JD Flex Curriculum

Excellence in Legal Education. Flexible Options.

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At GGU, we believe that human connection is everything. While distance learning and technology can get us far, the magic that happens when humans connect is crucial to well-being, joy, and deep learning. With that in mind, we designed a program that combines the best of worlds: crucial in-person instruction where you learn alongside your professors and peers, coupled with the flexibility and personalization of online coursework.

How It Works

During the fall and spring semesters, you meet on campus every other Saturday and Sunday.

  • You are on campus two weekends per month, for a total of approximately eight weekends per semester.
  • For your on-campus courses, you also have online coursework to complete. The online portion is primarily asynchronous, performed on your own time but within specified timeframes.
  • Final examinations may be take-home, proctored online, or proctored on campus (on a Saturday or Sunday), depending on the course.

To allow for maximum flexibility, your summer courses are primarily online, with very limited on-campus requirements, if any. Final examinations in the summer semester may be take-home or proctored online.

What You Study

The JD Flex curriculum is designed to ensure students have a strong foundation across legal subjects, are prepared for professional success, and pass the bar exam.

In the first two years of the program, you develop legal knowledge and critical thinking skills in core courses while exploring through electives what advocacy and lawyering looks like in different settings. If you select one of the specialized career tracks, you take courses that dig more deeply into your chosen practice area. You engage in a close analysis of case studies and discussions of today’s most pressing legal issues.

In your third year, you put your knowledge into practice with clinical or experiential opportunities that work with your schedule and place you at the center of real cases and clients. Your professional growth is guided by clinical professors or practicing attorneys who teach you the practical skills of lawyering and mentor you throughout the process.

In your fourth year, you gain a head start in your bar preparation with coursework designed to cover every component of the bar exam. The bar preparation courses hone in on the specific subjects tested in the bar exam and sharpen your multiple-choice and essay-writing skills.

Standard and Career Track Curriculum

JD Flex students complete 88 units to graduate. Students begin in the fall semester of each year and graduate in 11 semesters (three years plus two semesters, graduating in May).

Alternatively, students can elect an accelerated option where they select additional electives in their third year and graduate in 10 semesters (three years plus one semester, graduating in December).

You take two types of courses:

  • On-campus courses that meet every other Saturday and Sunday (two weekends per month).
  • Fully online courses that have no weekend on-campus component.

 

See below for a sample schedule for the Standard Track, the IP Law Track, and the Social Justice Track.

Please note: courses offered will change depending on student interest and professor availability.

Standard Track

Year One
Semester Course Units On Campus Online
1L Fall Semester Property 3
Contracts I 3
Legal Writing & Research I 2
1L Spring Semester Torts 3
Contracts II 3
Legal Writing & Research II 3
Select 1 elective:
Rebellious Lawyering 2
Intro to IP and Privacy Law Lawyering  2
U.S. Supreme Court Litigation  2
Legal Analysis  2
1L Summer Semester Criminal Law 3
Privacy, Defamation, & Other Rel. Torts 2
Year Two
Semester Course Units On Campus Online
2L Fall Semester Civil Procedure I 3
Constitutional Law I 3
Select 0–1 elective:
Problem Solving in Public Interest Practice I 2
Patent & Trade Secrets or Copyright Law 2
Community Property  2
Legal Methods  2
2L Spring Semester Civil Procedure II 3
Constitutional Law II 3
Evidence 4
2L Summer Semester Professional Responsibility 2
Upper Division Writing Requirement - Advanced Legal Research 2
Year Three
Semester Course Units On Campus Online
3L Fall Semester Business Associations 4
Select 1 required Upper Division Experiential course:
Alternative Dispute Resolution 3
Clinic/Externship 3
Select 0–1 elective:
Gender based Violence Seminar 2
Reimagining Criminal Justice  2
Privacy Law 3
Patent & Trade Secrets or Copyright Law 2
3L Spring Semester Criminal Procedure 3
Upper Division Writing Course 2
Select 2 electives:
Family Law 3
Immigration and Refugee Policy  2
Youth & Justice Seminar  2
Wills and Trusts 2
Privacy Elective 2
3L Summer Semester Real Estate Transactions 2
Select 1 required course:
Alternative Dispute Resolution 3
Clinic/Externship 3
Year Four
Students who elect the accelerated option take Early Bar Prep and Practical Legal Writing in their 4L fall semester, graduating in December.
Semester Course Units On Campus Online
4L Fall Semester Select 2 or (if needed) 3 electives:
Gender Based Violence Seminar 2
Reimagining Criminal Justice  2
Privacy Law  3
Patent & Trade Secrets or Copyright Law 2
4L Spring Semester Early Bar Prep  3
Practical Legal Writing  2
NOTE: Specific electives are subject to modification.

Intellectual Property Law Track 

Students who select the Intellectual Property Law career track can optionally select a Patent Law or Technology and Data Privacy specialization. 
Year One 
Semester Course Units On Campus Online
1L Fall Semester Property 3
Contracts I 3
Legal Writing & Research I 2
1L Spring Semester Torts 3
Contracts II 3
Legal Writing & Research II 3
Intro to IP and Privacy Law Lawyering  2
1L Summer Semester Criminal Law 3
Privacy, Defamation, & Other Rel. Torts 2
Year Two
Semester Course Units On Campus Online
2L Fall Semester Civil Procedure I 3
Constitutional Law I 3
Patent & Trade Secrets or Copyright Law 2
2L Spring Semester Civil Procedure II 3
Constitutional Law II 3
Evidence 4
2L Summer Semester Professional Responsibility 2
Upper Division Writing Requirement - Advanced Legal Research 2
Year Three
Semester Course Units On Campus Online
3L Fall Semester Business Associations 4
Select 1 required Upper Division Experiential course:
Alternative Dispute Resolution 3
Clinic/Externship 3
Select 0–1 elective:
Cyber Law  3
Privacy Law  3
Patent & Trade Secrets or Copyright Law 2
3L Spring Semester Criminal Procedure 3
Select 1 required course:
Upper Division Writing Course 2
Clinic/Externship  3
Select 0–1 elective:
Privacy Elective 2
Patent Litigation 2
Trade Secret Law 2
3L Summer Semester Real Estate Transactions  2
Upper Division Experiential 2
Select 1 required Upper Division Experiential:
Alternative Dispute Resolution 3
Clinic/Externship 3
Year Four
Students who elect the accelerated option take Early Bar Prep and Practical Legal Writing in their 4L fall semester, graduating in December.
Semester Course Units On Campus Online
4L Fall Semester Select 2 or (if needed) 3 electives:
Privacy Law  3
Patent & Trade Secrets or Copyright Law 2
4L Spring Semester Early Bar Prep  3
Practical Legal Writing  2
NOTE: Specific electives are subject to modification.

Social Justice & Public Interest Law Track 

Students in the Social Justice & Public Interest Law career track follow the curriculum track outlined below.
Year One 
Semester Course Units On Campus Online
1L Fall Semester Property 3
Contracts I 3
Legal Writing & Research I 2
1L Spring Semester Torts 3
Contracts II 3
Legal Writing & Research II 3
Rebellious Lawyering 2
1L Summer Semester Criminal Law 3
Privacy, Defamation, & Other Rel. Torts 2
Year Two
Semester Course Units On Campus Online
2L Fall Semester Civil Procedure I 3
Constitutional Law I 3
Problem Solving in Public Interest Practice I 2
2L Spring Semester Civil Procedure II 3
Constitutional Law II 3
Evidence 4
2L Summer Semester Professional Responsibility 2
Upper Division Writing Requirement - Advanced Legal Research 2
Select 1 elective:
International Human Rights Through Film  2
Community Property 2
Year Three
Semester Course Units On Campus Online
3L Fall Semester Business Associations 4
Select 1 required Upper Division Experiential course:
Alternative Dispute Resolution 3
Clinic/Externship 3
Select 0–1 elective:
Gender Based Violence Seminar 2
Reimagining Criminal Justice  2
3L Spring Semester Criminal Procedure 3
Select 1 required course:
Upper Division Writing Course 2
Select 0–1 elective:
Youth & Justice Seminar 2
Family Law 3
Immigration Law 3
3L Summer Semester Real Estate Transactions 2
Select 1 required Upper Division Experiential course:
Alternative Dispute Resolution 3
Clinic/Externship 3
Year Four
Students who elect the accelerated option take Early Bar Prep and Practical Legal Writing in their 4L fall semester, graduating in December.
Semester Course Units On Campus Online
4L Fall Semester Select 2 or (if needed) 3 electives:
Gender Based Violence Seminar 2
Reimagining Criminal Justice  2
4L Spring Semester Early Bar Prep  3
Practical Legal Writing  2
NOTE: Specific electives are subject to modification.

Important Dates

Application Deadline
June 1st, 2023

Start Date
August 19th, 2023

JD Flex Orientation
August 18th, 2023

Upcoming Events

Next JD Flex Webinar  TBD

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