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    Mar 28, 2024  
2015-2016 School of Law Bulletin 
    
2015-2016 School of Law Bulletin [Archived Bulletin]

SPECIAL COURSE AND CURRICULUM RULES


Prerequisite and Co-Requisite Course Requirements

Student Responsibility to Determine Requisite Courses: Some Hamline Law courses after the first year require or encourage students to take other courses prior to enrolling in that particular course. These courses are designated as prerequisites, co-requisites or recommended courses (as defined below) Students are responsible for determining whether there are any prerequisites for a course they wish to take, and for passing that course before they register for the second course.

Prerequisites Definition: Prerequisites are courses that students must have completed before enrolling in the course with the prerequisite.

Prerequisite or Concurrent: Some courses list the requisite courses as prerequisite or concurrent. In that case, a student may take the requisite course either before or during the same term as the second course.

Co-Requisites Definition: These are courses that require a student to take another course during the same term as the second course. Students must be enrolled in both courses.

Recommended: Some course descriptions indicate that another course is recommended prior to taking the second course. Students are not required to take the recommended course as a condition of taking the second course.

Procedures: For procedures on registering for courses with prerequisites, waivers of prerequisites and other procedural information, see the Registration section of this bulletin.

First Year Course Prerequisites: Students must successfully complete Legal Research and Writing I to enroll in Legal Research and Writing II.

Clinical Course Rules

Professional Responsibility Requirement: Students must fulfill Hamline’s Professional Responsibility requirement as a prerequisite for all courses designated as clinics or enroll in Professional Responsibility concurrently.

Student Limited Practice Certification: Students in Hamline Law clinics must be certified for limited clinical practice by the Minnesota Supreme Court so they can handle client matters. To be eligible for student certification for limited practice, student must have completed the equivalent of one year full-time study (24 credits minimum) and be in good academic standing (cumulative GPA of 2.0 or better.) The Minnesota Supreme Court certifies students for limited practice for a period of one year. Students may request recertification for a second year.

Students should contact the clinic office as soon as they enroll in a clinic to determine the date by which they must request certification. Timely certification will ensure that a student can complete all of the requirements of the clinic.

For a full description of limited practice certification rules and procedures, see the Minnesota Supreme Court Rules on Certified Law Students - Rule 1, available at https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/court_rules/rule.php?name=prstud-toh.

Competitions

Student Responsibilities for Competitions Course: Students involved in competitions are required to sign an agreement accepting responsibility for timely submission of all written exercises and attendance at team meetings and practices. Students must meet the terms of this agreement to continue to participate in the competition team and receive a course grade. Students will earn up to two credits per competition, credit must be awarded in the semester in which the student completes the work for the course.

Student Responsibilities for Expenses: Students who are terminated from teams due to their failure to meet the terms of this agreement or who resign from the team before completing their responsibilities must reimburse Hamline for all costs incurred to enable their participation on the team, including the entry fee, airfare, hotel, exhibit costs, and printing/mailing costs. Students are responsible for any costs not covered by the law school for competitions and for any costs not specifically pre-approved, including mailing and printing costs. To receive reimbursement for competition costs, students must provide original receipts in a timely manner.

Competition Week: Student competition teams will be chosen during Competitions Week, held in spring semester. For more information, see the Competitions website.

Publications

The Hamline Journal of Public Law and Policy and the Hamline Law Review are governed in part by by-laws. Students should consult the Law Review website, http://law.hamline.edu/HamlineLawReview.html, or the Journal website, http://law.hamline.edu/JPLP.html, for more information.

Minnesota Law School Consortium Courses

Consortium Description: Students may register for courses at the University of Minnesota Law School, University of St. Thomas School of Law, and William Mitchell College of Law under the terms of the law schools’ consortium agreement.

Consortium Course Tuition: For consortium courses, Hamline students pay tuition to Hamline. Consortium credits are counted in the student’s course load for the purpose of determining full-time status, tuition and fees, etc.

Consortium Course Limitations: To qualify for consortium status, a course must not be offered during the academic year at the enrolling student’s home school. Clinics, externships, internships, and independent studies do not qualify as consortium courses.

Consortium Space Limitations: Consortium status courses at each school must have space available after each school’s initial add/drop procedures have been applied.

Consortium Summer and J-term Exclusions: Courses offered at any of the four schools during summer and January terms are excluded from consortium treatment. Students must petition to take summer and January term courses as visitors at the other school and pay tuition to the offering school. (See Visiting Away under Enrollment and Credits)

Maximum Consortium Credits: Students cannot earn more than six consortium credits during their law school career.

Eligibility for Consortium Courses: Students must be in good standing at Hamline Law to participate in the program.

Consortium Student Policies and Procedures: Students must abide by all rules of the visited school and are graded and evaluated by the visited school’s standards.

Examination Numbers: The visited institution assigns exam numbers to students from other law schools who participate in the consortium agreement.

Exam Conflicts: Students who have an exam conflict must apply for a variance from the home institution, and the home institution’s exam will be rescheduled. The visited institution handles emergency variances.

Grades and Transfers: The visited school awards grades and submits transcripts to the home institution. The home institution determines how to accept the transfer credits and how the transfer credits will appear on the home institution’s transcript. For consortium courses transferred to Hamline Law, grades appear on the transcript, but do not affect grade point averages. (AR112)

Receipt of Transcript: At the conclusion of the course, once grades have been posted, it is the student’s responsibility to request that the other institution send an official transcript to the OTR. Upon receipt of the transcript from the other institution, credits are posted as transfer credits.

Consortium Application Process

Consortium Courses: All courses with space available when registration opens to consortium students are presumed to be eligible for the consortium agreement except those excluded above. Interested students should review online schedules to identify courses they would like to take.

Consortium Student Requests: Consortium requests are processed through the home school’s registrar. Hamline students should complete and return to the OTR a Consortium Course Registration form to request consortium classes.

Processing Requests: The Hamline Law Registrar verifies the eligibility of the course, certifies the Hamline Law students’ good standing and e-mails the consortium requests to the other school’s registrar.

Registration at the Consortium School: The receiving school’s registrar notifies the Hamline Law registrar, who notifies the student, if and when seats are available. The student must then follow the registration procedures at the consortium school to register for the class.

Paper Registration Required: Once the student is registered at the other institution, the student must notify the Hamline Law Office of the Registrar in writing. The registrar then enrolls the student in a placeholder consortium course at Hamline Law, reflecting the appropriate number of credits.

Institute Course Policies

Tuition and Registration for Institute Courses: See sections on Tuition and Registration for information about special policies that apply to Business Law Institute (BLI), Dispute Resolution Institute (DRI), and Health Law Institute (HLI) summer and J-Term courses. Non-J.D. and non-Hamline students must apply to take summer and J-Term Institute courses. See the institute web pages for details.

J.D. and LL.M. Credit in Institute Courses: To earn credit, degree-seeking students must attend all class sessions and complete assigned advance reading. J.D. and LL.M. students usually have different course requirements than non-degree-seeking students, such as a paper, final examination, or simulation exercise (such as a trial) as required by the course.

Certificates

In addition to earning course credit toward their J.D. or LL.M. degree, Hamline students may earn certificates in Business Law, Dispute Resolution, or Health Law. See Academic Programs for details.

International Study

Hamline Study Abroad Programs: Hamline Law School offers the following opportunities for students to study abroad for Hamline Law credit toward their law degree. Students must apply to these programs and should consult the respective web page for information regarding courses, cost, withdrawal, faculty, travel, housing, insurance, financial aid, country information, passports and visa requirements.

  • London, England: Certificate Program in Global Arbitration Law and Practice: National and Transborder Perspectives (summer)
  • Jerusalem, Israel: Conflict Resolution from the Religious Traditions (J-term)
  • Bergen, Norway: Study Abroad in Norway (summer)
  • Puerto Rico: Study Abroad in Puerto Rico (J-term)

Other ABA Study Abroad Programs: J.D. students may earn transfer credits in study abroad programs through other ABA-accredited law schools. To receive credit toward the J.D from these programs, students must follow the procedures for visiting away, which involve receiving approval prior to enrollment. (See section 3.6)

Other Foreign Study: Students who wish to receive credit for foreign study other than in ABA-accredited study abroad programs must apply for approval of the foreign study through the office of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.

Requirements for Study: The proposed program must comply with the ABA rules on ABA Criteria for Student Study at a Foreign Institution. The student must demonstrate that the proposed program complies in all respects with ABA standards.

Faculty Supervisor: ABA rules require a full-time professor to act as a supervisor of the foreign study.

Administrative Fee: An administrative fee equal to the charge for a two credit course will be payable to the law school. The fee is in addition to any tuition or other fees charged by the foreign institution.

Financial Aid Limitations: In most cases, financial aid is not available for foreign study programs at non-ABA approved institutions.

Probation Limitation: Students must be in good standing to register for a study abroad program. This is an ABA rule and cannot be waived by the law school.

Independent Studies

The independent study offers students the opportunity to explore a specific legal topic under the supervision of a full-time faculty member. Independent study work usually involves the production of a significant research paper or comparable project. The scope and length of the paper or project depends on the number of independent study credits. Two independent studies of 1-3 credits each are permitted over the course of a student’s enrollment in the law school. Registration forms are available from the Office of the Registrar and online.