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Concentration Requirements

Core Requirements

Prerequisites

Successful completion of the following required first year day/second year evening courses:


Advanced Required Courses

Successful completion of the following courses:


Advanced Advocacy Electives

Complete two from selected course offerings, at least one of which must address sentencing issues.

 Key:

(pa) = pending approval by the Criminal Justice Concentrations Adviser as a course which fulfills the requirement for addressing sentencing issues.
(s) = meets the requirement for addressing sentencing issues


Experiential Requirement

Successful completion of an experiential course, team, or externship from the group of offerings listed below. Minimum requirement of 2 units. If a student seeks to complete this requirement through other experiential work, the student may petition the Criminal Justice Concentration Adviser, Professor Sean Kennedy, for approval of the alternative experience. It will be at the discretion of the Concentration Adviser to approve or deny such a petition.

The asterisks above signify that the courses indicated can either be taken to fulfill the experiential course requirement OR the advanced advocacy elective requirement, but not both.

Research Skills Requirement

Students in the criminal justice concentration are required to complete one research skills class in addition to the Legal Research & Writing course that all students are required to complete.  Students may satisfy the additional research skills class component of this concentration by taking either Legal Research Fundamentals for the Litigator or Advanced Legal Research.  The Criminal Justice Concentration Adviser also strongly recommends that students in this concentration consider taking Appellate Advocacy, which has specialized criminal appeals sections, to hone practice-oriented research and writing skills.  The final appellate brief from this class is an excellent criminal law-related writing sample to submit to future employers.  Email Sean Kennedy at sean.kennedy@lls.edu to discuss which research skills classes work best for your specific career goals.  

Nota Bene for Spring 2017 graduates:  Although the new research skills course requirement is effective immediately, Spring 2017 graduates are exempt if they simply complete the previous requirement, which required each student to participate in an online, self-study practicum entitled “criminal justice concentration research skills practicum.”  Email reference librarian Amber Kennedy Madole at amber.madole@lls.edu for further information about and access to this online practicum.   

Suggested Service Opportunities

Below are a list of criminal justice related volunteer opportunities which may be used not only to fulfill the LLS pro bono service hour requirement for graduation, but may also provide you with more hands-on experience and networking opportunities.

  • Assisting with ABA Roundtables on Criminal Justice
  • Assisting with the Advocacy Institute Newsletter
  • Assisting with the Fidler Institute on Criminal Justice
  • Assisting with the Loyola Advocacy Website
  • Coordinating Criminal Justice Speakers and Criminal Justice Workshops at LLS
  • Volunteering at a rape or domestic violence counseling center
  • Volunteering at the CJLP


Course Counseling and Completion

Students should meet the faculty adviser for the Concentration regularly, at least once each semester to ensure the student is on track in completing the program and that the student is taking the best courses based on his/her goals and interests. All course requirements must be completed by the conclusion of the student's degree program; a student may not fulfill a Concentration requirement after the term in which he/she has graduated. 

*Grade in Ethical Lawyering and Evidence not included in GPA calculation for honors recognition.