Academic & Student Resources

Juris Doctor (JD) Learning Outcomes

Students will:

  1. Possess knowledge and understanding of substantive and procedural law.
  2. Possess the ability to perform:
    • legal analysis and reasoning
    • legal research
    • problem solving
    • written communication in the legal context
    • oral communication in the legal context
  3. Understand the exercise of proper professional and ethical responsibilities to clients and the legal system, and
  4. Demonstrate the professional skills of collaboration, counseling, and negotiation needed for competent and ethical participation as a member of the legal profession.

All students will also demonstrate a basic understanding of business fundamentals and be able to read and understand basic financial documents.

Academic Enrichment Program

Beginning at Orientation and continuing throughout students’ enrollment, the Academic Enrichment Program helps students understand how best to get the most out of class, succeed on exams, prepare for the bar exam, and thrive in practice. No matter what grades students receive or how they perceive their academic progress, there’s something for every student in the Academic Enrichment Program.

Academic Events

BU Law hosts numerous academic events throughout the year. Types of events include:

  • Forums with professors, prominent outside speakers, and alumni discussing current legal topics.
  • Symposia celebrating the publication of new books by our faculty, featuring distinguished scholars from law and other fields as commentators.
  • Lectures by visiting experts in BU Law’s Intellectual Property Speaker Series and Law & Economics Seminar Series.
  • Major conferences, such as the Esdaile Lecture, in which US Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer discussed his book Making Democracy Work: A Judge’s View, or “The Next Season: Realigning International Law and Western Policy After the Arab Spring,” a conference hosted by the Boston University International Law Journal.
  • Focused programs and events such as BU Critical Conversations, featuring speakers on issues of diversity and social justice.

Student Organizations

The Student Government Association (SGA)

The SGA is the governing body for students at BU Law. The SGA is responsible for planning school-wide events, advocating on behalf of students, and allocating funds from student activity fees to student groups. Each year, two LLM students are elected to serve in a non-voting capacity on BU Law’s Student Government Association, keeping the LLM community involved.

Additional Student Organizations

There are many student organizations at the School of Law, with new groups developing each year based on student interest. Recent examples include:

  • American Constitution Society
  • Asian Pacific American Law Students Association
  • Black Law Students Association
  • Business Law Society
  • Cannabis Law Society
  • Chinese Law Student Society
  • Communication, Entertainment & Sports Law Association
  • Criminal Law Society
  • Education & School Law Association
  • Employment & Labor Law Society
  • Environmental & Energy Law Association
  • Federalist Society
  • First Generation Professionals
  • Health Law Association
  • If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice
  • Immigration Law & Policy Society
  • Intellectual Property Law Society
  • International Law Society
  • Jewish Law Student Association
  • Latin American Law Student Association
  • Lawyers Christian Fellowship
  • Lawyers in Technology (LIT)
  • Middle Eastern & South Asian Law Students Association
  • Muslim Law Student Association
  • Native American and Other Indigenous Peoples Law Students Association
  • OutLaw
  • Public Interest Project
  • Radical Lawyers: BU’s National Lawyers Guild Chapter
  • Real Estate Association
  • Softball
  • Women of Color Collaborative
  • Women’s Law Association

Journals

BU Law hosts six legal journals run by JD students. These publications invite scholarly work from the legal community and afford students the opportunity to make their own contributions. Each year, three of these journals organize on-campus symposia with scholars from across the globe to examine current legal issues of interest.

  • Boston University Law Review
  • American Journal of Law & Medicine
  • Review of Banking & Financial Law
  • Boston University International Law Journal
  • Public Interest Law Journal
  • Journal of Science & Technology Law

Libraries

BU Law’s Fineman & Pappas Law Libraries contain one of the largest law school research collections in the United States. Students have access to more than one million volumes in various formats and thousands of licensed electronic resources for both legal and interdisciplinary research. Students may also use other Boston University libraries, including Mugar Memorial Library, adjacent to BU Law, and the Pardee Management Library.

Law librarians teach basic and advanced legal research classes; provide daily research assistance to law students in person, by chat, and by email; and meet with students in research consultations for papers. Library news and updates are available through a popular library blog, Facebook, Twitter, and a mobile website.

The Law Libraries are a member of several consortia with other major law libraries in New England and New York that share scholarly resources through document delivery services.

Technology

BU Law houses three computer labs with Windows 7-based computers. A wireless network is available in the School of Law and in many coffee shops and gathering places on campus with service to the internet, email, Lexis Advance, Bloomberg Law, WestlawNext, a wide variety of web-based research resources and interactive products from the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction. Students also have free access to a wide variety of computing resources through Boston University’s Information Services & Technology.

Career Preparation

The Career Development & Public Service Office

The Career Development & Public Service Office (CDO) provides students with the advising and resources to achieve their professional goals. Our career advisors are experienced attorneys with diverse legal backgrounds who will work with each student throughout their three years as well as after they graduate. First-year students are assigned to a designated CDO advisor during their first semester. The CDO’s online appointment system allows students to make appointments easily and at their convenience.

Through individual advising and scores of programs each year, students can work with our CDO team to identify their unique career goals, explore the world of law, learn how to approach a job search, and take advantage of the many resources available inside and outside of the law school with alumni and other employers. Students can also opt in to receive an alumni mentor who works in their desired practice area and/or geographic location.

Our career programs introduce students to the vast range of career options and practice settings in the United States and around the world. We host attorneys from private practice in large, mid-size, and small law firms; public interest organizations; federal, state, and local government agencies and legislatures; federal and state courts; businesses; and other alternative career paths.

Along with meeting attorneys, students can attend workshops that will help them master the nuts and bolts of the job search, for internships and permanent jobs, including conducting research about employers, networking, preparing résumés and cover letters, and honing interviewing skills. Students also participate in our Career Conference at the beginning of their 1L year to learn about different practice areas and settings, networking, and professionalism.

Numerous employers from across the country participate in BU Law recruitment programs. A large number come to the BU Law campus to interview students through our Fall On-Campus Recruitment Program. Many additional employers interview BU Law students in our regional recruiting programs in New York; Philadelphia; Washington, D.C.; Chicago; Miami; San Francisco; and Los Angeles—as well as through our two major government and public interest job fairs held annually in Boston. Students are also encouraged to participate in diversity recruitment programs held around the country.

LLM Career Advising

BU Law has an unwavering commitment to the career success of its LLM students. We offer a variety of programs and job search activities for LLM students, including workshops on job searches, professional etiquette, résumé and cover-letter drafting, networking, and interviewing skills. We also organize career-related panels and speakers from specialized areas of practice. The Graduate & International Programs office includes a full-time associate director for professional development who works exclusively with LLM students. Students receive individualized counseling to help them design job searches and market themselves to the legal community.

Internationally trained students will become familiar with the world of US legal practice through the annual “LLM Discovery Series” consisting of visits to law firms, companies, courthouses, and government agencies where BU Law alumni practice.

LLM students and alumni have access to BU Law’s online job posting site, which includes openings for internships and permanent positions. Internationally trained LLM students are invited to participate in the annual International Student Interview Program (ISIP), which draws more than 200 potential global employers to New York City each year.

Students enrolled in the Graduate Tax Program participate in our annual Tax Attorney Recruiting Event (TARE)—held in Washington, D.C.—a job fair targeted to recruiting by law firms, government agencies, corporate legal departments, and all “Big 4” accounting firms. LLM students also have access to BU Law’s comprehensive career resources library and receive materials specifically tailored to their unique job search needs. After graduation, individual career advising remains available to support students’ lifelong career development.