Filing a complaint with the Committee shall

constitute a stay of all proceedings until such time as the Committee either elects not to investigate or

issues its findings.

Immediately upon completion of the investigation, the Investigator shall submit a written report

with evidence to the Assistant Dean for Academic Engagement and Success, and the Associate Dean

for Academic Programs and Students, or their designee. The Investigator’s report shall also be provided

to the accused student, the Student Defender (if the accused student has sought the assistance of the

Student Defender) and the Student Prosecutor.

E. Pre-Charge Negotiated Resolution

Any Complaint may be resolved through a Negotiated Resolution after the Investigator’s report

is submitted but prior to the filing of Charges. Before a Charge is made, any discussions about a

negotiated resolution may be initiated by the accused student or the Investigator. If the parties wish to

pursue negotiations, then such negotiations for the resolution of a dispute before a Charge is made must

be undertaken promptly, within one (1) week after the Investigator’s report is filed.

Neither the accused student nor the Complaining Party is obligated to take part in the pre-

Charge Negotiated Resolution process. However, if a pre-Charge Negotiated Resolution meeting is

desired by all parties, participants in a pre-Charge Negotiated Resolution meeting shall include the

Complaining Party if that party is a member of the senior staff, faculty, or library staff; the accused

student; the Student Prosecutor and/or the Deputy Student Prosecutor; and the Student Defender and/or

the Deputy Student Defender, if requested by the accused student. If a student is the Complaining

Party, the Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Students shall designate a member of the faculty

to take part in the Negotiated Resolution process; a student Complaining Party shall also be invited to

participate in the Negotiated Resolution Process, but the student is not required to do so. If the

Complaining Party and the accused student wish to pursue a Negotiated Resolution, all the designated

participants must cooperate to schedule a meeting as soon as possible, but no later than five (5) business

days. The Investigator shall help to convene the Negotiated Resolution meeting and may also assist the

parties in drafting a Negotiated Resolution agreement but is not a party to the Negotiated Resolution

meeting.

If the parties reach a Negotiated Resolution, the resolution agreement must include a short

statement of the circumstances of the Negotiated Resolution and an agreed-upon acceptance of

responsibility by the accused student. The Assistant Dean for Academic Engagement & Student

Success may provide the parties with a template for such a resolution agreement. All parties must read,

approve, and sign the Negotiated Resolution Agreement before it is submitted to the Dean. Any

Negotiated Resolution must be approved by the Dean.

A pre-Charge Negotiated Resolution will be maintained in the files of the Dean and will be kept

confidential, except that it must be disclosed to negotiating parties in any future resolution negotiations

relating to the same accused student or in any prosecution of the same accused student for a further

offense under this Code. Upon request, a pre-Charge Negotiated Resolution may also be disclosed to

the bar of any jurisdiction that inquires as to that individual’s character and fitness. It is the

responsibility of the accused student to comply with character and fitness requirements of any

jurisdiction where the person seeks admission to the bar.

If the parties fail to reach a Negotiated Resolution within ten (10) business days, then the

Investigator shall refer the case to the Prosecutor for the filing of Charges.

F. Filing of Charges / Referral for Prosecution

If the Investigator finds reasonable cause to believe that an offense has been committed and a

Negotiated Resolution cannot be reached, the Investigator shall refer the case to the Student Prosecutor,

unless the misconduct falls under Emory University Policy 1.3. If it falls under Policy 1.3, the process

described therein will be followed. If the Prosecutor determines that Charges are warranted, the

Prosecutor shall draft the Charges within five (5) business days from receipt of the Investigator’s

referral. The Charges shall be forwarded to the Assistant Dean for Academic Engagement and Success,

or their designee, who shall provide Formal Written Notice of the Charges to the accused student within

three (3) business days of receipt.

Section III. The Professional Conduct Court

A. Members of the Court

Offenses that are not resolved through summary sanction or Negotiated Resolution, and which

do not fall under Emory University Policy 1.3, will be prosecuted before the Professional Conduct

Court. The Conduct Court will have five members.

Two members of the Court will be law school faculty members who serve on the Professional

Conduct Code Committee. The faculty chair of the Professional Conduct Code Committee shall be one

of these two members and will act as the Chief Justice for the proceedings.

Three members of the Court will be selected at random by the Chief Justice from a pool of five

law students elected from the student body. Elections will be held no later than April 1 of each year

with the term of office to be twelve (12) months, beginning each April 1.

Any member of Court may be subject to motion for request for recusal. All motions for recusal

shall be made in writing, including email, within five (5) business days of the date the accused student

is notified of the Justices’ identities, unless alternate timelines are agreed upon by the Parties and

consented to by the Chief Justice. The recusal motion shall be heard and decided upon by the Chief

Justice. If the motion is for recusal of the Chief Justice, the motion shall be heard and decided by the

remaining faculty member on the Conduct Court.

B. Prosecution

The student body shall elect a rising third-year student for the purpose of serving as Prosecutor

under the Code, consistent with the provisions of the SBA Constitution and election procedures.

Elections will be held no later than April 1 of each year, with the term of office to be twelve (12)

months, beginning each April 1.

The student body shall also elect a rising second-year student as Deputy Prosecutor for the

purpose of assisting the Prosecutor as requested on a case-by-case basis and serving as Prosecutor in

the event that the Prosecutor is a party or otherwise unavailable to serve in a particular case. The Deputy

Prosecutor shall be elected for a term of office of twelve (12) months to run concurrently with the term

of the Prosecutor.

The Deputy Prosecutor will be encouraged, but is not required, to run for election as Prosecutor

as a third-year student.

If for any reason both the Prosecutor and Deputy Prosecutor are unable to serve in a particular

case, the responsibilities of prosecution in that case will fall to the president of the Student Bar

Association or designee.

C. Defense

Concurrently with the election of the Prosecutor, the student body shall elect a rising third-year

student to serve as the Student Defender in prosecutions under this Code. This student will be available

to serve as Defender for any student accused of an offense under this Code if the student so requests.

The term of office of the Defender shall be twelve (12) months, beginning April 1 each year. The

student body shall also elect a rising second-year student as Deputy Defender for the purpose of

assisting the Student Defender as requested on a case-by-case basis and serving as Student Defender

in the event that the Student Defender is a party or otherwise unavailable to serve in a particular case.

The Deputy Defender shall be elected for a term of office of twelve (12) months to run concurrently

with the term of the defender.

The Deputy Defender will be encouraged, but is not required, to run for election as Student

Defender as a third-year student.

D. Confidentiality

All proceedings, up to the final resolution of the charge, shall be kept confidential by all

participants unless the accused student chooses to waive confidentiality, in which case all parties are

relieved of the responsibility of confidentiality. The accused student shall not be presumed to have

waived confidentiality by speaking to potential witnesses, the Student Defender, or the Deputy Student

Defender about the allegation while preparing the accused student’s defense. Confidentiality

requirements also do not prevent an accused student from discussing the situation with parents or

guardians. Any breach of confidentiality shall be brought to the attention of the Court.

Information on summary sanctions and pre-Charge Negotiated Resolutions may be shared

amongst faculty and senior staff but not with students.

E. Post-Charge Negotiated Resolutions

Once Charges have been initiated, the accused student, the Student Defender and the Student

Prosecutor must participate in negotiations to determine if a Negotiated Resolution can be agreed upon.

Although the Complaining Party shall be invited to participate in this meeting, the Complaining Party

may decline to attend, and any agreement may be reached without the consent of the Complaining

Party. If the Complaining Party is a student, the faculty designee appointed pursuant to Section II.E.

shall also be invited to participate in the negotiations. A negotiation meeting may only be waived by

the unanimous consent of the accused student, the Student Defender, and the Student Prosecutor. The

negotiation meeting shall be convened by the Investigator.

A Negotiated Resolution may be reached at any time prior to the issuance of a decision from

the Court.

If the parties reach a Negotiated Resolution, the Resolution Agreement must include a short

statement of the circumstances of the Negotiated Resolution and an agreed-upon statement of

responsibility by the accused student. All parties must read and approve the statement before the

resolution can be considered final. Any Negotiated Resolution must be approved by the Dean before it

takes effect. The Dean has the discretion to alter or reject the Negotiated Resolution.

F. Initiation of Hearing

Once Charges are initiated, and if a Negotiated Resolution is not reached within two (2) weeks

of such initiation, the Prosecutor will ask the Chief Justice to convene the Court to hear the Charge.

The Chief Justice will convene the Court as promptly as possible, but no later than two (2) weeks after

receipt of such request. A motion for continuance may be granted for good cause.

If the offense occurs or was discovered during the first nine (9) weeks of the academic term,

then the Court must convene during the academic term in which the offense occurred or was

discovered. However, if the offense occurs or is discovered any time after ninth week of the academic

term, the hearing may be deferred until the beginning of the next semester (to include summer

semester). If the offense occurs or is discovered after the ninth week of the spring semester, then the

hearing may be deferred until after the conclusion of the Trial Techniques program.

If the accused is a student in their final semester, their diploma will be withheld pending

resolution of the charge.

G. The Hearing

The accused may admit the charge. If the accused does so, the Prosecutor will inform the Court

of this admission and may make recommendations as to an appropriate sanction. The Court will then

proceed to consider sanctions.

If there is no admission, the Prosecutor will prosecute the charge before the Court.

All members of the Court must be present to constitute a quorum.

The accused may represent themselves or may ask another member of the law school student

body or the Student Defender to act as representation at the hearing. All cases brought before the Court

will be prosecuted and defended by members of the student body.

The Prosecutor and the accused may present any relevant information, including witness

testimony. The Chief Justice shall make all decisions regarding the relevance of evidence.

Although hearsay testimony is admissible, the Justices will determine the weight to be given to

any such testimony. Further, hearsay evidence may not be the sole evidence used to support a

conviction.

Hearings shall be closed.

The Court shall have the authority to maintain an orderly and efficient hearing.

The burden of proof for conviction shall be by clear and convincing evidence.

Conviction must be by vote of at least four of the five members of the Court.

The Chief Justice shall inform the accused orally of the Court’s decision immediately after a

decision is reached.

If the accused is acquitted, the Chief Justice will notify the Dean of the acquittal as soon as

possible. The Dean may make known the final resolution of the case to the law school community. The

accused shall have the option of having the Dean publish his or her name along with the fact of the

acquittal.

If the accused is convicted, the Court shall adopt relevant findings of fact and then consider

sanctions. A vote of at least four of five members of the Court is required to adopt a sanction or

sanctions; a vote to expel a student must be unanimous.

H. Nature of Proceedings

All proceedings under this Code leading to the hearing, including investigations and

negotiations, may be conducted either in person or online through videoconferencing technology. The

hearing may be conducted via videoconference only if the accused consents. The accused student has

the right to demand that the hearing be held in person.

J. Sanctions

At the conclusion of a Hearing or after the accused student enters an admission, the Court may impose

one or more of the following sanctions. All sanctions imposed once Formal Charges are issued will be

reported to any Bar to which the student seeks admission:

1) An oral reprimand to be administered by the Dean.

2) A written reprimand placed in the student’s permanent file.

3) Suspension for not less than one semester nor more than four semesters, with a written

reprimand in the student’s permanent file.

4) Delay in graduation for a specified period of time after normal completion of degree

requirements with a written reprimand in the student’s permanent file.

5) Expulsion with a written reprimand in the student’s permanent file.

6) Other sanctions may be imposed in the appropriate case, such as termination from the staff of

a law journal or a failing grade (“F”). If a student is convicted of cheating or plagiarism, a grade

of “F” in the course is presumed to be the appropriate sanction in addition to any other

sanctions.

K. Post-Conviction

The Chief Justice will communicate the Court’s decision and sanctions to the accused orally

immediately after the decision is reached (the “Notification”). The Chief Justice will also notify the

Dean of the Court’s decision and sanction(s) in writing as soon as possible after the hearing. The Chief

Justice will forward to the Dean the verdict, the findings of fact, and any documentary evidence, notes,

or tape recordings of the proceedings. Copies shall be provided to the accused in writing.

In this Written Notice, the Chief Justice will also inform the accused student that the accused

student has ten (10) calendar days from the date of the Notification in which to appeal the conviction

and/or the sanction(s) to the Dean. If the Dean is unavailable to hear the appeal, the appeal will be to

the Dean’s designee.

Appeals must be in writing. If the Dean does not receive a written appeal within ten (10)

calendar days after the Notification, the conviction will stand, and the sanction(s) of the Court will be

imposed. This will be the final resolution of the case. If the accused does appeal, the Dean shall have

a further fifteen (15) calendar days after receipt of the written appeal to consider the appeal. The Dean

may: (a) grant the appeal and overturn the conviction; (b) affirm the conviction and impose the

sanction(s); or (c) or affirm the conviction and impose a lesser sanction. The Dean’s decision on the

appeal will be communicated to the Chief Justice and to the accused student in writing. The Dean’s

decision shall be final and not subject to further appeal.

The Dean will then notify the law school community generally of the final resolution of the

charge.

The functions of the Dean under this subsection may be fulfilled by a designee.

Section IV. Amendments to this Code

This Code may be amended by majority vote of the law school faculty. Amendments will be proposed

by a committee composed of faculty, students, and the Assistant Dean for Academic Engagement and

Success.

PART 6: AMENDMENTS; EFFECTIVE DATES

Amendments

Academic policies, requirements, and processes contained in this handbook may be amended by

majority vote of the faculty Curriculum and Grading Committee or, if warranted, by majority

vote of the full faculty. Changes to administrative policies and procedures may be effectuated by

the relevant law school department, with approval of the Associate Dean for Academic Programs

& Students. The Student Handbook will be posted on the Emory Law website; amendments

adopted during the academic year will also be posted, along with their effective dates.

Effective Date

This Student Handbook supersedes all prior versions of the Emory University School of Law

Handbook. This handbook has an effective date of:

August 7, 2023

APPENDIX A

Upper-Level Writing Requirement Guidelines

Every student is required to research a topic in depth, submit drafts of a paper to the supervising

faculty member for revision, and produce a substantial paper on a topic. A minimum grade of

“C” is required to satisfy the writing requirement, which may be fulfilled through a seminar,

directed research, or writing a journal article as a board candidate.

Guidelines for All Papers

Every paper must demonstrate the following:

1. Complete and thorough research of the topic with appropriate and accurate citation to sources

used. Research must include reference to (a) primary sources such as case and statutory

authority and (b) secondary materials including but not limited to legislative history

materials, law review articles, and other works of legal scholarship and non-legal materials

where appropriate;

2. Thorough analysis of the researched materials consistent with the logical development of an

overall premise or theme;

3. Original analysis including identification of unresolved issues and suggestions for their

resolution, conclusions based upon the analysis of the sources, and suggestions for likely

future developments where appropriate; and

4. Clear, well-organized discussion of the topic with due regard to the fundamentals of good

expository writing, including conformance with grammatical rules, accurate spelling and

punctuation, and proper sentence and paragraph structure.

Plagiarism of any part of the paper will result in an “F” and/or other sanctions deemed

appropriate by the Professional Conduct Court.

Mechanical Requirements

1. Papers must be a minimum of 30 pages in length, exclusive of footnotes and bibliography.

Papers must be typed double-spaced on 8 1⁄2” by 11” paper with one-inch margins and font no

larger than 12 points.

2. Footnotes must conform to the rules of citation found in the Uniform System of Citation (the

“Bluebook”).

3. A bibliography of sources must be attached to the paper.

Supervisory Requirements

1. Students must submit a topic outline to the faculty supervisor in accordance with a deadline

established by the faculty member.

2. Students must submit a first draft to the faculty member in accordance with a deadline

established by the faculty member and must meet with the faculty member thereafter to

discuss the draft.

3. A substantial draft must be submitted no later than the last day of classes in the semester.

4. The final paper is due no later than the last day of examinations in that semester.

5. With the exception of the minimum length requirement of 30 pages, individual faculty

members may vary these requirements at their discretion or impose such additional

requirements for outlines, drafts, or conferences as they see fit.

APPENDIX B:

Information Technology Policies

Personal Computer Support Policy

1. The Emory Law School Information Technology Department (“ELS IT”) provides limited

assistance with student computers. Because of variations in computer systems and installed

software, ELS IT will only spend a maximum of two hours per incident on student computers.

2. ELS IT does not provide assistance with personal computers owned by faculty or staff or other

non-students.

3. ELS IT does not do hardware repairs or replacements. Users should contact the manufacturer

regarding hardware repairs or visit a third-party IT support service.

Student Personal Computer Support Agreement

1. By submitting his or her personal computer to ELS IT for assistance, student agrees to the

following terms:

a. The student must be currently enrolled and the owner of the personal computer

submitted for diagnosis and repair.

b. The student assumes all risk of loss from any and all causes or in any way related to

or resulting from the repair or service by ELS IT.

c. The student acknowledges that he or she has backed up any and all data before

relinquishing the personal computer to ELS IT.

d. Upon request, the student must provide any relevant and official recovery or

operating system software for reinstallation, as well as information such as

passwords, serial numbers, and the like.

e. Student agrees to work cooperatively with ELS IT to resolve the issue.

f. ELS IT will not work on computers with unlicensed software installed.

g. The student agrees to put the personal computer into an English-language mode at the

request of ELS IT.

h. Any antivirus software other than the university-provided antivirus software may be

removed, regardless of whether it was previously purchased by the student. The

University-provided antivirus may be installed and updated.

i. If the problem is related to Microsoft Office, ELS IT may remove and reinstall Office

applications, regardless of whether they were previously purchased by the student.

j. Software deemed to pose a security risk may be removed, in the sole discretion of

ELS IT.

k. Any third-party firewall application will be uninstalled, and an operating

system supplied firewall may be activated.

l. A suite of freely usable anti-spyware/malware and maintenance software may be

installed on the student’s computer.

m. ELS IT, at any point and in its sole discretion, may decline to continue to attempt to

resolve the issue when further efforts appear fruitless, or when the student is not able

to cooperate in resolving the issue.

n. Computers will be attended to in the order in which they are received.

Non-Computer Device Support Policy

1. ELS IT will spend a maximum of 30 minutes assisting faculty, staff, and students with

cellphones, tablets, and other non-computer devices.

2. Support for non-computer devices is limited to assisting in getting devices connected to

the Emory wireless network and helping with configuring Emory email.

Computer Labs

1. There is a computer lab located on the second floor of the library.

2. Use of the lab is limited to current Emory Law School (“ELS”) students, faculty, staff,

and guests (“users”). Use by other persons is prohibited.

3. Lab computers may not be saved or reserved in advance for individual use. Staff members

are authorized to make any computer that is unattended for more than fifteen minutes

available to another user.

4. Users may not tamper with the lab printers or attempt to add paper or toner.

Emory Law-Provided Computers

Emory Law IT provides various computers in the classrooms and in other spaces throughout the

law school and in the computer lab and other spaces (“law school computers”). The following

provisions apply to those computers, wherever located:

1. Users may not install any software program or utility on any law school computer nor tamper

with, alter, copy, or delete any software program or utility from any law school computer.

2. Files saved to law school computers are subject to deletion without notice. Users are

responsible for saving their data to USB memory devices or to online services such as

OneDrive.

3. In the event of problems with law school computers, users should seek help at the ELS help

desk on the second floor of the library. Alternatively, users should visit http://help.emory.edu/

or email la[email protected] for help.

General Policies

1. Misuse of computer or network resources, including but not limited to: use of another

individual's identification or password; using computer or network resources to send

anonymous, obscene, unwanted, harassing, or abusive messages; using computer or network

resources in violation of copyright laws; use of computer or network resources to interfere with

the normal operation of the university computer system; or any other violation of policies

established by the Library & Information Technology (LITS) or Emory University is

prohibited.

2. Violation of any of these policies may result in:

a. Removal of inappropriate material from the relevant IT resources;

b. Suspension or termination of access;

c. Disciplinary actions (up to and including termination of employment) in accordance

with applicable university policy;

d. Civil or criminal prosecution.