Students typically follow one of four paths when choosing their courses beyond the required courses: (A) the Liberal Arts approach, (B) the Focus or Interest Area approach, (C) the Bar Exam approach, or (D) a blend of the above.
No approach is superior to the others. A cornerstone of the J.D. is that it is a broad-based program designed to prepare students for a wide range of lawyering experiences. Indeed, there are many lawyers who practice law in areas not represented in their academic history. Nevertheless, these lawyers are able to be successful due to their general understanding of legal concepts gained through the breadth of the J.D. curriculum and through practical experiences while in law school and after law school.
A description of the four approaches follows:
Liberal Arts Approach
This approach is taken by students who see the J.D. curriculum as a very broad based education. It is a common approach for a student who does not plan to take the bar exam or a student who plans to take the bar exam but feels confident that bar exam preparation can be managed well without taking a lot of bar tested subjects. Students choose courses almost exclusively based on personal or professional interests. Students taking a liberal arts approach need to be aware that many of the courses they hope to take may be high demand courses. Hence, they may not be able to access all of the courses they desire.
Focus or Interest Area Approach
Students who follow this approach will typically pay close attention to bar tested subjects but will also plan with an area of focus in mind. It is important to note that with a few exceptions (Intellectual Property, Taxation, and Trial work being three examples), the term “focus area” does not necessarily mean that a student takes a significant number of courses in the area. Rather, the student takes more courses in that area than they might if they were not pursuing a focus area.
When a student wishes to take a number of courses in the same focus area he or she must pay close attention to when classes are typically offered and to prerequisites. Also note that a focus area is not required for any student and does not necessarily place a student in a superior position to a student who does not pursue a focus area.
The Bar Exam Approach
Students who choose this approach generally take a high number of bar exam courses and essentially consider the list of bar exam courses as the list of courses from which they will fill out much of of their program.
Blended Approach
A combination of any of the above approaches.
Note
In almost all cases, Mitchell Hamline students take simulation courses, externships, and/or clinics regardless of the planning approach. This is not a requirement, but a wise choice that helps prepare students for a wide range of practice experiences.