Law Certificate Programs
The College of Law offers certificates to students wishing to develop specialized expertise in a particular area of law. Certificates are awarded to students who have completed all requirements for graduation with additional course work in the following areas.
Certificates
Students in their second and third year may elect to specialize in environmental law, earning a Certificate in Environmental Law. Students who have met the certificate requirements by the time of graduation will have this distinction noted on their transcripts and receive a certificate.
This certificate program is designed to recognize students who commit themselves to this fascinating and challenging area of study. But it is also intended to leave room to take other important core courses. We strongly believe that one must first be a good lawyer before one can become an effective environmental lawyer.
The Certificate in International Legal Studies is designed to help prepare law students for professional careers in the emerging global economy. A student choosing to complete the requirements for this certificate will acquire an understanding of the conceptual framework of the international legal order, and will receive a special certificate at graduation.
Students are eligible to receive the certificate upon the successful completion of all requirements for graduation in either the civil law curriculum or the common law curriculum plus four additional courses aggregating at least 10 credit hours selected from a list of elective courses.
The College of Law offers a Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship certificate to meet the increased demand in the job market for trained lawyers who advise entrepreneurs. Law students completing the certificate can also graduate equipped with the skills needed to become entrepreneurs themselves.
The coursework required for the certificate provides training on both business creation and technology issues. On the business side, students complete both Business Organizations (LAW L746) and the Business Planning Seminar (LAW L867). In the seminar, students learn each step required to create a business from the initial conception to final incorporation. Students are also encouraged to join the Entrepreneurship Project (LAW L880), which allows students to earn credit while advising local start-ups with their legal and business needs.
On the technology side, students earning the certificate take Intellectual Property (LAW L801) and the Law & Technology Seminar (LAW L967). The seminar provides students with an overview of relevant modern digital technologies and legal doctrines. Students will obtain an overview of both network and application technologies. The course will also cover the intersection of these technologies with relevant aspects of intellectual property law, privacy law, Internet law, business law and communications law.
Students can also participate in the Technology and Legal Innovation Clinic (LAW L897). In this clinic, students design and implement technology projects aimed at assisting legal practitioners and increasing access to justice. Students learn to write software code and work with data and then put these skills into practice to solve real-world legal problems.
The College of Law complements the certificate program with a regular roster of speakers including entrepreneurs, 501(c)(3) organizations that focus on supporting entrepreneurial activity, governmental agencies and departments that focus on economic development, and members of the local technology community.
The Social Justice Certificate Program aims to recognize and enhance Loyola’s core mission of advancing social justice and pursuing academic excellence through the Jesuit ideals. Through hands-on experience and focused academic study, students will be better positioned to effectively advocate for social justice in non-profit and government settings, as well as provide a strong signal of a student’s commitment to social justice to fellowship programs and future employers. The experiential component requires that students complete the equivalent of one academic year of supervised legal work addressing the needs of the poor and marginalized. The doctrinal component focuses on the legal and policy frameworks that structure rights and access for the poor and marginalized.
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Certificate Requirements
Certificate Audit Form
Fact Sheet
Additional Resources
Stuart H. Smith Law Clinic and Center for Social Justice
Gillis Long Poverty Law Center
The Office of Skills and Experiential Learning
Students in their second and third year may elect to specialize in tax law, earning a Certificate in Tax Law. Students who have met the certificate requirements by the time of graduation will have this distinction noted on their transcripts and receive a certificate.
This certificate program is designed for students who commit themselves to intense study of the law of taxation, are willing to spend hours assisting low-income taxpayers in preparing individual income tax returns and will be engaged in solving problems that a practicing tax attorney would see in private or governmental practice.
Loyola Law’s Certificate in Immigration and Citizenship Law and Practice develops professional practice skills by emphasizing experiential learning in the core academic courses and by requiring two semesters of immigration clinic. Students who earn the certificate have completed coursework that provides a foundation for practice in the areas of immigration law, asylum and refugee law, and citizenship and naturalization law.
This certificate program furthers the law school’s core mission of working for social justice and enables students who are committed to public interest work to have their commitment and work honored at graduation by earning the certificate. The program strives to meet the need for immigration expertise in the local, state and national community.
Certificate program students include Mary Kate Richardson, Class of 2018, selected as one of 25 Immigrant Justice Corps Fellows this year, who will be working with the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Legal Services (RAICES) Family Detention program after she graduates; Allison Sickle, Class of 2018, selected to serve a two year clerkship with the New Orleans Immigration Court; Maria Deguzman, Class of 2016, US Navy JAG Corps; and Kaitlin Locascio, Class of 2016, Catholic Charities Immigration Services New Orleans.
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Certificate Requirements
Enrichment Opportunities
Certificate Audit Form
Full Certificate Details
Students may elect to concentrate in the area of Health Law and earn a Certificate in Health Law upon graduation. To receive the Certificate in Health Law, a candidate, who has taken the required course of Business Organizations, must also successfully complete twelve additional hours of course work, as described in the Certificate Requirements.
Contact Dean Algero for more information
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