Northeastern University School of Law offers the only Cooperative Legal
Education Program in the nation. At the heart of the School of Law's
distinctive approach is a commitment to interweaving the workplace and
the classroom, the practice and the theory, the process of lawyering and
the substance, into a seamless educational program. There is also a strong emphasis on public interest values throughout the curriculum.
In support of the School of Law's emphasis on cultivating an atmosphere of cooperation and mutual respect, students receive narrative
evaluations of their work in each academic course in lieu of alphabetic or numeric grades. In addition, co-op employers submit
written appraisals of each student's professional performance. These academic and professional evaluations comprise the student's permanent
record, clearly indicating the quality of a student's performance without the use of a ranking system.
The required first-year curriculum is divided into two semesters. Fall consists of courses in Torts, Civil Procedure and Property. The second semester includes Contracts, Constitutional Law and Criminal Justice. Legal Skills in Social Context meets throughout the year.
Upper-level courses during the second and third years of law school provide students with the opportunity to explore a wide variety of legal subjects, while also reinforcing skills and knowledge acquired during co-op assignments. Outstanding faculty members, experts and leaders in their fields, introduce students to complex and challenging legal doctrine and theory and integrate students' workplace observations into classroom discussions and exercises. Classes are deepened and enriched for all participants because of the multiplicity of experiences students and faculty bring and share.
