Curriculum

Students are required to take a two-seminar series about the legal profession during the second year of law school (or, in the case of evening students, during the third year), and to work closely with CPVP faculty to develop a research project in the student’s area of interest.

Seminar Series

Fall Semester

American Legal Profession (LP 200)
This seminar examines the organization and regulation of the U.S. legal profession, focusing on lawyers’ work and careers in different settings. The seminar is designed to forge links among CPVP affiliates and to provide a forum for the initial development of the Capstone project. The seminar requires weekly written comments, two short papers, and a research interview. Students are encouraged to enroll concurrently in Professional Responsibility (REQ 450).

Spring Semester

Advanced Topics in Lawyer Regulation (LP 250)
This seminar focuses on the globalization of the legal services market and the effects of economic and regulatory changes on law practice in the U.S. Readings are selected through consultation with individual students, with topics dictated in part by student interests. The goals of the seminar are to enable informed class discussion about ongoing student research. The seminar requires a substantial research paper, which may serve as the basis for the Capstone project and/or the student’s law review note.

– or –

Law Without Walls (LP 550)
New York Law School is a founding member of Law Without Walls, an international online seminar with students and faculty from Fordham Law School, Harvard Law School, University of Miami School of Law, Peking University School of Transnational Law (STL), and University College London Law School, among others. The goal of the seminar is to conduct guided, collaborative research on the legal profession and to produce a series of capstone projects on specific topics. Each school will select two to four students to participate in the seminar, based on a competitive application process. Prerequisites include American Legal Profession and Professional Responsibility. Also helpful would be Corporations and International Law.

Capstone Requirement

CPVP affiliates are required to complete a Capstone project in the fall of their final year of study. The Capstone project consists of a substantial research paper or other creative project that draws on the seminars described above. Students are expected to seek approval for their Capstone projects in the second year of law school (or, in the case of evening students, in the third year) and to present them to CPVP affiliates during the fall of their final year.