GENERAL INFORMATION
The Session begins on the Thursday preceding the nineteenth of September,
and continues for thirty-nine weeks, ending about June 15. The first
three days of the session are given to registration, and all students, both old
and new, are required during that time to place their names upon the books
of the University and the rolls of their respective classes. Lecture courses
begin on the Monday following, and absences will be recorded against any
student not present, from the opening lecture of each course. Students entering
after the first three days, without satisfactory excuse, will be charged a
fee for registration.
The session is divided into Three Terms. The first terms ends December
21; the second, March 24; and the third, with the close of the session.
Late Entrance.—Students are advised that late entrance upon the work of
any term is a serious hindrance to progress. The student who enters late
must begin his work at the point to which the several courses have advanced
at the time of his entrance; and credit for three years' attendance cannot be
secured unless the student is in actual residence at least thirty weeks per
session. No student may register, as a candidate for the degree, for the
work of the first term after October 15, nor for that of the second term
after January 10—nor is registration in absentia permissible.
When Students May Enter.—It is highly desirable that students of any
year, and particularly those of the first year, should enter upon the study of
law at the beginning of the session. Where this was impossible, it was
formerly the practice of the Law School to permit students to register at the
beginning of the second term, in January, but not later, save in exceptional
cases. This practice was then feasible, since new courses were begun at
that time. With the session of 1931-1932, however, a number of indivisible
courses, some in each year, were extended over two or more terms. It is,
therefore, no longer possible for candidates for the degree to enter at the
beginning of the later term. In exceptional cases, qualified students who seek
special courses, and who are not candidates for the degree, may be permitted
to enter after the end of the first term.
Fees and Expenses.—The necessary expenses of a student in the Law
School may be estimated at $700 per session of nine months. This minimum
estimate includes all University and tuition fees, board, lodging, laundry
and books. An average estimate would be $900 to $1,000 per session, reckoning
living expenses at a somewhat higher figure. The University fee applicable
to all law students (including those from Virginia) is $60; and the
tuition fee for residents of Virginia is $175, for non-residents, $195; an
athletic fee of $15 applies to all students. The total fees, therefore, for
Virginia students are $250, and for non-Virginians $270.
Payment of Fees.—Fees are payable one-third upon registration; one-third
at the opening of the second term; and the remainder at the opening
of the third term. Failure to make satisfactory arrangements therefor with
the Bursar will lead to suspension of all University privileges. (See Regulation
2, post page 356.)
Registration as Virginia Student.—In order to be considered a Virginia
student, it is necessary that the applicant's parents be domiciled in the State
if he be under twenty-one years of age; or if he has attained his majority,
that he himself be domiciled in the State; and that either his parents or the
applicant for admission shall have been bona fide taxpayers in the State of
Virginia for at least two years prior to said application.
Three Years' Course.—The course of study embraces three years of thirty-seven
weeks each, exclusive of holidays. Residence for three years, with
attendance of at least thirty weeks a year, exclusive of holidays, is essential
to graduation.
Plan of Instruction.—Each professor has full liberty to adopt his own
method of teaching. In a great majority of the courses instruction is by
the case method, oral discussion in the class-room of cases contained in
standard case-books.
The daily oral quiz has long been a marked and, as experience has proved,
a valuable feature of the system of instruction. This oral quiz is supplemented
by frequent written tests, the results of which are carefully recorded, and, in
the professor's discretion, are considered in estimating the final grade of the
student.
Practical Work.—In the procedural courses and in Legal Bibliography
and Brief Making, special stress is laid upon practical work. In the course
on Legal Bibliography and Brief Making, an intimate acquaintance with law
books and skill in their use are secured by lectures and demonstrations during
the first term of the first year, accompanied by the assignment of practical
work in the library, on which numerous oral and written tests are held;
and in the third year briefs on assigned topics and according to rigorous
standards are required. Much practical work is done in the headnoting of
cases on scientific principles.
The Law Clubs.—There are usually six or more Law Clubs functioning
actively in the life of the Law School.
Membership in the Law Clubs is optional but students are strongly advised
to participate in this work as it affords training in the use of the
library, in the preparation of briefs, and in the presentation of oral argument.
Required for Graduation.—The degree of Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) is
conferred upon such students as have satisfied the entrance requirements;
have attended three full sessions of the Law School; have successfully passed
the required examinations, with satisfactory performance of assigned practical
work, and have maintained a satisfactory record for ethical conceptions
and honorable conduct such as should characterize a prospective member
of the legal profession.
More specifically, the candidate for graduation must have completed all
the obligatory courses (see Outline of Courses, infra), and elective courses,
aggregating at least 21 term-hours.
A term-hour represents one lecture period per week throughout one of
the three terms into which the session is divided.
Degree with Final Honors.—A student who is without substantial deficiency
in the work of the first two years may, when registering for his third
year, seek to qualify for the award of the degree with Final Honors upon
the conditions set forth on page 359, infra.
