The JD curriculum consists of seven required first-year subjects and a broad assortment of upper-level electives designed to prepare students for the bar examination and the evolving needs of the legal market.
Classroom teaching is complemented by clinical programs and internships that allow students to obtain practical experience.
The Day Division is offered as a traditional three-year program or accelerated two-year program. Both require six semesters of study.
The Evening Division is designed for students who want to pursue a legal education on a part-time basis. The Evening Division is offered as a traditional four-year program or accelerated three-year program. Both require eight semesters of study. First-year Evening Division students usually attend classes three evenings a week, beginning at 6 p.m.
Day and Evening Division applicants are only accepted into the regular degree-seeking program. Applicants may not audit courses or apply for a conditional acceptance. A total of 84 semester hours is required to earn the JD degree.
As a candidate for admission you must choose to apply to either the Day or the Evening Division. Students who have completed the first academic year in the Law School, and who are in good academic standing, are eligible to transfer internally to either the Day or the Evening division.
The study of law requires an ability to analyze and organize complicated fact situations. The law faculty assist students in learning how to approach a complicated fact pattern either through the study of adjudicated cases or the use of carefully constructed problems. Students are challenged by the questions and comments of the professor and their fellow students as they work with cases or problems. From time to time the professor may clarify or lecture on some points of fact or law, but the ultimate responsibility for developing the skills of legal analysis rests on the student.
It is the student’s role to prepare the course assignments carefully, to utilize the resources available in the law libraries, to attend class and be prepared to actively discuss the assigned materials. In class, students must analyze the presentation of their classmates, compare the work of others to their own, and be prepared to respond intelligently to the questions asked by the professor. Thus, students’ roles are active ones, and the value of their legal education will depend in large measure on the enthusiasm, dedication and responsibility with which they approach their work.
Students who cannot devote their full time to the study of law may apply for enrollment in the Evening Division and complete the work for the Juris Doctor degree in four years (eight semesters).
The academic year consists of two semesters: the first, or fall, semester commencing in August, and the second, or spring, semester commencing in January. The Evening Division requires eight semesters of class work. A total of 84 semester hours is required to receive the Juris Doctor degree.
Classes in the Evening Division are usually conducted on weeknights between 6 and 10 pm.
| Required Curriculum | 1st Sem. Hours | 2nd Sem. Hours | |
| First-Year | Contracts | 0 | 4 |
| Torts | 0 | 4 | |
| Civil Procedure | 4 | 0 | |
| Criminal Law | 4 | 0 | |
| Legal Practice Skills | 3 | 2 | |
| Total | 11 | 10 | |
| Second-Year | Property | 4 | 0 |
| Constitutional Law | 0 | 4 | |
| Professional Responsibility 3 | |||
| Electives 4, 5, 6 | 4-7 | 5-8 | |
| Total | 9-12 | 9-12 | |
| Third-Year | Electives 4, 5, 6 | ||
| Total | 9-12 | 9-12 | |
| Fourth-Year | Electives 4, 5, 6 | ||
| Total | 9-12 | 9-12 |
The Day Division course of study consists of three academic years of full-time study. Under the regulations of the Law School, Standards of the American Bar Association, and the Rules of the Board of Bar Examiners of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, only those students who can devote substantially all of their working time to the study of law are eligible to enroll in the full-time Day Division and to complete their law study in three years.
The academic year consists of two semesters: the first, or fall, semester commencing in September, and the second, or spring, semester commencing in January. The Day Division requires six semesters of class work. A total of 84 semester hours is required to receive the Juris Doctor degree.
| Required Curriculum | 1st Sem. Hours | 2nd Sem. Hours | |
| First-Year | Contracts | 0 | 4 |
| Torts | 0 | 4 | |
| Property | 4 | 0 | |
| Civil Procedure | 4 | 0 | |
| Criminal Law | 4 | 0 | |
| Constitutional Law 7 | 0 | 4 | |
| Legal Practice Skills | 3 | 2 | |
| Total | 15 | 14 | |
| Second-Year | Professional Responsibility 3 | ||
| Electives 4,5,6,7 | |||
| Total | 12-16 | 12-16 | |
| Third-Year | |||
| Electives 4,5,6 | |||
| Total | 12-16 | 12-16 |
This is a sample outline of the coursework an accelerated full-time student will pursue to earn a JD in two years. Individual schedules may be different.
Torts (4 credits)
Criminal Law (4 credits)
Professional Responsibility (3 credits)
Introduction to Legal Studies (1 credit)
Property
Civil Procedure
Legal Practice Skills I
Elective
Contracts
Constitutional Law
Legal Practice Skills II
Elective (3-5 credits)
This is a sample outline of the coursework an accelerated part-time evening student will pursue to earn a JD in 2.5 or 3 years. Individual schedules will vary.
Torts (4 credits)
Criminal Law (4 credits)
Professional Responsibility (3 credits)
Introduction to Legal Studies (1 credit)
Property
Civil Procedure
Legal Practice Skills I
Contracts
Constitutional Law
Legal Practice Skills II
Elective (0-2 credits)
If graduation after 3LE fall is desired
Suffolk University Law School’s learning outcomes identify the desired knowledge, skills, and values students should master upon their successful graduation, and are guided by the Law School’s mission to provide an excellent legal education as well as the Law School’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
In accordance with ABA Standard 302(A), the successful Suffolk graduate should know and understand substantive and procedural law. Specifically, graduates should:
B. In accordance with ABA Standard 302(B), the successful Suffolk graduate should be able to perform legal analysis and legal research, solve problems, and communicate effectively in the legal context. Specifically, graduates should demonstrate the ability to:
C. In accordance with ABA Standard 302(C), the successful Suffolk graduate should understand and exercise proper professional and ethical responsibilities to clients and the legal system. Specifically, graduates should demonstrate the ability to:
D. In accordance with ABA Standard 302(D), the successful Suffolk graduate should demonstrate other professional skills needed for competent and ethical participation as a member of the legal profession. Specifically, graduates should demonstrate the ability to:
E. In accordance with ABA Standard 302, the successful Suffolk graduate should demonstrate the ability to:
For more information on general requirements, please see Academic Rules & Regulations, item 1A, "General Requirements."
Litigation of the modern unitary civil action. Jurisdiction of state and federal courts; law applied in federal courts; pleading, pretrial motions, and discovery; trial by jury and evidentiary law; the binding effects of adjudications.
Survey of the history and development of constitutional law in the United States, including the federal system, the commerce clause, intergovernmental relations, due process, equal protection, police power, taxation. Analysis of selected decisions of the United States Supreme Court.
Contracts defined and classified; capacity of parties; nature and legal effect of offer and acceptance; consideration; fraud, mistake and undue influence; statute of frauds; types of illegality; interpretation of language; operation of law; effect of express and implied conditions; performance of conditions; waiver of conditions; rescission of contracts; performance; excuses for nonperformance, including novation, alteration and impossibility of performance, breach of contract and remedies; damages, nominal and compensatory; quasicontracts, introduction to the Uniform Commercial Code; professional responsibility of the lawyer in contract law.
The course emphasizes the general principles, sources, and purposes of the criminal law, including the following doctrinal issues which apply to crimes in general: the act requirement, the mens rea requirement, causation, liability for attempted crimes, accomplice liability, defenses, and criminal code interpretation. Additionally, the course studies one or more specific crimes in-depth, including homicide, and repeatedly raises the question: how well does American criminal law fulfill its goals?
The Legal Practice Skills Program is a two-semester, three-credit program for first year students including (a) an orientation to law school, the sources of law, and the study of law; (b) instruction in the use of the law library and legal research tools; (c) practice in issue analysis and the writing of legal memoranda; (d) preparation of trial briefs and oral arguments; and (e) an introduction to computerized legal research systems. The program is designed to prepare the student for the writing and research work expected of the modern practitioner.
A study of the acquisition, ownership, and transfer of property both personal and real, including an analysis of ownership concepts, rights of possession, donative transactions, future interests, concurrent interests, landlord and tenant issues, the conveyancing system and governmental regulations.
General principles, sources and policies of modern tort law, including intentional torts (such as assault, battery and false imprisonment), negligence, strict liability, and products liability. Special attention is paid to the elements of recovery in negligence, including the standard of care, duty problems, and causation, to defenses, including comparative negligence and assumption of risk, and to principles of joint liability, contribution, and imputed liability. Recent statutory changes in these tort principles are also addressed.
All students who entered in 2022 or later must complete one course from the Race, Equity, and Law (REAL) menu in order to be eligible for graduation. The courses on the REAL menu teach students to appreciate law’s relationship to past and present conditions of social justice and equality. These courses also foster recognition of how a person's own position shapes understanding of the law and its impact on those with different positions. The REAL menu requirement helps ensure that all graduates are prepared to represent their clients and fulfill their responsibilities in a professional and culturally informed manner.
Access to Justice – 2 credits
Advanced Immigration Law - 2 credits
Advanced Topics in Constitutional Law: Race, Equal Protection and Due Process - 3 credits
Asian Americans and the Law – 2 credits
Children and Disability Law – 3 credits
Civil Disobedience - 3 credits
Civil Rights Litigation: Police Misconduct - 2 credits
Critical Race Theory – 2 credits
Diversity/Inclusion and the Legal Profession - 2 credits
Education Equality and the Law – 2 credits
Employment Discrimination – 3 credits
Federal Indian Law and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the U.S. - 2 credits
Housing Discrimination – 3 credits
Human Rights Project - 3 credits
Human Rights Protection in Europe - 2 credits
Human Rights Survey – 3 credits
Immigration Law – 3 credits
Intro. To Islamic Law – 2 credits
IP and Social Justice – 2 credits
Lawyers as Inclusive Leaders – 2 credits
Mass Incarceration - 2 credits
Race and American Law – 2 credits
Race, Ethical AI, Cyber Civil Rights - 2 credits
Race, Gender, and the Law - 2 credits
ABA Standards 303 and 304 [PDF] require all students entering law school beginning in fall 2015 to complete six credits of experiential courses in order to graduate.
Q: Can credits earned for trial team, moot court and other simulation based competitions qualify as a simulation course or count towards the required experiential credits?
A: No, unless these activities are part of or accompanied by a required classroom component.
Q: Does Pro Bono or other work experience count?
A: No, only activities that are credit bearing count.
Q: Can one course satisfy the Legal Writing Requirement and experiential credits?
A: No, one course cannot satisfy both the upper level writing requirement and the experiential learning requirement.
All students are subject to the following Experiential Learning and Professional Development Requirements.
Part-time students in the Evening Division are not required to complete section 3 of the requirement, but are encouraged to complete it.
Experiential opportunities are essential in preparing to be ready to work with real clients solving real legal problems. Toward that end, students are required to complete six (6) credits of experiential courses in order to graduate. Experiential courses fall into three categories: (1) a law clinic that provides students with substantial lawyering experiences that involve advising or representing actual clients; (2) an externship that includes a field placement that provides students with a substantial lawyering experience that is reasonably similar to that of a lawyer advising or representing clients or engaging in other lawyering tasks, as well as a classroom component; and (3) a simulation course in which students are provided substantial experiences similar to those of lawyers advising or representing clients or engaging in other lawyering tasks in a set of facts and circumstances devised or adopted by faculty.
All experiential education courses (clinics, externships, and simulations) will conform with ABA Standards 303 and 304.
It is important for law students to develop an appreciation for the importance of continuing legal education (CLE) and become active members of the legal community. To promote law student professional development, the Law School requires every student to attend two continuing legal education seminars prior to graduation. Students are encouraged to attend qualifying Suffolk University Law School programs, member programming delivered through the Boston and Massachusetts Bar Associations or any program offered through other CLE providers that meet these guidelines. In order for a program to qualify, the program must: (1) have a minimum duration of 60 minutes; (2) provide professional education related to substantive law, practice and procedure, lawyer ethics and the rules of professional conduct, practical experiences in legal practice, professional identity formation, development of cross-cultural competency, promotion of equal access and elimination of bias, discrimination and racism in the law, and/or current cutting-edge issues related to legal practice and the delivery of legal service; and 3) be delivered live and attended either in person or remotely during the live session. Students should register for each program prior to attending and are responsible for obtaining proof of attendance and submitting it to the Office of Academic Services. CLE qualification questions should be addressed to your PCD counselor or the Associate Dean for Professional & Career Development.
1. Suffolk University Law School Programs
The Law School, PCD and many student organizations periodically sponsor and deliver qualifying programs. Programs that meet the requirement are identified as such in their promotional materials or description. Students who register and attend such programming will be eligible to receive certification of attendance that should be submitted to the Office of Academic Affairs.
Student organizations desiring to offer CLE credit, should seek prior approval from the Associate Dean for Professional & Career Development, Gerald Slater, no later than two weeks prior to the event by providing the following information:
If Approved, Dean Slater will notify the student organization and the Dean of Students Office of the approval. The designated CLE coordinator for the event should request a brief meeting with the Dean of Students Office no later than one week before the event to discuss the SULS CLE certification procedures and the event organizer may request the creation of a RSVP page via Symplicity by contacting Michelle Dobbins in the Office of Professional & Career Development.
Students graduating in January, May and September 2022 are required to attend one continuing legal education seminar prior to graduation.
2. Boston Bar Association
Suffolk Law students receive free student membership to the Boston Bar Association and may request certification of attendance for programs that qualify under Continuing Legal Education Graduation Requirement by completing the Suffolk PDR Request Form. Suffolk PDR credit requests are processed twice a month on or about the 15th and the 30th of each month. BBA member emails contain information about upcoming CLE programs and events. Find more information on programs and events here.
3. Massachusetts Bar Association
Suffolk Law students receive free student membership to the Massachusetts Bar Association and may attend CLE programming for free though many conferences have reduced registration fees. If you have not already done so, you may activate your free membership. You can discover more CLE programs here. Suffolk Law Students can request Certificates of Attendance for live webinars and in person programs by email. Certificates of Attendance will be emailed as a fillable PDF for you to add your name and provide to the Office of Academic Services.
4. Other CLE Provider
If a student attends a CLE program through an organization other than SULS, BBA or MBA, it is the student’s responsibility to document how the program meets the Suffolk CLE requirement and to provide certification of attendance to the Office of Academic Services.