Certificate of Concentration in Family Law - Overview

The National Center for Family Law offers law students at the University of Richmond the opportunity to earn a Certificate of Concentration in Family Law to be awarded at graduation along with the J.D. diploma. Transcripts will also reflect completion of the concentration program.

Earning the Certificate of Concentration in Family Law is similar to completing a major as an undergraduate. A student must take a basic Family Law course and a certain number of credits from other Family Law-related courses. Students seeking the Certificate of Concentration in Family Law will meet their upper-level writing requirement by writing on a family law-related subject.

Certificates will be awarded only to those who achieve a grade point average of at least 3.0 in all family law concentration classes taken. Students whose GPA is 3.5 or higher in concentration courses will earn the certificate "with distinction."

Total Family Law Credits Required

Each student must earn 24 credits from courses listed as "required," "target" or "concentration" courses.

Required Courses

Each student must take the following courses:

LAWE707, Family Law	3 sem. hrs.
An approved clinic*	5-7 sem. hrs.
An upper-level writing requirement**	2-3 sem. hrs.

Target Courses

Each student must take at least one of the following courses:

LAWE601 Pre-Trial Litigation Skills	3 sem. hrs.
LAWE610 Alternative Dispute Resolution	2 sem. hrs.
LAWE631 Civil Litigation	3 sem. hrs.
LAWE632 Advanced Trial Practice	3 sem. hrs.
LAWE670 Interviewing and Counseling	2 sem. hrs.
LAWE671 Interviewing, Negotiating, and Counseling	4 sem. hrs.
LAWE672 Negotiation	2 sem. hrs.
LAWE679 Contract Drafting	2 sem. hrs.
LAWE702 Family Law Procedure	2 sem. hrs.
LAWE706, Role of Lawyer in Mediation	2 sem. hrs.
LAWE723 Collaborative Law	2 sem. hrs.
LAWE724 Professional Responsibility: Family Law	2 sem. hrs.

Family Law Concentration Classes

Each student must take at least one of the following courses:

LAWE600 Federal Income Taxation	4 sem. hrs.
LAWE606 Wills and Trusts	4 sem. hrs.
LAWE614 Elder Law	3 sem. hrs.
LAWE616 Children and the Law	3 sem. hrs.
LAWE627 Education Law & Policy	3 sem. hrs.
LAWE633 Estate and Gift Taxation	2 sem. hrs.
LAWE634 Estate Planning	2 sem. hrs.
LAWE639 Public Policy Research & Drafting	3 sem. hrs. (approved topics only)
LAWE651 Constitutional Law II: Individual Rights	3 sem. hrs.
LAWE667 Human Rights Seminar	2 sem. hrs.
LAWE699 Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and the Law	2 sem. hrs.
LAWE754 Crimmigration	3 sem. hrs.
LAWE634 Estate Planning	2 sem. hrs.
LAWE722 Veteran’s Law	2 sem. hrs.
LAWE699 Juvenile Law	2 sem. hrs.
LAWE707 Family Law	3 sem. hrs. (Required)
LAWE713 Child Support & Enforcement	2 sem. hrs.
LAWE717 Bioethics	2 sem. hrs.
LAWE718 Poverty Law Practicum	1 sem. hrs.
LAWE723 Collaborative Law	2 sem. hrs.
LAWE724 Professional Responsibility: Family Law	2 sem. hrs.
LAWE749 Clinical Placement Program	5 sem. hrs. (approved placements only)
LAWE750 Civil Placement Program	5 sem. hrs. (approved placements only)
LAWE752 Judicial Placement Program	5 sem. hrs. (approved placements only)
LAWE753 Children’s Defense Clinic	6 sem. hrs.
LAWE758 Immigration Law	2 sem. hrs.
LAWE766 Aging & Disability Law Practicum	4 sem. hrs.
LAWE776 Advanced Clinical Practice: Children	2 sem. hrs.
LAWE778 Family Law Clinic	6 sem. hrs.
LAWE781 Immigration Rights Practicum	2 sem. hrs.
LAWE785 Domestic Violence Seminar	2 sem. hrs. (Satisfies upper-level writing requirement)

Credit for independent studies, research assistance, courses not listed above, and courses taught outside the University of Richmond School of Law may be approved as sufficiently related to family law by the Director of the Family Law Certificate Program in consultation with the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. No more than 4 credits total will be awarded in this category. *Students can apply no more than 7 clinic credits toward meeting the requirements for the Certificate of Concentration; (Only 12 clinic credits, including clinical placements, may be credited toward the 87 needed for graduation; for those completing the D.C. Externship, up to 19 clinical credits may count toward graduation.)

J.D. Degree Certificates of Concentration

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