Curriculum

JAC CURRICULAR REQUIREMENTS (2008–2009)
To download a PDF of the following requirements, please click here.

The Justice Action Center curriculum is designed to develop an interest in lawyering for justice, a sense of shared experience among JAC faculty and students, an awareness of problems faced by lawyers involved with social justice issues, and the ability to think critically about them. The curriculum for all JAC students consists of an introductory colloquium, a four-course subject matter concentration, a social justice placement, and a capstone project.


Justice Action Center Colloquium: Legal Practice for Social Change

The JAC Colloquium is a required, graded, two-credit seminar exclusively for JAC affiliates and taught by JAC faculty. Day students take the Colloquium in the fall semester of their second year. Evening division students take the Colloquium in the fall semester of their third year. (Evening division students with scheduling conflicts can make alternative arrangements with the director.) In the Colloquium, students, JAC faculty, and guests learn about how law can be used to effectuate social change. We will consider different approaches to social change through law, including class action litigation, individual client representation in criminal and civil contexts, legislative advocacy, organizing, and community economic development. We will consider critiques of these models and alternative approaches. We will also study organizations involved in social change through law.

For a sense of what students in the Colloquium study, please review our most recent course syllabus by clicking here.


Concentrations

Each JAC student will complete a concentration of four courses in a particular area of social justice law. The actual concentration curriculum will be designed for each student in consultation with the JAC director. Each concentration contains a list of courses students can select to satisfy the four-course requirement. Most of the concentrations divide these courses into one or more courses the student must take to satisfy the concentration (required courses) and other courses that satisfy the concentration but are not required (related courses). Other concentrations simply list courses that would satisfy the four-course requirement without dividing the list into required and related courses. Required courses are introductory courses in the field. Related courses generally cover advanced subjects in the field or other relevant subjects or skills. Not every course listed in a concentration is offered every year, so students should consult with faculty about course selection.

There are also several courses that are relevant to any student interested in social justice law. We recommend that you take one or more of these courses, although you may not necessarily be required to take them or use them to satisfy part of your concentration. The strongly recommended courses are:

  • Administrative Law
  • Civil Rights Law
  • Federal Courts and the Federal System
  • Remedies
  • Statutory Interpretation

Listed below are the Center's eleven pre-approved concentrations. The concentrations below can also be tailored to fit a student’s particular interests or to reflect new or modified course offerings. Students must take a total of four courses in a concentration—including the required courses—to complete the concentration course requirements. Not every course listed in a concentration is offered every year, so students should consult with faculty about course selection. Please click on a concentration for a complete list of course requirements:

Expand or Collapse Anti-Discrimination Law

Expand or Collapse Civil Liberties

Expand or Collapse Criminal Law

Expand or Collapse Economic Justice: Legal Advocacy and Economic Development

Expand or Collapse Environmental Law

Expand or Collapse Family Law

Expand or Collapse Immigration Law

Expand or Collapse International Human Rights Law

Expand or Collapse Labor and Employment Law

Expand or Collapse Mental Disability Law

Expand or Collapse Social Change Advocacy


Social Justice Placements

JAC students are required to complete a social justice placement related to their concentration. JAC students can complete the social justice placement requirement through a job, an externship, a clinical course, or a workshop course after the first year of law studies. During the semester or summer in which a student is completing the social justice requirement, the student must meet three times with a JAC faculty member to discuss the placement and the student’s experience. In most instances, if a student satisfies the placement requirement through a course, that course will also count toward their concentration course requirements. Placements must be pre-approved by the director or associate director following a meeting with the student.

Current Students:


Justice Action Center Capstone Project

The JAC Capstone Project is a required, graded, two-credit course exclusively for JAC affiliates. JAC students will participate in written research projects with practical application with practicing attorneys and JAC faculty. The Capstone is a year-long project. Day students are required to complete and present their project in their third year; evening students in their fourth year. Projects can include, for example, an analysis of empirical data, a policy paper, model legislation, regulatory comments, a practice manual, an amicus brief, or a project developing out of a clinical course experience.

To view examples of past capstone projects, please visit: www.nyls.edu/capstones