Legal Research Paper Series

Transcription

1 Legal Research Paper Series Graduate Law Degrees Compiled by Katharine O Banion & Laura O Hara Research Paper No. 13 July 2006 Robert Crown Law Library Crown Quadrangle Stanford, California

2 Graduate Law Degrees at Stanford Compiled by Katharine O Banion & Laura O Hara 7/2006 Sources Stanford University Annual Register Stanford University Bulletin Marion Rice Kirkwood and William B. Owens, A Brief History of the Stanford Law School, Memo from Bruce Hasenkamp to Bayless Manning, 6/27/1969, regarding the J.D./J.S.M. Reconferral Program (Law Archives accession ) Abbreviations A.B.=Bachelor of Arts in Law A.M.=Master of Arts in Law LL.B.=Bachelor of Laws J.D.=Juris Doctor ( ), Doctor of Jurisprudence (1969-present) LL.M., L.L.M.=Master of Laws J.S.D.=Doctor of the Science of Law J.S.M.=Master of the Science of Law J.M.=Master of Jurisprudence M.L.S.=Master of Legal Studies Degrees conferred (or available for conferral) by date range 1895 A.B A.B., A.M A.B LL.B J.D LL.B., J.D LL.B., LL.M., J.S.D LL.B./J.D., LL.M./J.S.M., J.S.D. * J.M., J.D., J.S.M., J.S.D J.M., M.L.S., J.D., J.S.M., J.S.D M.L.S., J.D., J.S.M., J.S.D present M.L.S., J.D., L.L.M., J.S.M., J.S.D. Or see chart in Appendix A * As of June 15, 1969 J.D. reconferral option available to recipients of A.B., LL.B., , J.S.M. reconferral option available to recipients of A.M., 1896 J.D., LL.M.,

3 Developments in degree requirements and nomenclature 1895 The undergraduate Law Department awards its first Bachelor of Arts in Law degrees. 1895/6 The Law Department recommends that undergraduates elect Economics or History as their minor and that they begin their legal studies in their second year; majors must present a thesis of about 3,000 words. In addition to awarding A.B. degrees, the department awards for the first and only time Master of Arts in Law degrees to four students (including George Crothers) who, after having received A.B. degrees in history, studied law for one year and completed a thesis. 1899/1900 Law majors may not take courses in the department during their first year as undergraduates; they are to elect Elementary Law in their second year, two additional first-year courses in their third year, and three more first-year courses in their fourth year. After earning their A.B., they may complete two years of graduate coursework (five second-year and five third-year courses and a 5,000-word thesis) to earn a Bachelor of Laws degree The Law Department awards its first LL.B. 1905/6 The degree of Juris Doctor replaces the LL.B. 1907/8 Undergraduates can earn a Bachelor of Arts in the Pre-Legal Course. 1911/2 The Law School reinstates the LL.B., awarding it to students who have completed two years of undergraduate coursework and all three years of the professional law curriculum (J.D. candidates must have completed three years of undergraduate coursework and earned an A.B.). 1917/8 The Law School now requires LL.B. candidates to have completed three years of undergraduate coursework and earned an A.B., while J.D. candidates must now have completed four years of undergraduate coursework. However, for the remainder of WWI, Pre-Legal majors may count two years of the Law School s professional curriculum toward their A.B. degrees. 6/27/1924 Stanford s Board of Trustees adopts a resolution, to take effect on Nov. 1, whereby a student must have an A.B. to be admitted to the Law School s professional curriculum. 1927/8 The Law School will now award the LL.B. upon fulfillment of the preexisting requirements for the J.D., while the J.D. will be awarded upon completion of a fourth year of study and a thesis on some modern legal problem. 1932/3 The Master of Laws replaces the J.D., and the Doctor of the Science of Law to be awarded to students who, after earning an LL.M., complete a year of independent legal research and present a thesis that the faculty deems a contribution to knowledge is introduced For the remainder of WWII, Pre-Legal majors may spread their third year of academic study and first year of professional study over their junior and senior years and thus earn their A.B. and LL.B. degrees in six years. 1969/70 The Law School first offers the Master of Jurisprudence, a nonprofessional degree to be awarded to students who complete two years of legal study. The J.D. replaces the LL.B., and the Master of the Science of Law replaces the LL.M.

4 1977/8 The Law School first offers the Master of Legal Studies, a nonprofessional degree to be awarded to students who have a non-law doctoral degree and who complete two years of legal study. 1989/90 The Law School no longer offers the J.M. degree. 1995/6 The Stanford Program in International Legal Studies [SPILS] welcomes its first fellows. SPILS is open to specially qualified academics, lawyers, judges, public officials, and other professionals trained in law outside the U.S. Each fellow completes an intensive, interdisciplinary research project on a topic of concern to a particular region of the world or to the international community as a whole, leading to a J.S.M. degree. 2002/3 The Law School introduces a new Master of Laws program, limited to students who have earned a primary law degree outside the U.S. and who have at least two years of professional legal experience. The one-year program allows specialization in Corporate Governance and Practice or Law, Science and Technology.

5 Appendix A: Graduate Law Degrees at Stanford AB X X X X X X AM X LLB X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X JD (Juris Doctor) X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X LLM JSD JD (Doctor of Jurisprudence) JSM JM MLS

6 Appendix A: Graduate Law Degrees at Stanford AB AM LLB JD (Juris Doctor) LLM JSD X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X JD (Doctor of Jurisprudence) JSM JM MLS

7 Appendix A: Graduate Law Degrees at Stanford AB AM LLB X X X X X X X X X X X JD (Juris Doctor) LLM JSD JD (Doctor of Jurisprudence) JSM JM MLS X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

8 Appendix A: Graduate Law Degrees at Stanford AB AM LLB JD (Juris Doctor) LLM JSD JD (Doctor of Jurisprudence) JSM X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X JM MLS X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X