Honor Board
The Loyola University College of Law Honor Board is an elected body of thirteen students who serve in an advisory capacity to the Dean of the College of Law. The Board is charged with investigating alleged Honor Code violations, holding hearings on alleged violations when appropriate, and recommending sanctions to the Dean of the College of Law when it finds that a violation has been committed. The operations and proceedings of the Honor Board are governed by the provisions of the Loyola University College of Law Honor Code.
The Honor Code is a body of rules and standards which governs students' conduct with respect to all academic matters. It defines prohibited conduct, Honor Board proceedings, and sanctions available in the event of an Honor Code violation.
Scholarly Journals
Loyola Law Review
The Editorial Board extends candidacy for the review based on scholastic achievement at the end of the first year (the top 10% of the full-time students and the top 10% of the part-time students following the spring semester are invited to candidacy), and based on an annual write-on competition (the top 11-33% of the full-time students and the top 11-33% of the part-time students at the end of the spring semester are invited to participate). Students are not eligible for candidacy unless they have completely fulfilled the course requirements of the first year of the full-time or part-time curriculum in which they originally enrolled. The candidates participate in a program of legal research, writing, and editing leading to the publication of the Law Review.
Loyola Maritime Law Journal
The Loyola Maritime Law Journal is a publication which is published semiannually in a two volume set; once in the Winter and once in the Summer. The journal provides an avenue for research and writing by students, faculty, and practitioners in the dynamic and exciting field of maritime law. The journal also operates a maritime law blog, The Loyola Current. Editorial board members are selected annually from the members of the journal by its current editorial board.
Students who have completed all requirements of the first year of the full-time or part-time curriculum and who are in the top 33% of their respective programs are invited to apply for candidacy for journal membership. Students who are in the top 34-75% of the class may submit a writing sample (topic chosen by the Board) for consideration as Members. Any JD or LLM student who is not on academic probation or who has permission from the Faculty Petitions Committee may submit a writing sample (topic chosen by the Board) for consideration as Associates.
Loyola Journal of Public Interest Law
The Loyola Journal of Public Interest Law (JPIL) is a scholarly journal that is published twice a year by its candidates, members, and editors. JPIL publishes articles and student comments that provide the legal and academic community with a forum for the development of public interest scholarship on topics addressing the environment, public international law, criminal justice, health care, freedom of speech, civil rights, economic injustice, and educational rights and opportunities.
Invitations for candidacy are extended by the Editor-in-Chief to students who comprise the top 33% of the freshman class (full-time or part-time students) following their first year of study. Students may also become candidates by participating in a case note “write-on” competition; students who are in the top 50% of their class following their first year of study are invited to participate.
Advocacy Center
The Advocacy Center reinforces the ongoing and comprehensive nature of advocacy from the early states of negotiation through trial and then appeals. The Center consists of five experiential programs to prepare students for all aspects of the practice of law: Alternative Dispute Resolution, Danny and Mary Becnel Trial Advocacy, International Advocacy, Legal Research and Writing, and Moot Court. Participation in any Advocacy Center program generally requires students to maintain at least a 2.50 cumulative grade point average.
Moot Court
Moot Court, a comprehensive program in which students are given an opportunity to participate in intramural and intercollegiate appellate moot court competitions, offers training in the art of persuasive oral advocacy and the skills of effective brief writing. A Moot Court Board, composed of four senior law students, is responsible for the organization, administration, and selection of members of the moot court staff and moot court teams, who compete with other law schools nationwide.
Selection for staff positions is made on a competitive basis either through the student's performance in the Lawyering II course or through a fall argue-on competition. In all cases, selections are based on the student's performance before a bench of judges and his or her written appellate brief.
In the Lawyering II course, students are evaluated individually by the Moot Court Board based on their course brief and their performance in the final oral argument. Students must opt-in to be considered for Moot Court staff at the time they submit their course brief. All Students selected for Moot Court staff based on their performance in the Lawyering II course are required to participate in the Moot Court Intramural Competition.
In the fall argue-on competition, students deliver an argument to a panel of judges and are evaluated individually by the Moot Court Board.
Through an interview process, staff members are selected for participation on teams or the Moot Court Board. Students selected to compete on a moot court team are required to take an appellate advocacy seminar course in the fall semester of the academic year in which they compete. Loyola moot court teams have a national reputation for excellence and regularly win or place in regional and national competitions.
Trial Advocacy
The Danny and Mary Becnel Trial Advocacy Program offers training in litigation skills that serve any area of practice through intramural and intercollegiate trial advocacy competitions. Students develop skills and strategies used in a trial practice and learn how to conduct themselves in a courtroom setting. A Trial Advocacy Board, composed of four senior law students, is responsible for the organization, administration, and selection of members of the trial advocacy staff and teams, who compete with other law schools nationwide.
Selection for staff positions is made on a competitive basis either through the student's performance in a trial advocacy course or through a spring argue-on competition. In all cases, selections are based on the student's performance of trial skills.
In the fall Trial Advocacy course, students are evaluated individually by the Trial Advocacy Board based on their their performance in the course's final trial. Students must opt-in to be considered for Trial Advocacy staff at the time of their final trial. In the spring argue-on competition, students demonstrate a predetermined trial skill and are evaluated individually by the Trial Advocacy Board. Students selected for Trial Advocacy staff are required to participate in the Trial Advocacy Intramural Competition in the fall semester of or following their selection.
Through an interview process, staff members are selected for participation on teams or the Trial Advocacy Board. Students who participate in the trial advocacy program learn to analyze facts and think on their feet while displaying a dynamic courtroom presentation.
Alternative Dispute Resolution
The Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) program offers training in arbitration, mediation, and negotiation through participation in intercollegiate negotiation and mediation competitions as well as involvement in policymaking surrounding issues of ADR. An ADR board, composed of four upperclass law students, is responsible for the organization, administration, and selection of members of teams, who compete with other law schools nationwide.
Students can join the program through voluntary membership in the ADR Society. Through an interview process, staff members are selected for participation on teams or the ADR Board. ADR Society members develop skills to facilitate settlement negotiations and advise clients in non-judicial settings.
Legal Research and Writing
In the first semester of law school during the Lawyering I course, students learn effective legal research and objective written analysis. In the second semester in Lawyering II, students shift focus to persuasive legal writing and oral advocacy. Students who excel in these courses can apply to become Teaching Assistants as upperclassmen and to work alongside professors in the Lawyering courses, reviewing drafts, crafting arguments, and providing critiques to first year law students.
International Advocacy
Students who desire a professional career in the global economy are encouraged to obtain a certificate in International Legal Studies and to join the International Law Society. Students can also participate in international moot court competitions held domestically and abroad.