1998 - 2000 Catalog Archive

Degree Requirements

Course Load

The normal course load is regulated by the rules of the college relating to maximum and minimum course loads. A student in the full-time program cannot take more than 16 nor less than 10 hours in any semester without special permission. A student in the part-time program cannot take more than 10 nor less than 8 hours in any semester without special permission. There is a maximum but no minimum course load requirement for students in either program during the summer term.

The College of Law permits its students in the full-time program to accelerate their work and to graduate in two and one-half years. In order to accelerate, a student in the full-time program must attend two summer terms, in which he or she completes successfully at least 6 hours. A student in the part-time program may graduate in four years including at least two summer terms.

Full-time Students: All full-time students must take the basic required courses in the following sequence in the Day Division: First Year First Semester Second Semester Civil Procedure I 3 Civil Procedure II 3 Contracts I 3 Contracts II 3 Criminal Law 3 Property 4 Torts 4 Constitutional Law 4 Legal Research, Writing and Legal Research, Writing and Appellate Advocacy I 3 Appellate Advocacy II 1 Part-time Students: All part-time students* must take the basic required courses in the following sequence in the Evening Division: First Year First Semester Second Semester Contracts I 3 Contracts II 3 Criminal Law 3 Torts 4 Legal Research, Writing and Legal Research, Writing and Appellate Advocacy I 3 Appellate Advocacy II 1 Second Year Civil Procedure I 3 Civil Procedure II 3 Property 4 Constitutional Law 4 *This course of study is modified for the limited number of students pursuing a part-time program in the day division.

Inaddition to the courses listed above, a student before graduation must take Legal Ethics and at least one perspectives course and write a scholarly paper in connection with a seminar. Perspectives courses include Bioethics and Law, Civil and Political Rights, Comparative Constitutional Law, Gender and the Law, International Law, International Organizations, Jurisprudence, Law and Economics, Law and Literature, American Legal History-Foundations, English History-Foundations, Legal Process, Race and the Law and other courses that may from time to time be so identified by the College.


Upper Level Standard Program Courses

The College of Law has designed a "standard program" of upper level courses that it strongly recommends to all students. These "standard program" courses, while not required, provide basic course material coverage in subject areas tested on most bar examinations. As indicated earlier, these upper level courses include: Administrative Law Evidence Agency/Partnership Family Law Commercial Paper Federal Income Taxation Corporations Secured Transactions Criminal Procedure-Investigations Trusts and Estates


Advanced Courses

Advanced courses which are typically offered to second and third-year (and, in the evening division, advanced) students are listed below. Some are taught only in alternate years; the college's ability to offer any particular course depends on the availability of qualified teachers and a sufficient amount of interest on the part of students. Accounting for Lawyers Independent Writing Admiralty Insurance Law Advanced Sales International Business Problems Alternative Dispute Resolution International Law Antitrust Law Interviewing, Counseling & Negotiating Juris Prudence Arbitration Juvenile Law Bioethics and Law Labor Law Business Planning Land Transactions Civil and Political Rights Land Use Law Commercial Real Estate Development Law & Economics Communication Law Legal Clinic Comparative Constitutional Law Legal Drafting Conflict of Laws Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility Copyright Law Legal History-American Foundations Corporate Finance Legal History-English Roots of American Laws Corporate Taxation Local Government Law & Taxation Creditors's Rights Natural Resources Law Criminal Law Practice Program Patent Law Criminal Procedure-Adjudications Patent, Trademark and Copyright Law Elder Law Pension and Employee Benefits Employment Discrimination Products Liability Employment Law Regulated Industries Environmental Law Remedies Estate and Gift Tax Securities Regulation Estate Planning Sports Law Federal Jurisdiction Trademark/Unfair Competition Law Honors Research Program Trial Practice Independent Research Program White Collar Crime International Organizations

Each year several new or experimental courses are offered. In recent years, these courses have included Advanced Legal Research, Business Bankruptcy/Reorganization, Complex Litigation, Environmental Land Use Law, Land Finance, Law and Education, Litigation, Strategy and Tactics, Partnership Taxation, Public Employee Collective Bargaining, Securities Practice, Tax Procedure and Tax Fraud, and Mental Health Law.


Law Courses With Business Emphasis

For students interested in intensive work in the business area, the College of Law offers a wide selection of basic and advanced courses. The courses emphasize an understanding of the business setting in which legal problems arise and the policy implications of the legal rules which have developed. The student is encouraged to explore the legal, financial and economic implications of the problems facing the modern business lawyer.

Business courses offered include: Accounting for Lawyers Federal Income Taxation Administrative Law Insurance Law Advanced Securities Regulation International Business Problems Antitrust Law International Taxation Arbitration Labor Law Business Bankruptcy/Reorganization Land Transactions Business Planning Land Use Law Commercial Paper Law and Economics Commercial Real Estate Partnership Taxation Development Patent Law Copyright Law Patent, Trademark and Copyright Law Corporate Finance Regulated Industries Corporate Taxation Secured Transactions Creditors' Rights Securities Practice Discrimination in Employment Securities Regulation Employee Benefits Law Trademark/Unfair Competition Law Employee Law Unfair Business Practices Employment Law White Collar Crime Environmental Law


Joint J.D./M.B.A. Program

Lawyers often are called upon to participate in decision-making involving management polices. Business executives often must be aware of the legal environment in which their decisions are made. In response to this growing need for interdisciplinary knowledge, The University of Toledo offers a joint J.D./ M.B.A. program.

The program offers the student an opportunity to obtain two graduate degrees evidencing the completion of an integrated curriculum in one of seven areas of concentration or in an integrated program that is individually tailored to meet the student's objectives. Areas of concentration include: (1) Accounting/Tax; (2) Business Economics/Economic Regulation; (3) Finance; (4) Health Care Law and Administration; (5) International Business Law; (6) Marketing/Consumer Law; and (7) Personnel Management/Labor Law.

Tobe admitted to the joint degree program, a student must separately apply for admission and be admitted to both the College of Law and the Graduate School of the College of Business Administration, attaching to each application the additional information called for in the application for the joint degree program. The College of Business Administration will accept the results of the LSAT exam in lieu of the GMAT, so that an applicant need take only the LSAT.

For additional information on this program students should contact either the Admissions Office of the College of Law or the Graduate Studies Office in the College of Business Administration.


Clinical Programs

Students, under close faculty supervision, gain experience in interviewing, counseling, negotiation, trial and appellate practice by handling actual cases. These courses are designed to develop basic legal skills to a high level of competence while acquainting students with the structure and operation of our courts and legal institutions. Cooperative relationships between the clinical programs, the courts and various cooperating agencies enable students to receive maximum exposure and experience.

Currently offered clinical programs include the College of Law Legal Clinic, the Criminal Law Practice Program, and the Dispute Resolution Clinic. The College of Law Legal Clinic is a general practice experience which operates out of the Clinic Suite on the first floor of the Law Center. The Criminal Law Practice Program gives students actual experience in prosecuting misdemeanor actions in local prosecutor offices. Mediation experience is available through the Dispute Resolution Clinic in a variety of matters including unruly child complaints and custody and visitation issues in parentage cases in juvenile court.

Nomore than 10 hours of Clinic work, including Interviewing, Counseling and Negotiation, may be applied to the 87 hour graduation requirement.

Informational meetings are held early in each semester to acquaint interested students with the offerings and their requirements. Persons interested in enrolling in a clinic should plan to attend this meeting. At that time applications will be accepted for the subsequent academic semester. If space remains available after this special preregistration period, additional applicants may be accepted into a program, but students are encouraged to apply at the earliest available opportunity. This enables students accepted into clinical programs to plan their intervening courses in anticipation of their clinical assignments.


Internship Programs

The Judicial Internship Program is a two-hour pass/fail credit course in which students are placed in federal and state appellate courts. No economic compensation will be permitted.

Anintern is expected to work a minimum of 210 hours during the term. Duties included the screening of cases and general research projects delegated by the judge or his/her staff. An intern is expected to turn in an interim report in the middle of the term, a daily log of time spent during the term, copies of all written work, and a final evaluation at the end of the term.

A student must have completed at least 31 credit hours at the College of Law and be in academic good standing at the commencement of the internship. A student may enroll in and receive academic credit for only one judicial internship.


International Programs

Recognizing the global nature of the modern lawyer's working environment, the College of Law has developed and expanded its international relationships. Faculty members in recent years have taught and conducted research in Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. The College of Law has been an active participant in the American Bar Association's Central and East Europe Legal Initiative (CEELI) that is providing input into the development of democratic political institutions and a free market economy in former Eastern bloc countries. In connection with that program, the College of Law has had since 1992 a cooperative agreement with Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Poland. The agreement provides for mutual support and exchanges of faculty, students and research. It is anticipated that similar agreements will be developed with other institutions in Central and Eastern Europe and elsewhere.


The Legal Institute of the Great Lakes

Animportant function of many law schools is the conduct of centers for research and study. Their activities benefit the legal profession and the community at large as well as offering unique opportunities to students. The Legal Institute of the Great Lakes is a research center affiliated with the College of Law. It supports research, special studies and conferences on legal issues of greater than ordinary import to the Great Lakes Region of the United States and Canada.

The Institute provides numerous opportunities for involvement of students at the College of Law. It sponsors a course at the College of Law on Law and the Great Lakes which integrates major topical areas including environmental law, natural resources law, transportation law, agricultural law, commercial and corporate law, and international and comparative Canadian law. It publishes a newsletter prepared with student assistance and it generates research projects using students as primary researchers.

Last Updated: 11/15/23