Juris Doctor

Juris Doctor Program Mission

The JD program at Trinity Law School is a rigorous program of legal education that prepares its students, upon graduation, for admission to the bar and for effective, ethical, and responsible participation as members of the legal profession. 

Juris Doctor Program Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the JD program, the graduate shall, at a minimum, include competency in the following:

• Demonstrate a basic knowledge of the law in key areas tested on the California Bar Exam by obtaining a grade of C or higher on a class examination.
• Demonstrate that law may be practiced as a tool of ministry through pro bono or low-cost legal services.
• Identify and formulate the legal issues and theories that apply to the facts of a described situation or problem in the content area as demonstrated by successful performance on an examination.
• Compare case law to a given set of facts, using it to determine the appropriate action as demonstrated by written case briefs and participation in classroom discussion.
• Integrate biblical principles to content area topics by classroom discussion and/or assignments.

Degree Completion Standards

The JD degree is conferred upon students who have met the admission requirements for the degree and who have satisfactorily completed the prescribed program of 90 units of study within five years. Candidates for the JD degree must complete six units of practical skills courses. Courses that meet the practical skills requirement include LA 559,  LA 560b,  LA 560d/LA 560e, clinics, and practical skills electives. The course description indicates if the course meets the practical skills requirement. A cumulative GPA of 2.0 or above is required to maintain good standing and to earn the JD degree.

Candidates for the JD degree must complete their studies no earlier than 24 months and no later than 60 months after the student has commenced law study at Trinity Law School, or a school from which the law student has transferred units. A student who requires more than 60 months to complete the JD degree must file a petition with the Registrar's Office for authorization. Final responsibility for meeting degree requirements for graduation rests with each student. 

Students wishing to complete the JD program in three years should maintain a unit load of 15 units per semester. Students wishing to complete the program on a part-time basis should maintain a unit load of 12 units per semester. Students may be able to reduce their semester unit load by enrolling in summer sessions. Both the full- and part-time degree plans must be completed in five years or less. The full-time program must include at least three consecutive academic terms within five years; the part-time program must include at least four consecutive academic terms within five years. 

Students are required to take a minimum of 9 units each semester. Students wishing to enroll in more than 16 units or less than 9 units in a semester must submit a petition to the Registrar’s Office for approval.

In order to earn units for a course, students must complete not less than 80% of verifiable academic engagement required in each course in which the student is enrolled. (See Attendance and Preparedness.)

The academic calendar consists of 15-week semesters – each fall and spring – with the option of taking additional courses during the summer session. Courses are typically offered in-person during the day or in the evening as well as online in the evening to facilitate full- and part-time programs of study. 

United States Department of Labor’s Standard Occupational Classification (SOC)

The Juris Doctor program prepares graduates for occupations such as:

• Lawyers (SOC 23-1011.00)
• Judicial Law Clerks (SOC 23-1012.00)
• Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers (SOC 23-1021.00)
• Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators (SOC 23-1022.00)
• Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates (SOC 23-1023.00)
• Law Teachers, Postsecondary (SOC 25-1112.00)

Juris Doctor Degree Requirements

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Required Courses
LA 521	Contracts 1	3
LA 522a	Contracts 2	3
LA 531a	Criminal Law	3
LA 541	Torts 1	3
LA 542	Torts 2	3
LA 550	Foundations of Law	3
LA 559	Legal Research and Writing 1: Objective Writing 1	3
LA 560b	Legal Research and Writing 2: Persuasive Writing 1	3
LA 560d	Legal Writing: Litigation Skills 1	3
or LA 560e	Legal Writing: Transactional Skills
LA 600i	Constitutional Law 1	3
LA 601i	Constitutional Law 2	3
LA 613	Professional Responsibility and Ethics	3
LA 661	Property 1	3
LA 662	Property 2	3
LA 671i	Evidence 1	3
LA 672i	Evidence 2	3
LA 673b	Civil Procedure 1	3
LA 674b	Civil Procedure 2	3
LA 702a	Business Associations	3
LA 764	Community Property	2
LA 783i	Criminal Procedure	3
LA 790b	Jurisprudence	3
LA 803	Wills, Trusts, and Estates	3
LA 822a	Remedies	3
LA 998e	Advanced Exam Approaches and Skills	3
Total Units		74

¹

Course meets practical skills requirement. Students must complete a minimum of 6 units of practical skills courses toward the 90-unit graduation requirement.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Elective Courses (16 Units)
LA 523	Contracts Drafting	1
LA 545	Human Trafficking: Law and Policy (Cambodia)	1-3
LA 561	Mastering Multiple-Choice Questions: Part 1	1
LA 562	Mastering Multiple-Choice Questions: Part 2	1
LA 567	Mastering the Performance Test	1
LA 674d	E-Discovery	1
LA 753	Trial Practice 1	3
LA 870b	Civil Litigation Skills 1	3
LA 872	Advanced Legal Writing: Skills and Strategies 2	2
LA 891b	Juvenile Dependency	3
LA 901	Introduction to International Human Rights 5	3
LA 910	The Right to Life and the Law	3
LA 914	Rights of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples	3
LA 916a	Domestic Human Trafficking	1
LA 922	Public International Law	3
LA 932	International Human Rights Protection (Europe)	6
LA 953	Legal Internship 1,2,3	1-6
LA 957a	Law Practice Management 1	3
LA 958	Law as a Vocation	1
LA 959g	Trinity Mediation Clinic 1,2	2
LA 959i	Trinity Law Clinic 1,2	2
LA 959k	Trinity Mobile Legal Clinic 1,2	2
LA 959n	Trinity Religious Liberty Clinic 1,2	2
LA 959t	Trinity Mediation Clinic 1,2	3
LA 959u	Trinity Religious Liberty Clinic 1,2	3
LA 959v	Trinity Immigration Clinic 1,2	3
LA 960	Administrative Law 1,2,3	3
LA 962a	Intellectual Property	3
LA 962d	Intellectual Property	1
LA 970	Independent Study/Guided Research 2,4	1-6
LA 982a	Law and Literature: Revenge, Justice, and Mercy	1
LA 984c	Religion and the Law	3
LA 984d	Law, Religion, and Public Policy	3
LA 987	SHRM-CP/SCP Exam Prep	3
LA 988a	Criminal Law and Psychology	1
LA 988b	Domestic Violence Law	1
LA 989	Moot Court 1,2,5	1-2
LA 991a	Law Review 1,2,5	1
LA 992a	California Dependency Law	1
LA 992b	California Dependency Practice	1
LA 993f	Fundamentals of Federal Taxation	3
LA 994b	Employment Law	3
LA 995f	Immigration Law	3
LA 995np	Law of Nonprofit Organizations	3
LA 999cr	42 USC Section 1983: Civil Rights Violations	1
LA 999g	Civil Disobedience and the Christian Lawyer	1
LA 999i	Client Interviewing & Counseling	2
LA 999w	Workers' Compensation	3
LA 999y	Civil & Criminal Sexual Misconduct	1
LA 999z	Reading People & Judging Credibility	1
Total Units		16

¹

Course meets practical skills requirement. Students must complete a minimum of 6 units of practical skills courses toward the 90-unit graduation requirement.

²

This course is non-classroom. A maximum of 9 units of non-classroom units may be earned toward the 90-unit graduation requirement.

³

Of the nine units of non-classroom units that may be applied to the degree, a maximum of six units may be from LA 953. Students cannot take more than three units of LA 953 in any semester, excluding the summer session. Students cannot earn LA 953 units for a paid position or for doing work supervised by a close relative.

⁴

There is a six-unit maximum for LA 970.

⁵

There is a total four-unit maximum for LA 989 and LA 991a combined.

Juris Doctor Flex Academic Support Classes

Students who have not taken the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) or who do not meet the requirements for the regular Juris Doctor (JD) program may be considered for admission into the Juris Doctor Flex Academic Support Classes (Flex Track). Students must complete one of the five paths below.

Flex Track students must enroll in and receive a passing grade in LA 521x, LA 531x, and LA 541x in the first semester, and  LA 522x, LA 542x, and LA 599x  in the second consecutive semester (Flex First-Year Courses). Five of the six Flex First-Year Courses are similar to the regular JD courses with the added benefit of a sixth course focused on improving students' legal analysis skills. The Flex Track courses also include academic support components designed to help students pass the FYLSX. The Flex First-Year Courses are offered in the evenings (in-person and online).

Flex students will be administratively withdrawn from Trinity Law School (TLS) after receiving a failing grade ("F") in, or an Authorized Withdrawal ("AW"), Unauthorized Withdrawal ("UW"), or Failure to Withdraw ("FW") in any of the Flex First-Year Courses or Flex Third-Semester Courses.

Eligible Flex Track students who do not otherwise fulfill Path 1 or Path 2 below have an option to attend a third semester of the Flex Track. If they choose to do so, students will enroll in and complete LA 550x, LA 613x, and LA 783x on the TLS-designated days and times for these courses (Flex Third-Semester Courses).

The Five Paths

Path 1

The FYLSX will be waived for students who both:

• Submit an LSAT score of 145 or higher before the last day of the first semester, and
• Earn a grade of “C” or higher in each of the first semester Flex First-Year Courses.

Path 2

The FYLSX will be waived for students who:

• Earn a cumulative GPA of 2.67 or higher at the end of the Flex First-Year Courses. (Based on the grading curve, approximately 15-20% of Flex Track students maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.67 or higher.)

Path 3

If Path 1 or Path 2 has not been achieved, the FYLSX is required.

• Take and pass the FYLSX after receiving passing grades in the Flex First-Year Courses.

Path 4

The FYLSX will be waived for students who both:

• Enroll in the Flex Third-Semester Courses, and
• Earn a cumulative GPA of 2.67 or higher at the completion of the Flex Third-Semester Courses.

Path 5

If Paths 1-4 have not been achieved, the FYLSX is required.

• Take and pass the FYLSX after receiving passing grades in the Flex Third-Semester Courses.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Required Courses
LA 521x	Contracts 1	3
LA 522x	Contracts 2	3
LA 531x	Criminal Law	3
LA 541x	Torts 1	3
LA 542x	Torts 2	3
LA 550x	Foundations of Law	3
LA 599x	FYLSX Skills	3
LA 613x	Professional Responsibility and Ethics	3
LA 783x	Criminal Procedure	3
Total Units		27

Special Rules for Students Enrolled in JD Flex Academic Support Classes

For students enrolled in the JD Flex Academic Support Classes, an AW, UW, FW, or F in any one course will result in a UW for the remaining courses in progress and a dismissal from Trinity Law School.

Final Course Grades

Grading is based upon the relative quality of each student’s response compared with other students in the same section of a course. Grades on individual components in a course are not be curved. Final grades are not an average of grades on individual components. 

For the following courses, grades are distributed according to Table A:

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
LA 521	Contracts 1	3
LA 521x	Contracts 1	3
LA 522a	Contracts 2	3
LA 522x	Contracts 2	3
LA 531a	Criminal Law	3
LA 531x	Criminal Law	3
LA 541	Torts 1	3
LA 541x	Torts 1	3
LA 542	Torts 2	3
LA 542x	Torts 2	3
LA 550	Foundations of Law	3
LA 550x	Foundations of Law	3
LA 559	Legal Research and Writing 1: Objective Writing	3
LA 560b	Legal Research and Writing 2: Persuasive Writing	3
LA 599x	FYLSX Skills	3
LA 783i	Criminal Procedure	3
LA 783x	Criminal Procedure	3

For all other required courses, grades are distributed according to Table B.

Grading tables can be found in the appendix.

Grading Curves

In applying the curve, professors will use the distribution of grades with reference to class size as shown in the tables located in the appendix. Professors may petition a Dean to slightly deviate from the curve in classes where a strict application of the curve would not properly measure student performance.

Law Student Registration with the Committee of Bar Examiners of The State Bar of California

Students seeking admission to practice law in California must register with the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California within 90 days from the commencement of their law studies. Registration must be completed through the State Bar of California website. 

State Bar Requirements for Admission to Practice Law

The State Bar of California regulates legal education in California. Each student has the responsibility to comply fully with the Rules Regulating Admission to Practice Law in California. Students are strongly advised to obtain a copy of the rules from the Office of Admissions of the State Bar of California.

Professional Responsibility Examination

All applicants for admission to practice law in California are required to pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) administered by the National Conference of Bar Examiners. Trinity Law School recommends that students complete LA 613 or LA 613x, as applicable, prior to taking the MPRE. Students should consult the State Bar of California website for details regarding the MPRE.

Admission to Practice Law in California

Accredited by the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California, the JD program fulfills the requirements pertaining to admission to the practice of law in California. Graduates are qualified to take the California Bar Examination.

Admission to Practice Law Outside of California

Study at, or graduation from, this law school may not qualify a student to take the bar examination or be licensed to practice law in jurisdictions other than California. A student who intends to seek licensure to practice law outside of California at any time during their career should contact the admitting authority for information regarding its education and licensure requirements prior to enrolling at this law school.

Admission standards for each state are set forth in the American Bar Association’s Comprehensive Guide to Admission to the Practice of Law. This resource may be obtained at ncbex.org.

Petitions to the Committee of Bar Examiners of The State Bar of California

Petitions filed with the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California must be verified. Accordingly, students are requested either to appear before a notary public to have a petition sworn to, or in the alternative, to attach a declaration under penalty of perjury in the following form:

“I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing petition is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief. Executed on this __ day of, 20__, at __(city)__, __(state)__.

______________________"
Signature