JD Degree Requirements

Layout Builder

Required courses are subject to change. For more information, please view the latest Academic Regulations or contact the Office of the Registrar: registrar@vermontlaw.edu.

87 credits

Required Courses All of the following courses:
Course Code	Course Title	Credits
REQ7255	Appellate Advocacy	3
REQ7104	Civil Procedure I	3
REQ7103	Civil Procedure II	2
REQ7112	Constitutional Law	4
REQ7130	Contracts	4
REQ7140	Criminal Law	3
LIT7210	Evidence	4
REQ7120	Legal Analysis and Writing I	1
REQ7122	Legal Research	1
REQ7125	Legal Writing II: Theory and Practice	3
REQ7185	Legislation and Regulation	3
REQ7265	Professional Responsibility	3
REQ7160	Property	3
REQ7150	Torts	4

REQUIRED Courses At least two (2) of the following courses:
Course Code	Course Title	Credits
BUS6235	Corporations	4
CRI7262	Constitutional Criminal Procedure	4
CRI7307	Criminal Practice and Procedure	4
FAM7710	Estates	4
FAM7715	Family Law	3
PUB7500	First Amendment Law	3
BUS6280	Sales	2

Experiential Courses At least six (6) credits from the following experiential courses:
Course Code	Course Title	Credits
BUS6219	Entrepreneurship and Legal Lab Practicum (VLSell)	2/4/6/12
CLI9302	Environmental Advocacy Clinic	6/9/12
CLI9310	South Royalton Legal Clinic FT	12
CLI9311	South Royalton Legal Clinic - Summer	6 or 9
CLI9312	South Royalton Legal Clinic PT	6
CLI9318	Environmental Justice Clinic	6/9/12
CLI9319	Climate Justice Practicum	4
CLI9321	Farmed Animal Advocacy Clinic	4/6/9/12
CLI	Advanced Farmed Animal Advocacy Clinic	4/6/9/12
CLI9323	Advanced Environmental Advocacy Clinic	6/9/12
CLI9333	Advanced South Royalton Legal Clinic	6/12
CLI9348	Advanced Environmental Justice Clinic	4/6/9
CLI9349	Advanced Climate Justice Practicum	4
CLI9411	Semester in Practice (SIP)	12
CLI9412	Semester in Practice (SIP) Class	2
CLI9425	JD Part-Time Externship	4-8
CLI9427	Energy Clinic	4 or 6
CLI9428	Food and Agriculture Clinic	6/9/12
CLI	Advanced Food and Agriculture Clinic	6/9/12
CLI9430	Judicial Externship	12
CLI9431	Judicial Externship Class	2
CLI9437	Advanced Energy Clinic	4 or 6
ENV5535	Transnational Environmental Practicum	4
PUB7525	Legislative Clinic	6

Advanced Legal Writing project One (1) of the following advanced legal writing project courses:
Course Code	Course Title	Credits
ADR6450	Advanced Dispute Resolution Writing Seminar	2
BUS6262	Social Enterprise Law	2
BUS6330	Sports Law	2
CLI9302	Environmental and Natural Resources Clinic	6/13
CLI9310/9312	South Royalton Legal Clinic	6/13
CLI9450	Land Use Clinic	4/6
CRI7305	Advanced Criminal Law Seminar	2
DIV7606	Civil Rights Seminar	2
DIV7607	Constitutional Rights Litigation	3
DIV7610	Race and the Law Seminar	2
DIV7615	Sexual Orientation and the Law Seminar	2
ENV5110	Ecology of Food and Agriculture	3
ENV5212	Climate Change and the Law	3
ENV5236	Advanced Natural Resources Law	2
ENV5250	Watershed Management and Protection	3
ENV5303	Advanced Energy Writing Seminar	2
ENV5304/5306	Comparative Environmental Law Research Seminar	2/1
ENV5305	Environmental Ethics Seminar	2
ENV5307	Animals and the Law	3
ENV5310	Environmental Health Law Seminar	2
ENV5335	Extinction and Climate Change	2
ENV5337	Frontier Issues in Environmental Law and Policy	2
ENV5342	Legal Adaptation to Global Warming	2
ENV5345	Land and the Law of Takings	2
ENV5349	Regulating the Marine Environment	2
ENV5365	Climate Change: The Power of Taxes	2
ENV5408	The Law of Animals in Agriculture	3
ENV5493	Agricultural Biotechnology and the Law	2
HIS7555	American Legal History: The Search for National Identity	2
INT7407	Comparative Law: Comparative Legal Systems	3
INT7413	European Union Law	3
INT7428	International Regulation of Trade	3
INT7430	Spanish Constitutional Law	2
INT7437	Introduction to Chinese Law	2
JUR7307	Culture and the Environment	2
JUR7323	Law and Popular Culture	2
JUR7330	Moral Philosophy for Professionals Seminar	2/3
JUR7332	Law, Lawyers and Religion	2/3
JUR7350	Women and the Law Seminar	2 +1 IRP
JUR7390	Jurisprudence Tutorial	1/2
PUB7550	National Security Law	3
PUB7580	State and Local Government	2
WRI7900	Independent Research Project	1/7
WRI7950	Law Review	2/4
WRI7960	Vermont Journal of Environmental Law	2/4

This page is offered as a quick, simplified glance of a complex topic. Please consult the Academic Regulations for full and official degree requirements.

JD Programs

The JD degree program prepares students to engage in the general practice of law or to pursue a career in environmental or energy law, international law, criminal law, or some other specialty.

Learn more

JD Learning Outcomes

Results. The JD that provides options, focus, and outstanding advantages from VLS.

How to Apply for JD Programs at VLS

Applications for any person with a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution.

How To Apply

JD/LLM Joint Degree in Energy Law

Earn both a Juris Doctor (JD) and an LLM in Energy Law in less time than is required to obtain each degree separately.

Learn more

AJD students pose on a stone wall on the front lawn at VLS

Accelerated Two-Year JD

Vermont Law School's Accelerated Juris Doctor program will save you a year's tuition and living expenses. And you'll enter (or re-enter) the work force a year sooner.

Learn More

JD Externships

Vermont Law's extensive externship program provides JD students a range of opportunities to obtain practical experience in a wide variety of legal and judicial settings part time or full time.

Learn more

Virtual Tour