Associate Dean Sowle's Announcements, January 16 - January 20, 2023

Welcome Back! I hope your break was restful and that you have a productive and enjoyable Spring semester.


Eighth Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Forum. Please join us for Chicago-Kent's Eighth Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Forum on Thursday, January 19, 5:30 - 7:00 pm, in the Auditorium (reception to follow the panel in the Lobby). This year's topic is "The Pathway to Equity and Freedom: Dismantling Systems of Oppression through Public Health and Safety Reforms."  The event is free and open to the public; however, registration is required. Click here to register and for more information about the event, including the list of panelists. This event is hosted by the Chicago-Kent Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.


Accessing Your Fall 2022 Grades. Fall grades are due no later than this Friday, January 20. Grades are released as they are received. You can access your grades by logging into Web for Students, then clicking on the Fall 2022 link under the Grades and Rank heading. After all grades are in, we will process Fall GPAs and class ranks as quickly as possible. Please note: Students do not receive class ranks until they have been here for at least two semesters. For students entering in 2022 or after, class ranks will be assigned only to the top half of the class. (See the Student Handbook, section 6.13, for more information.)


Spring 2023 Semester Information.  The Spring 2023 Quick Guide page has most of the information you will need in advance of the start of the Spring semester. It includes classroom assignments and exam information for Spring courses. Alternatively, click on the individual links below to go directly to the indicated documents.

Spring 2023 Schedule of Classes (with Classroom Assignments and Exam Information). The most recent version of the Spring 2023 class schedule is available here. It includes classroom assignments and exam information for Spring courses.

Please note the following changes to the schedule since the start of initial registration\.

Additional Courses
-Genocide & Crimes Against Humanity (Prof. Weber): This class has been added to the schedule. It may be taken as either a regular course (see pg. 4 of the schedule) or a seminar (see pg. 8). It will meet Wed. 4:00-5:50pm.
-Legal Writing 4 for International LL.M. Students (3 cr., 118-51, Prof. Sodetz): This additional section has been added to the schedule and will be offered Mon./Wed. 6:00-7:25pm (see pg. 3 of the schedule).
-The Role of State Attorneys General (2 cr., 438-81): This class has been added to the schedule. It will be co-taught by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Prof. Carolyn Shapiro and will meet Mon. 4:00-5:50pm.The course description is available here (scroll down).
 
Canceled Courses
-Agency Law (277-51)
-Laws of Retirement (425-51)
-Litigation Technology (J.D. section) (254-51)
-Trademarks & Unfair Competition (416-51)

Other Changes
-Commercial Law: Secured Transactions (Prof. Spak): This class will be taught online.
-Employee Benefits Law & Litigation (Prof. Soubly): This class may now be taken either as a regular course or as a seminar (it was originally listed just for regular course credit).
-GDPR Practicum (Prof. Goldstein): This class will be taught online.
-Law of Privacy (Prof. De Armond): This class will be taught online.
-Legal Theory (Prof. Donelson): This class was listed for seminar credit only on the original schedule (see pg. 8 of the schedule); it is now also listed for regular course credit (see pg. 4). It will meet Tues/Thurs. 10:00-11:25am.
-Startup Lawyering (Prof. N. Kim): In addition to the class sessions (Mon/Wed. 11:15-12:40pm), students must be available on the following  Wednesdays, 12:40-1:40pm, to work with students in the Start-Up Accelerator program at the Kaplan Institute: January 25, February 1, February 15, March 1, March 22, March 29, and April 12. The course will end on April 12.

Initial Reading Assignments and Course Materials. The initial reading assignments we've received from professors are available here. Please note that not all professors submit initial assignments. Even if a course is not listed in the document, please check the Bookstore for information about course materials.

Add-Drop Period. If you have not already done so, please check the registration system to see whether you were admitted to all of the courses you requested during the initial registration period. The add/drop period is open and will continue through Tuesday, January 31, 5:00pm.

You may withdraw from any course except a required course, a clinical course, Law Review, Moot Court, or an intersession class at any time prior to the date of the final exam or final paper (see §3.10(c) of the Student Handbook). There is no tuition penalty if you drop a course during the first two weeks of classes. You will not receive a tuition refund, however, if you drop a course after Tuesday, January 31, 5:00pm.

Applications for Graduation. If you are graduating this semester, please submit an Application for Graduation (click here) no later than Tuesday, January 31, 5:00pm.

Pass/Fail Elections and Limitations. Pass/fail elections for the Spring semester must be made online no later than Tuesday, January 31, 5:00pm. In order to make an election, you should:

  1. Log into Web for Students

  2. Select the "Take Class Pass/Fail" option under the "Online Forms" heading

  3. Select the course you would like to take on a pass/fail basis

  4. Submit your selection

The Registrar's Office will review your request and inform you if there is any problem with your request.

Although there is no overall limit on pass/fail credits, there are two types of limits to the pass/fail credits you can take:

Pass/fail election: Students may elect up to 6 credits pass/fail during their entire time at Chicago-Kent. This pass/fail election applies to upper-level elective courses that normally are letter-graded; classes that are only offered pass/fail do not count toward this 6-credit limit. The following classes may not be elected pass/fail: (1) required courses, including Professional Responsibility; (2) seminars, whether or not being taken to fulfill the graduation seminar requirement; (3) courses that have been designated by instructors as ineligible for the pass/fail election (these courses are indicated on each semester’s schedule of classes); (4) courses that are graded only on a pass/fail basis (as noted above), such as clinical courses, Moot Court, and Law Review; (5) Financial Services LL.M. courses; (6) Trial Advocacy and Appellate Advocacy courses; and (7) courses taken to fulfill the requirements of any certificate program. Fall pass/fail registration will open shortly before the start of the Fall semester. A student taking a course on a pass/fail basis must earn at least a C to receive a P (Pass). If you pass the course but fail to earn at least a C, you will receive a grade of LP (Low Pass).

Clinic limitation: You may take no more than 24 credit hours toward graduation for clinical courses and externships combined. (Students in the Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution Program (LADR) and the Criminal Litigation Program are exempt from this limitation.)

Faculty Recording Policies. A list is available here of faculty who have informed us whether they will record classes in the Spring and, if so, whether they will make the recordings routinely available to the entire class, or on a more selective basis (e.g., to students who provide an adequate reason for missing class). If a class is not on the list, that means we have not received a response from the professor. The list was last updated on January 9.

Course Descriptions. Most course descriptions are available here. Descriptions for new courses are available here (this includes GDPR Practicum; Startup Lawyering; Genocide & Crimes Against Humanity; Laws of Retirement; and Legal Theory). 

Academic Calendar for 2022–2023. The academic calendar is available here.

Classrooms for Remote Use. If you are taking an online class this semester, we have reserved rooms at the Law School for you to use if you won't have sufficient time to travel from home to school (or vice versa) in between your online class and an on-site class you have the same day. These rooms will remain the same throughout the semester. Click here for the list. Please note: You will each connect to class individually in Zoom and should have earphones or headphones with you.

Experiential Course Requirement. Students must complete a total of six credits from an approved list of experiential courses (click here for the list). Most students will already satisfy four of these credits through the required sequence of Legal Writing 3 and Legal Writing 4. However, students who opt for the Legal Writing 4 Equivalency Class (see page 2 of the schedule for information about Legal Writing 4 Equivalency) should consult the list of approved courses to determine whether the qualifying activity counts toward the experiential requirement. Law Review does not count toward the requirement. 

64-Credit Classroom Course Requirement. At least 64 of the 87 credits required for graduation must be in courses that require attendance in regularly scheduled classroom sessions or direct faculty instruction. Clinical coursework counts toward the 64-credit requirement, but externships, extracurricular activities (including credits earned for participation in a law journal, moot court competitions, trial advocacy competitions, or as a Teaching Assistant), and courses taken in another academic unit (e.g., the Stuart School of Business) do not count toward the 64 credits.

Bar Exam Strategies Course. This is a reminder that students who were in the bottom 25% of their class at the end of their second year (for full-time students) or their third year (for part-time students) are required to take Bar Exam Strategies in their final semester. Other students in their final semester may take it if they wish, but are not required to do so. Students in the bottom 25% of their class may petition our Director of Bar Success, Erin Crist (ecrist@kentlaw.iit.edu), for an exemption from taking the class. The class will be taught asynchronously by Bar-Bri instructors, with oversight by Prof. Crist. It will cover Civil Procedure, Contracts, Evidence, and Property as tested on the bar exam. It will cover both substantive rules and skills instruction for the written and multiple choice portions of the bar exam. The course will be letter-graded.

Graduating Students: Reduced Loads and Tuition Discounts. J.D. students graduating at the end of the Spring semester who need fewer than the minimum number of hours to graduate may take fewer credits without special permission. Taking a reduced load may affect your eligibility for financial aid; please contact the Financial Aid Office if you have questions about this.

In addition, if you will be graduating at the end of the Spring semester, and will be taking more than the 87 credits required to graduate, you may receive a 50% discount on each credit you take over the required 87 credits. If this affects you, please contact me by email no later than Tuesday, January 31, and I will arrange for the credit to be applied to your account. Please note: Financial aid is not available for any courses you take that are not necessary for you to reach the required 87 credits.


Dean's Certificates for February 2023 Illinois Bar Exam. We will mail a Dean's Certification form to the Illinois bar examiners for every Fall J.D. graduate prior to the deadline later this month. We compile the list of graduating students from the list of those who submitted Applications for Graduation listing Fall 2022 as their final semester. Important note: University policy does not allow the certification of any student to the bar examiners if the student has an outstanding balance owed to the school.


July 2023 Illinois Bar Applications. Applications for the July 2023 Illinois bar exam are due by February 15, 2023. You may file a late application up to May 15, but penalty fees apply. The forms and instructions are available on the bar examiners' web site: www.ilbaradmissions.org. All information you disclose on the bar application should be consistent with answers to questions on your Application for Admission to the law school. Please note, however, that the bar application asks for a considerable amount of information that you were not asked to provide on our Application for Admission. You only need to be concerned about the consistency of your answers for questions asked on both forms. You can amend your Application for Admission, if necessary, by addressing a letter to me setting forth the details of the omission or misrepresentation and the reason for it.

Dean's Certificate: The law school sends a “Certification of Juris Doctorate” to the Illinois bar examiners for every student who graduates in December or May. Please be sure to file an Application for Graduation (see information above for how to file one) at the beginning of your last semester so we will know you plan to graduate at the end of that semester. Important note: We will not certify any student to the bar examiners if the student has an outstanding balance owed to the school.


Bar Exams in Other States. If you plan to take a bar exam outside of Illinois, you should provide Dean Sowle with appropriate forms for the Law School to complete as soon as possible (by email to ssowle@kentlaw.iit.edu). 


MPRE: Registration Information for 2023 Test Dates. The Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE) is required for admission to the bars of most jurisdictions, including Illinois. Students planning on taking the Illinois bar exam may take the MPRE at any time during or after law school. Click here for a list of 2023 test dates and deadlines for applying. The first 2023 test administration is March 28 or 29, with an application deadline of January 26, 2023. 


Employment Limitation. Subject to the limitation for full-time first-year students mentioned just below, students may work more than 20 hours a week if they take 13 or fewer credits in a regular semester (Fall or Spring). Students are prohibited from working more than 20 hours a week if they take 14 or more credits.

Full-time first-year students are prohibited from working more than 20 hours a week even if they take 13 or fewer credits (e.g., full-time summer-start students, who take only 13 credits in the Fall, are still limited to working no more than 20 hours a week).


Academic Counseling. I am available for counseling about course selection, certificate programs, bar preparation, academic rules and regulations, and other academic matters. If you are interested in a particular area of law, I can also arrange for you to meet with a faculty member who specializes in that area. You may contact me by email (ssowle@kentlaw.iit.edu) or by phone at (312) 906-5282.


Counseling Services. This is a reminder that the university provides counseling services free of charge for students. Click here for details on the available resources, including individual counseling through Skylight Counseling Services. In addition to resources available through the university, the Lawyers Assistance Program also provides assistance to law students. LAP provides free and confidential assistance to members of the Illinois legal community, including students, and can help you with issues of addiction, stress, anxiety, depression, focusing, worries about the character and fitness process, and having a successful first-year transition. Click here for more information about LAP and the services it provides.