Though students can enroll at any time, they typically begin coursework for their certificate in labor and employment law in the fall semester of their second year. The certificate typically takes three semesters to complete. Students are required to take at least seven courses to earn the certificate:
Employment Discrimination
Employment Relationships
Labor Law
Legal Writing 4 — Labor/Employment Law1
A workplace elective (e.g., Trade Secrets)2
A practicum3
A seminar on a labor or employment law topic (e.g., Workplace Safety) or independent research with a sponsoring faculty member4
1 Students on Moot Court or Law Review, or who are registered for a judicial externship, are exempt from Legal Writing IV. Only Legal Writing IV — Labor/Employment Law counts towards the certificate.
2 Where it is not clear that a course is on a workplace law topic, consult the director of the Malin Institute to confirm that it will count towards the certificate.
3 Students have three options: The Labor/Employment Externship; Employment Litigation; or one of three legal clinics: Civil Litigation or Pretrial Litigation with Professor Franklin or ERISA with Professor Reynolds. Please note that enrollment in the legal clinics is managed by the C-K Legal Group, not the Malin Institute, and is by application only. Consult the C-K Legal Group’s website for information.
4 Occasionally students may encounter scheduling conflicts that prevent them from taking the workplace law seminar being offered. In those instances, they may take another seminar (e.g., Sports Law) and count it towards the certificate in labor and employment law as long as they write their final paper on a workplace law topic. Students must receive approval from the director of the Malin Institute and the instructor of the course in advance.
