New York State Bar Skills Competency and Professional Values Requirement
UCLA Law students seeking admission to the New York State Bar who cannot satisfy the Skills Competency and Professional Values Requirement via Pathway 4 or 5 may choose to do so at UCLA Law via Pathway 1 by completing the following designated courses and receiving a grade of C/Pass or better in each. Upon completion of these courses, students may apply for certification to the UCLA Law Records Office.
Based on UCLA Law's institutional learning outcomes, students who complete courses within the following areas are considered to have met the requirements for certification by UCLA Law pursuant to New York Rule 520.18. Students are highly encouraged to take more than the basic required courses in these areas. LL.M. students planning to request certification for Pathway 1 must earn at least 27 total units toward their LL.M. degree and comply with the requirements below. Students may not use a course to satisfy a requirement in more than one area.
Courses
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Foundational Skills and Professional Values Courses
At least two of the following courses:
LAW 108A/BLegal Research and Writing
LAW 406Legal Analysis, Writing, and Research for LL.M.s
LAW 470American Law in a Global Context
These courses provide introductory training in legal research, problem solving, time management, legal writing, legal reasoning, effective communication, legal profession norms, professional self-development, and development of competency in representation and practice.
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Legal Reasoning Courses
At least two of the following courses:
Any course within the 200 series.
Any course within the 300 series.These courses provide foundational development in the fundamental areas of legal analysis and reasoning, case analysis and synthesis, effective advocacy, factual investigation and evaluation, recognizing ethical dilemmas, promoting justice, and the elimination of biases.
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Values of the Profession Courses
At least one of the following courses:
These courses provide foundational development in professional values, ethics, professional self-development and the enforcement of professional ethical standards.
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Advanced Professional Skills and Values Courses
All students must earn at least six units in courses designated by the law school as meeting ABA requirements for experiential coursework (typically any course within the 700 series or an approved externship). LL.M. students must take at least one of the following courses to satisfy this six-unit requirement. The remaining units may come from a second experiential course or an externship.
LAW 707Mediation
LAW 746Litigation and Fact Discovery
LAW 763Contract Drafting
LAW 785Negotiation Theory and Practice
LAW 972Negotiation Theory & Practice (J-Term)
These courses provide advanced skill development, specifically providing training in negotiation and alternative methods for resolving conflict, client counseling, development of systems and procedures to manage cases and workload, recognizing and resolving ethical dilemmas, planning and executing factual investigations and fact-gatherings, litigation management and communicating with clients and others in the legal profession. The LL.M.-only courses listed above will provide students with additional fundamental lawyering skills including problem solving, legal analysis and reasoning, counseling, negotiation, ADR procedures, organization and management of legal work.
The courses listed here may change as courses are retired or new courses are added to the UCLA Law curriculum that meet the compliance criteria. J.D. students who transfer in after their first year or students who do not receive a C/Pass or better in the above courses, and still desire to be licensed to practice in the State of New York, should contact the Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs to discuss alternative opportunities to demonstrate compliance.