JD Curricular Guide for Students

The UNH Law curriculum affords you significant freedom to choose courses that will help you meet your career goals. This guide organizes the elective offerings according to major areas of modern legal practice. Each section provides background on the realities of getting a job in the area and on the skills needed to succeed in the field. It is not possible or desirable to take all the courses we offer in most areas. The faculty has prioritized the courses as essential, recommended and related.

The faculty believes it unwise to try to become a true “generalist.” The reality is that most small “general” practitioners focus on a few areas of practice. Rather, we suggest studying the broad skills needed for all lawyers and focusing on a few promising substantive areas. Examples of such areas involve:

•     Real Estate
•     Litigation
•     Criminal Justice
•     Consumer, Collection and Bankruptcy
•     Patents or other Intellectual Property
•     General Practice Emphasizing Local Businesses
•     Family and Children
•     Elders and Persons with Disabilities
•     Corporate and Securities

Please use this manual only to refine your thinking on course selection. You should still use the formal and informal advising systems in place to obtain advice about the combination of courses most suited to your particular interest and goals. One of the most important features of UNH Law is that the faculty and staff are committed to customizing your education to meet your career and intellectual goals and helping you secure rewarding jobs after graduation. To meet these goals, you were assigned an advisor when you arrived. Many of you have remained with that person; others have chosen to seek advice from the professors teaching in your primary area of interest. These pages are meant to enhance, not to supplant, the important interaction among faculty, staff and students.

Disclaimer

This information is not a contract or a guarantee. While our curriculum is generally stable over time, whether a particular course is offered, and if so, in what semesters and time slots, is subject to many variables. This material is current as of February 23, 2011.