Academic Curriculum
The three-year curriculum is intensive and challenging. It is both broad and general in nature, offering courses in subjects as diverse as international business transactions and environmental law, as well as traditional core courses. The underlying purpose of the curriculum is to give students a solid foundation in legal analysis and practical lawyering skills that will serve them well in any field they choose to pursue.
First Year
All first-year students take a prescribed set of courses designed to develop their legal analytical skills and their ability to read and understand cases and statutory material. The first year curriculum also provides an introduction to legal research and writing and offers basic substantive law coverage that will serve as a foundation for upper-level courses. Most first-year courses are taught using the case method, which emphasizes intensive analysis and discussion of legal cases.
Second & Third Year
Upper level courses are designed to build upon and expand the foundation laid in the first year and to develop a variety of legal skills. Most courses after the first year are elective. However, all students are required to complete successfully Professional Responsibility (LAW 632), Constitutional Law II (Law 641) and one of the upper level courses designated by the faculty as a "Perspective Course" before graduation. A perspective course includes International Law and any course which places the American legal system in a broader context through a comparative, historical, or philosophical analysis, or through the systematic application of the methods of another discipline.
In addition, as a requirement of graduation, each student must fulfill the Independent Writing Requirement. The requirement may be satisfied in several ways: through completion of an Independent Writing Project (a substantial research paper under the supervision of a faculty member) or through membership on the Maine Law Review, Ocean and Coastal Law Journal or Moot Court Board. (Moot Court Board members must also complete a research paper under Faculty supervision. Please see Section II.A.2.iii for additional information). The Independent Writing Requirement is designed to ensure that every student develops analytical writing and research skills as well as skills in meaningful criticism.
The breadth and diversity of the upper level curriculum often make it difficult for students to select a program of study that is well suited to their individual interests and their academic and career goals. To assist students in this difficult task, each student is assigned a faculty advisor in the first year. All students are encouraged to consult their faculty advisors—and other members of the faculty as well—in making course selections and in developing an approach to their legal education. Although most second and third year courses are elective, the faculty believes that certain courses are important components of a sound legal education. The faculty therefore strongly recommends that students take the following courses prior to graduation:
- Administrative Law
- Business Associations
- Evidence
- Taxation I
- Trusts and Estates
and one or more of the upper level commercial law courses:
- Secured Transactions
- Negotiable Instruments
- Bankruptcy
- Conflict of Laws
- Federal Courts
In addition, students who want to gain exposure to the "real world" of law practice and government service should consider taking either a practical skills, simulation, planning or clinical course offering.
