Academics

Few law schools stand independent of a university. But Vermont Law School, unencumbered by a larger bureaucracy, has always been able to act quickly to shape its offerings with an eye to the future of the legal profession. Our curriculum rigorously addresses the fundamentals of law early on, but VLS students also have a chance to customize their education to build skill sets in practice areas on the leading edge of the law and social change.

Our balance of challenging academics and experiential learning works well for students planning to work in the public and nonprofit sectors as well as those aiming for large firms in private practice. At VLS, scholarship and academics are in service to what lawyers are actually called upon to do in the field.

Coursework in our General Practice Program is conducted as if the class were a law firm. Student “associates” tackle real-world cases with faculty serving as senior partners. VLS clinics and experiential programs put students to work solving community problems. VLS also works in partnership with other schools—including Cambridge, Dartmouth, Thunderbird, and Yale—to provide dual degree options for students worldwide in fields ranging from global management to constitutional law, environmental management, and business organization law, among many others.