Concord’s curriculum design takes full advantage of the Internet. It replicates the classroom experience through a combination of video lectures and live synchronous classes; improves on the typical law school course by providing more opportunity for individual feedback through frequent quizzes and writing assignments; and promotes student engagement through the use of chatrooms, bulletin boards, and one-on-one email exchanges.
The curriculum itself is based on a traditional Juris Doctor degree program. Students are assigned the same casebooks and hornbooks used by students nationwide. However, online, the standard course syllabus becomes an interactive tool that gives students the ability to monitor their progress and establish an appropriate pace for their learning.
Concord law courses—Contracts, Torts, Criminal Law, Legal Writing, and Test-Taking—for first-year students are divided into 30 study modules. Within each study module, students find a series of assignments aimed at a particular legal principle or concept.
What is a typical day like at Concord? Students may attend a video lecture or professor-led class, read case law offline, meet with fellow students in a discussion group, or take quizzes and submit writing assignments for grading online. Because the law courses are available 24/7, students have much more flexibility to get their academic work done than exists in a classroom-based program.
Highlights
A key component of the curriculum is the accessibility of Concord professors. They maintain a high standard—responding to emails routinely within 24 hours or less—often providing an individual tutorial for the student.
Video lectures are presented by a distinguished group of supplementary lecturers. Unlike the typical classroom session, the lectures are available 24/7, and students can access them as often as they like. Having the ability to stop, rewind, and listen again is in particular important in the first year, when all law students experience a steep learning curve. Experts, such as Arthur Miller (New York University, formerly Harvard Law School) and other leading academics from across the country, contribute to this effort.
Skill development is an essential piece of any law school program. Concord’s Legal Analysis and Writing (LAW) course is an intensive practicum, which requires students to draft and redraft the documents that are the “bread and butter” of a law practice. The course also includes a Moot Court competition conducted via conference call. Students may elect to further hone their trial skills in the advocacy course, which includes demonstrations of effective technique. This law course also provides the opportunity for student practice via individually critiqued videotaped sessions.
The Legal Education Experience Program—known as LEEP—places students in a legal setting under the supervision of a practicing attorney. Concord students have worked in judges’ chambers, in public defenders’ offices, and in legal aid clinics. The Kaplan Legal Services Award is presented to LEEP students at graduation in recognition of legal service in the public interest.
For a complete list of law course descriptions, please review the Catalog found in the Download section in the footer below.