Co-Curricular Courses
Cocurricular activities, through which students may earn credit toward graduation, provide students with a variety of opportunities to enhance their classroom experiences with “real world” research, writing and supervised law practice. These activities help strengthen the sense of community within the Law School by allowing students to work together on projects – whether publishing a legal periodical or preparing for a team competition. These activities also sensitize students to the needs of the community that exists beyond the Law School by giving students the opportunity to interact with students from other law schools, practitioners and individuals in need of legal services.
Course Descriptions
LAW 75730 – Asylum Law Externship (National Immigrant Justice Center)
The Refugee and Asylum Law Externship Program is a spring semester practical training course offered by Heartland Alliance’s National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) for law students interested in immigration law. Students will attend weekly evening classes and will be assigned an asylum case to prepare for presentation before the Asylum Office.
LAW 75700 – GALILEE – Group Alternative Live-in Legal Education Experience (cocurricular)
Provides students with the opportunity to live for a few days in the inner city (Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and other cities) to learn the legal needs of the urban poor, and to observe the ways in which these needs presently are met. As a result, students develop ways to incorporate their religious and ethical value systems into their future practice of law.
LAW 75739 – Journal of College and University Law (cocurricular)
Student staff members may earn academic credit by researching, writing, or editing material for publication in the Journal of College and University Law.
LAW 75740 – Journal of International and Comparative Law (cocurricular)
(1-0-1)O’Connell
Student staff members may earn academic credit by researching, writing, or editing material for publication in the Journal of International and Comparative Law.
LAW 75753 – Journal of Legislation (cocurricular)
Student staff members may earn academic credit by researching, writing, or editing material for publication in the Journal of Legislation.
LAW 75725 – Legal Aid (cocurricular)
Students may earn academic credit through clinical work and participation in seminars relating to legal-aid topics. Activities selected may include trial work on family law issues, landlord-tenant relations, immigration and legal issues relating to homelessness and its prevention. See the Legal Aid Clinic director for particulars.
LAW 75733 – Legal Externship—Public Defender (cocurricular)
Involves assisting actual public defenders in representing indigent clients at the St. Joseph County Courthouse—Trial and Misdemeanor Division. Students can expect to represent clients in many capacities, some of which include negotiating plea bargains with prosecutors; preparing and conducting bench trials; interviewing and subpoenaing witnesses; writing and filing discovery motions; and other activities within the administration of justice. Students are expected to work at the courthouse one full morning or afternoon each week. Besides the courtroom experience, students must attend class sessions once per week that feature prosecutors, police officers, public defenders, judges, and probation officers lecturing on their duties as officers of the court.
LAW 75735 – Legal Externship—Public Defender (cocurricular)
Students who have completed the externship requirements of LAW 75733 may enroll for additional cocurricular credit. Students may work in the Trial and Misdemeanor Division at the St. Joseph County Courthouse or may assist felony public defenders. Those who work for the felony public defenders must agree to work at least 60 hours over the course of the semester.
LAW 75745 – Moot Court—International (cocurricular)
Second- and third-year students may earn academic credit through participation in the Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court competition as research fellows or as members of the Law School’s International Moot Court Team.
LAW 75747 – Moot Court—Trial (cocurricular)
NDLS has two (2) mock trial teams that compete in national competitions. The American Association of Justice (AAJ) team competes in the AAJ Student Trial Advocacy Competition. The Barristers team competes in the National Trial Competition (NTC), one of the most prestigious in the country.
Students tryout and are chosen for the both Teams during the first week of classes in the fall. It is very helpful to have already taken Comprehensive Trial Ad or be enrolled in the Fall Intensive Trial Ad course prior to tryouts. Students who make the teams must then enroll in the fall Moot Court Trial Class. Each team will potentially be made up of a mixture of 2L’s and 3L’s.
The Moot Court Trial Class is designed specifically to prepare students for competition. The class is a combination of lecture and performance.
LAW 75751 – Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics and Public Policy (cocurricular)
Third-year staff members may earn one unit of academic credit each semester for editorial work on the Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics and Public Policy.
LAW 75749 – Notre Dame Law Review (cocurricular)
Second- and third-year students may earn academic credit by researching, writing, and editing material in conjunction with the preparation for publication of the Notre Dame Law Review.
LAW – 75732 – Street Law (cocurricular)
Presents practical legal issues in the areas of criminal, juvenile, family, housing, consumer, individual rights, and environmental law. Law students participate in a weekly seminar designed to prepare them for their respective teaching assignments in local high schools.
