Dear Incoming GW Law Student
We hope this message finds you well! As promised, we are writing to provide information about the Law School’s curricular offerings and academic support. We hope this information will assist in making well-informed decisions regarding your academic experience. Be mindful that you will register for the fall semester on Wednesday, August 16 and while your schedule can be altered during the Add/Drop period, you’ll want to have a pretty good idea as to both your fall and spring semester course selections. Quick note: you should be able to access all of the active links here if you are reading this email from your @law.gwu.edu email account or by logging into the GW Law portal.
2023-2024 GW Law Academic Calendar
You will find the Academic Calendar along with other important course scheduling and enrollment documents on the Records Office Fall 2023 page. Incoming transfers have one of two start dates for the fall semester. If you need to take Civil Procedure or Torts you will be required to take it this fall. Classes for these required courses begin Monday, August 21 when first-year, first semester classes commence. If you need to take Property, Legislation and Regulation, and/or Constitutional Law I this fall to complete GW Law’s first-year curriculum/graduation requirement, these classes start on Monday, August 28 when all other upper-level courses begin.
GW Law's Field Placement Program - Fall 2023
The priority deadline for submitting the Fall 2023 Field Placement Registration Form is Friday, August 4, 2023. Please view the Field Placement page of MyLaw for more information about the Program. We encourage students to apply by the priority deadline. Applications will be approved after August 4, only as space allows.
Students in the Field Placement Program must enroll in two courses: 1) Field Placement (for their externship work), and 2) a corequisite course that directly aligns with their externship.
In order to participate in the Program, students must do the following:
(1) Secure a qualifying externship. Legal externships with judicial, government and nonprofit organizations are eligible for academic credit. Additionally, for the 2023-2024 academic year, the Field Placement Program is implementing a pilot program whereby students may earn academic credit for their paid externship work with government organizations, courts and 501(C)3 nonprofits. For more specific parameters of the pilot program and a full outline of Program requirements, please view the Field Placement Program Student Handbook.
(2) Once an externship is secured, students may follow the instructions to complete the registration process. Students will complete the first half of the registration form, and their placement supervisor will complete the second half of the form. Field Placement will review and approve completed registration forms and notify students of their acceptance into the Program. If Field Placement is unable to approve an application or additional information is needed, students will be contacted. Field Placement will enroll students in their assigned corequisite course on a rolling basis after August 4, 2023.
(3) Attend a mandatory orientation session. All first-time Program participants must attend ONE mandatory Program orientation session. Students must attend the entire session in order to meet this requirement. Field Placement Orientation Sessions are scheduled for the following times:
Tuesday, August 29, 2023, from 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM (in person)
Wednesday, August 30, 2023, from 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM (in person)
Thursday, August 31, 2023, from 9:30 AM - 11:00 AM (in person)
Students will register for a Program Orientation Session when they complete the Fall 2023 Student Extern Registration Form.
GW Law Advocacy Programs
Advocacy Programs facilitates and hosts student participation in competitions. During the 2022-23 academic year, GW excelled in external advocacy competitions against other law schools and was recognized 43 times:
Team Overall - 25 total:
Champion - 4
Ethics in Advocacy - 1
Finalist (Second Place) - 7
Third Place - 1
Semi-finalist - 7
Fifth Place - 1
Quarter-finalist - 2
Sweet 16 - 2
Oral Advocacy - 10 total:
Best Oral Advocate - 7
Best Opening Statement - 1
5th Best Oral Advocate - 1
Honorable Mention for Best Defense Advocate - 1
Written Advocacy - 8 total:
Best Brief - 5
Best Petitioner's Brief - 1
Second Best Brief - 1
Third Best Written Submission - 1
As such, GW Law was ranked by the Blakely Advocacy Institute at the University of Houston Law Center as the 7th Best Moot Court Program in the country. We were also ranked #12 in the country for all advocacy programs by NICA.
Additionally, GW hosts four, separate, one-credit, internal (only against GW students) competitions each year, which - like other electives - are open to all upper-level students. Each provides the opportunity to earn membership on the sponsoring Board: ADR, mock trial, and moot court.
For detailed information you can review this information sheet on GW Law’s Advocacy Competitions or visit the Advocacy Programs page on the Portal. If students have any questions, please contact David Johnson, Assistant Dean for Pro Bono & Advocacy Programs, at davidjohnson@law.gwu.edu or 202-994-4539. His office is Stuart 207.
GW Law Jacob Burns Community Legal Clinics
GW Law is home to eighteen clinical offerings. In a clinic, you receive academic credit (2-6 credits) as you represent clients in real cases. In a weekly seminar, you learn the substantive law and skills necessary for you to represent your clients. Under the supervision of GW Law faculty, you then take responsibility for all the lawyering tasks your clinic work requires. Each clinic focuses on a different area of the law from international to domestic, transactional to litigation, and human rights to domestic violence. If you are interested in participating in a clinic, you will want to review important information about the clinics, including prerequisites.
Registration and enrollment for the spring semester clinics begins in October and students learn if they are accepted the week prior to spring semester registration. We are no longer accepting applications for Fall 2023, but for Spring 2024 availability, clinic descriptions, and information on the clinic application process please visit the clinic website and portal at https://my.law.gwu.edu/DepartmentInformation/default.aspx?Dept=Clinics&deptname=Clinics
GW Law Journals and Transfer Journal Competition
GW Law’s student journals will conduct a write-on competition for transfer students beginning Thursday, August 17 at 9 AM to Monday, August 21 at 9 AM. Competitors will have the ability to rank participating journals to be considered for membership.
Law students must complete four semesters of journal work at GW Law. Journal work includes writing a Note and completing regular production assignments. Students will earn one ungraded credit, i.e., a non-letter grade, for each semester of work. Semesters in which students complete their Note will be designated with Honors, Pass, Low Pass, and No Credit. Once a law student has completed the fourth semester of journal the designated non-letter grade will lodge retroactively to the semester earned on their transcript.
Students transferring into GW Law as 2L full-time students should participate in the August competition and will be notified before the end of the Add/Drop period if they have been selected for a journal. As students must complete four semesters of journal membership, this is the only opportunity for these students to apply for a journal. Students transferring into GW Law as 2L part-time students should wait to participate until the regular competition in February/March 2023 unless you intend to graduate early (e.g., December 2025). Those 2L part-time students participating in the competition during the spring semester will be notified of the results in mid-summer 2023.
The competition is entirely electronic, and all materials will be available via the 2023 GW Journal Competition TWEN page. You will receive an email the morning of Tuesday, August 15, with instructions to access your GW Westlaw/TWEN account. The opportunity to ask questions will be provided during Journal Competition Information Session on Wednesday, August 16. In the meantime, you can direct questions about the competition to gwjournalcompetition@law.gwu.edu.
Recognition of Juris Doctor Concentrations
Candidates for the Juris Doctor degree may earn a Recognition of Concentration in eleven substantive fields. Recognition requires students to complete a minimum number of credit hours in the concentration area, after completion of the required first-year curriculum. Specific requirements are established by the concentration directors, listed below, who are responsible for the administration of the recognition. Students who wish to receive a Recognition of Concentration are required to register that intention with the concentration director prior to their final semester in law school, but preferably earlier in their upper-level years. The concentration directors will advise interested students on the concentration area, program requirements, and course options.
More information specific to each concentration will be available in the forthcoming 2023-2024 GW Law Bulletin. In the meantime, the Concentration Directors and Coordinators for the upcoming academic year are listed below. Feel free to reach out if you are considering a concentration.
We hope you find this information useful. Once again, and as always, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at deanofstudents@law.gwu.edu with any questions you may have.
