Juris Doctor Degree
Admission Requirements
To be accepted into the Juris Doctor program, students must have graduated from an accredited college or university with a baccalaureate degree and must have taken either the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) or the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) .
Application Process
- Apply Online Via LSAC.
- Complete Washburn Law application.
- Attach personal statement and resume.
- Submit to Credential Assembly Service (CAS):
- Official Law School Admission Test (LSAT) scores. If applying to law school with GRE scores instead of LSAT scores, request that Educational Testing Services (ETS) sends scores to Washburn University School of Law.
- Transcripts from all institutions of higher education attended.
- At least one letter of recommendation is required. No more than three letters will be accepted.
Degree Requirements
First-Year Program: Success from the Start
Washburn Law’s first-year program gives students a meaningful start to their legal education. The low student/faculty ratio allows for individualized attention and an interactive learning experience. Washburn Law has developed a program to help students maximize their potential for success in law school, on the bar exam, and in law practice. Incoming students take advantage of this program by starting law school a week earlier than second- and third-year students.
The Law School’s rigorous First Week Program teaches strategies to develop the skills needed for academic success.
First-Year Courses
Students entering in the fall will take the following courses in their first year:
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | |
| LW 875 | Lgl Analysis Rsrch Writing I | 3 |
| LW 725 | Torts | 4 |
| LW 732 | Property | 4 |
| LW 729 | Criminal Law | 3 |
| Hours | 14 | |
| Spring | ||
| LW 876 | Lgl Analysis Rsrch Writing II | 3 |
| LW 863 | Civil Procedure I | 4 |
| LW 861 | Constitutional Law I | 4 |
| LW 700 | Contracts | 4 |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Total Hours | 29 | |
Students entering in the spring will take the following courses in their first year:
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| First Year | ||
| Spring | ||
| LW 875 | Lgl Analysis Rsrch Writing I | 3 |
| LW 863 | Civil Procedure I | 4 |
| LW 861 | Constitutional Law I | 4 |
| LW 700 | Contracts | 4 |
| Subtotal | 15 | |
| Fall | ||
| LW 876 | Lgl Analysis Rsrch Writing II | 3 |
| LW 725 | Torts | 4 |
| LW 732 | Property | 4 |
| LW 729 | Criminal Law | 3 |
| Subtotal | 14 | |
| Total Hours | 29 | |
Note: The curriculum is subject to change.
Upper-Level Requirements
To graduate, students must complete:
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Upper-Level Requirements 1 | ||
| LW 770 | Professional Responsibility | 3 |
| LW 862 | Constitutional Law II | 3 |
| LW 868 | Civil Procedure II | 2,3 |
| LW 757 | Evidence | 4 |
| One Perspectives on Law course (See list) | 3 | |
| Upper-level writing certification requirement 2 | 3 | |
| Oral presentation requirement 3 | 3 | |
| Skills courses (See list) | 6 | |
| Total Hours | 27-28 | |
- 1
Graduation requirements are subject to change
- 2
Courses that meet this requirement vary from semester to semester. Additional information is available at the following link.
- 3
All students are required, after completing at least 26 hours to make a substantial oral presentation. See additional details at the following link.
In choosing electives, students should understand that law school is an opportunity to obtain a broad foundation in the law. The faculty, therefore, encourages selection of courses across a wide range of topics. Even if students have an area of law in which they know they want to specialize, it is important to study other areas of law to understand their impact on the chosen specialty.
Upper-Level Electives
Perspectives on Law Courses
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| LW 735 | Admiralty and Maritime Law | 3 |
| LW 743 | Advanced Water Law | 1 |
| LW 792 | Artificial Intelligence & Law | 2 |
| LW 891 | Climate Change Crisis and Law | 2 |
| LW 852 | Comparative Family Law | 2 |
| LW 754 | Family Law Seminar | 2 |
| LW 934 | Gender, Sexuality, and the Law | 3 |
| LW 778 | Intl Business Transactions | 3 |
| LW 812 | International Human Rights | 2-3 |
| LW 919 | Int'l Human Rghts/Indig People | 3 |
| LW 973 | Int'l Petroleum Transactions | 3 |
| LW 948 | Intern'l Intellectual Property | 3 |
| LW 973 | Int'l Petroleum Transactions | 3 |
| LW 799 | Jurisprudence | 2 |
| LW 927 | Law of Armed Conflict | 3 |
| LW 853 | Law and Economics | 2,3 |
| LW 883 | Leadership for Lawyers | 2 |
| LW 798 | Legal History Seminar | 2 |
| LW 990 | Stdy Abroad, Univ. /Maastricht | 6-15 |
| LW 823 | Tax Policy Seminar | 2 |
| LW 723 | Torts: Product Liab. & Privacy | 2 |
Skills Courses
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| LW 737 | Adv Evidence: Expert Witnesses | 1 |
| LW 753 | Alternative Dispute Resolution | 3 |
| LW 767 | Appellate Practice | 2 |
| LW 854 | Arbitration | 2 |
| LW 913 | Child Advocacy Training | 1-2 |
| LW 756D | Clinic: Advanced Litigation | 1-3 |
| LW 931 | Collaborative Law | 1-2 |
| LW 871 | Commercial Leasing | 1 |
| LW 903 | Criminal Appeal Advocacy | 3 |
| LW 903D | Crim. Appeal Adv.-Adv. Topics | 1-2 |
| LW 906 | Cross Examination Techniques | 1 |
| LW 716 | Divorce Practice | 2 |
| LW 937 | Evolution of a Business Trans. | 1 |
| LW 859 | Advanced Oral Arguments | 1 |
| LW 914 | Interviewing and Counseling | 2 |
| LW 877 | Jury Selection and Voir Dire | 1 |
| LW 702 | Kansas Legal Research | 2 |
| LW 925 | Law Practice Technologies | 1 |
| LW 965 | LARW for the Government Client | 2 |
| LW 962 | Legal Writing Clerkship/Extern | 1 |
| LW 857 | Negotiation | 2 |
| LW 856 | Oil and Gas Joint Operations | 2 |
| LW 762 | Moot Court | 1-2 |
| LW 768 | Pretrial Advocacy-Criminal | 3 |
| LW 858 | Rural Practice Externship | 3-6 |
| LW 920 | Spec. Legal Res: Bus & Tax Law | 1-2 |
| LW 949 | Spec Leg Res: Statutory/Reg. | 2 |
| LW 907 | Taking & Defending Depositions | 1 |
| LW 707 | Transactional Drafting | 3 |
| LW 892 | VITA and Compliance | 1 |
| LW 901 | Writing for Law Practice | 3 |
Recommended Foundation Courses
The faculty strongly encourages enrollment in the following foundation courses, which lay the ground work for other advanced electives and are considered part of the core of a well-rounded legal education. Students are urged to enroll in these electives, along with the required courses in the second year of law study. Enrolling in these courses in the second year will not only lay the foundation for more advanced courses in the third year, but also result in fewer conflicts in scheduling classes and exams in both the second and third years.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| LW 780 | Administrative Law | 3 |
| LW 703 | Business Associations | 4 |
| LW 915 | Decedents' Estates and Trusts | 3,4 |
| LW 728 | Family Law | 3 |
| LW 765 | Pretrial Advocacy-Civil | 3 |
| LW 768 | Pretrial Advocacy-Criminal | 3 |
| LW 928 | Public International Law | 3 |
| LW 733 | Real Estate Transactions | 3 |
| LW 790 | Taxation of Individual Income | 3 |
Additional Course Suggestions
The following additional courses address material commonly tested on state bar examinations and are often studied in the third year of law school.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| LW 755 | Conflict of Laws | 3 |
| LW 739 | Remedies | 3 |
| LW 963 | Multistate Legal Analysis | 3 |
Prerequisites
One factor students should consider in course selection is whether a desired course requires a prerequisite course. Prerequisites are listed at the end of each course description. For descriptions of all courses currently offered, see washburnlaw.edu/academics/courses/index.html.
Legal Analysis, Research, and Writing Program
The Legal Analysis, Research, and Writing Program (LARW) provides a strong foundation in lawyering skills for first-year law students. Washburn Law’s LARW program is consistently ranked among the top legal writing programs in the United States by U.S. News & World Report. All full-time Legal Analysis, Research, and Writing professors co-direct the first-year program and are members of the Association of Legal Writing Directors (ALWD) and the Legal Writing Institute (LWI). To assist with their writing projects, students and faculty have access to one of the nation’s highest-ranked law libraries and professional library staff.
All first-year students complete six hours of graded Legal Analysis, Research, and Writing. Washburn Law’s first-year program is one of only a handful nationwide that is staffed primarily by full-time, tenure-track faculty members. Classes are small and are taught by professors dedicated to legal writing as one of their primary fields for teaching, scholarship, and service.
The first-year curriculum is designed to give every student a strong foundation in both objective and persuasive legal reasoning, legal research skills, clear writing style, and oral advocacy. Legal writing students regularly observe oral arguments before state and federal appellate courts.
Students receive extensive written and oral feedback from faculty members on all major writing assignments. The feedback, consultation, and rewriting process enables law students to become increasingly proficient and independent in many of the core analytical and persuasive lawyering skills by the end of their first year. Furthermore, to introduce students to the rigors of the profession, the course is designed to simulate the demands of the actual practice of law. Washburn Law is among half of law schools that teach Legislative History and Administrative Law research in the first year.
Upper-level students also complete a rigorous writing experience reflecting the core values of supervised rewriting and individualized feedback. Washburn Law’s regular upper-level courses include Writing for Law Practice and Transactional Drafting.