Overview

Throughout the course of its history, Notre Dame has developed a culture that combines a challenging academic life within an atmosphere of faith. To this atmosphere the Law School adds a rich intellectual tradition that infuses its curriculum with an understanding of the role philosophy, ethics, and values play in the the law.

Notre Dame Law School’s curriculum exposes students to a wide variety of topics that are relevant to all areas of practice. Students benefit from the experiences of professors who are both great scholars and great teachers. Our faculty consistently publish in the top journals in the country, and are invited to participate in some of the most important academic conferences in the world. Notre Dame Law School’s premier faculty scholars contribute to some of the most challenging legal considerations of our time.

At the same time, the faculty are interested in their students lives and invested in their success. Faculty are committed to providing a professional education that allows students to develop the skills necessary to practice law, while also encouraging them to understand how their study and practice of law fit into a life that also includes family, friends and service.

A defining characteristic of a Notre Dame legal education is the Law School’s emphasis on ethics in the curriculum. The required Ethics I course introduces first-year students to a cross-section of issues they can expect to encounter in their professional lives. A second ethics course is taken during a student’s second or third year of study.