Chicago-Kent College of Law

565 W. Adams St.
Chicago, IL 60661
312.906.5000
admissions@kentlaw.iit.edu
kentlaw.iit.edu

Dean
Anita K. Krug

Faculty with Research Interests
For more information regarding faculty, visit the Chicago-Kent College of Law website.

Chicago-Kent College of Law is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools and the Order of the Coif. The law school is housed in a state-of-the-art, 10-story facility in the West Loop area of downtown Chicago. The building is a short walk from the U.S. District Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals, and numerous federal agencies; the Daley Center, which houses multiple divisions and districts of the Circuit Court of Cook County; and LaSalle Street, the hub of law practice in Chicago. Being located in the heart of one of the major legal centers in the United States enables the law school to supplement its distinguished full-time faculty with outstanding practitioners and jurists who teach courses in their areas of expertise.

Research Centers

Center for Access to Justice and Technology

Chicago-Kent College of Law established the Center for Access to Justice and Technology (CAJT) to make justice more accessible to the public by promoting the use of technology in the teaching, practice, and public access to the law. The primary focus of CAJT is to help pro se litigants obtain greater access to justice. Many self-represented litigants, even in simple cases, struggle to navigate through an unfamiliar and procedurally complex court system. The center conducts research, builds software tools, teaches classes, and supports faculty, staff, and student projects on access to justice and technology.

Center for Design, Law, and Technology

The Center for Design, Law & Technology (cDELTA or c∆) promotes research, scholarship, and instruction at the intersection of creativity, technology, design, and the law. Building on the law school's recognized expertise, the center fosters research that examines a range of topics related to design, including the legal protections of design in the United States and internationally, creativity and innovation in design, and design thinking and problem-solving. Convening experts from various disciplines, including business, law, and design, the center hosts talks, workshops, and conferences related to these topics.

Center for Empirical Studies of Intellectual Property

The Center for Empirical Studies of Intellectual Property, the first academic center of its kind in the nation, promotes the application of empirical social science methods, both quantitative and qualitative, to studying important questions about innovation, creativity, and other issues related to intellectual property law.

Center for National Security and Human Rights Law

The Center is a forum in which scholars, practitioners, students, and the general public can grapple with the complex and evolving issues surrounding national security law, along with the manner in which society must balance the competing interests of security and freedom.

Constitutional Democracy Project

The Constitutional Democracy Project offers high-quality, hands-on civics education programs and teaching materials focused on the Constitution, law, and policy for middle school and high school students and their teachers. Students and teachers are invited to participate in forums and debates on the Chicago-Kent campus, or complete curriculums in their own classrooms that examines the history and principles of the U.S. Constitution.

Institute for Compliance in Financial Markets

The Institute for Compliance in Financial Markets promotes careers in financial compliance, trains and prepares students for such careers, increases knowledge of the importance of compliance, and provides various events for the Chicago-based compliance and legal community. It is the first institute of its kind located in a law school. The Institute for Compliance offers a rich curriculum in financial markets regulation, including classes in securities, commodities, and banking regulation, along with a capstone compliance course. 

Institute for Law and the Humanities

The Institute for Law and the Humanities was created to facilitate, support, and encourage symposia, lectures, scholarship, and faculty discussion on the relationship between law and other humanistic disciplines. It provides opportunities for faculty and students to integrate humanities-based studies with the study of law and explore the increasingly rich and diverse scholarship in areas such as legal philosophy, legal history, law and literature, and law and religion.

Institute for Science, Law and Technology

The Institute for Science, Law and Technology provides a forum to produce and disseminate knowledge on the social and legal implications of emerging technologies. As part of its mission, the institute sponsors long-term, multidisciplinary research; public conferences; judicial training; symposia for journalists; and other programs. Public programming, scholarship and research, and student educational opportunities in the institute focus on biotechnology, genetics, nanotechnology, internet privacy, app development, machine learning, and intellectual property. In addition, institute staff and faculty draft laws and regulations and develop other programs that guide public policy decisions.

Institute on the Supreme Court of the United States

The Institute on the Supreme Court of the United States (ISCOTUS) educates internal and external audiences about the Court and its role in our constitutional system of government. ISCOTUS seeks to showcase the significant intellectual contributions of Chicago-Kent’s faculty and to give students the opportunity to learn more about the Court through participation in ISCOTUS events and projects. Other components of ISCOTUS are ISCOTUSnow, a blog devoted to informed, accessible discussion of the work of the Court, and the Civic Education Project, which merges ISCOTUS’s academic and technological dimensions to promote public education about the Court.

Justice John Paul Stevens Jury Center

The Justice John Paul Stevens Jury Center website serves as a clearinghouse for information about the jury for academics, students, judges, lawyers, and members of the press and public. Whether you want to read brief descriptions of articles on the jury or delve into symposia that contain numerous articles on a wide range of jury issues, this website is a resource for such information.

MARTIN H. MALIN INSTITUTE FOR LAW AND THE WORKPLACE

The Martin H. Malin Institute for Law and the Workplace is a national center for research, training, dialogue, and reflection on the law that governs the workplace. The institute pools the resources of leading academic scholars and the practicing professional community to train students and professionals, monitor policies and trends, and reflect upon issues confronting the labor and employment law community in a neutral setting.

Public Interest Center

The Mission of the Chicago-Kent Public Interest Center is to increase pro bono and community service and support careers in public interest law for Chicago-Kent students while expanding access to justice in the community.  It supports those curious about a career in public interest, or simply wanting to explore pro bono opportunities, and fulfills this mission through the Pro Bono and Community Service Initiative, career and financial support, the J.D. Certificate in Public Interest Law, and hosting conferences and events.

The Law Lab

The Law Lab is a premier interdisciplinary teaching and research center focused on legal innovation and technology. The center examines the intersections of law and technology, mathematics, science, and design, and the ways in which innovation can lead to the more effective delivery of legal services. 

Research and Training Facilities

Chicago-Kent College of Law Library

Chicago-Kent College of Law offers a Library that advances the academic and scholarly success of students and faculty by providing future-focused training and professional research assistance to our diverse community. The Library space includes group study rooms to enhance collaboration, and the building offers an infrastructure that embraces a practice and technology-focused curriculum.

Computer Facilities

Chicago-Kent has a robust and technologically advanced computer network. Wireless technology allows complete access to the network and is available throughout much of the building, including the atrium area that spans the concourse, first, and second floors; all floors of the library; all classrooms; and the student lounge. Students with laptops can also use network ports available almost everywhere in the building. Every seat in the library and almost every classroom seat has a hardwired computer node with adjacent power connections. Networked workstations are devoted to student use throughout the building, including student lounges, the computer lab, and even the atrium. Web-based student resources, including online registration and grading systems, are available 24/7 from anywhere with an Internet connection. Faculty members routinely prepare interactive tutorials that can be accessed by students ahead of class.

The Judge Abraham Lincoln Marovitz Courtroom

The Judge Abraham Lincoln Marovitz Courtroom, named for the late distinguished Chicago-Kent graduate and senior judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, integrates design features from the best courtrooms and trial advocacy training facilities in the nation. Planned for both law school instruction and actual legal proceedings, the Marovitz Courtroom incorporates advanced computer and audiovisual technology in a traditional setting.

The Bruce M. Kohen Courtroom

The Bruce M. Kohen Courtroom is a 738-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility that includes two 90-inch television monitors, a Crestron automated lighting control system, and an audiovisual system with three built-in document cameras and four display monitors. Named for Bruce M. Kohen ’79, a retired partner of Anesi, Ozmon, Rodin, Novak, & Kohen Ltd. in Chicago, the Kohen Courtroom provides a realistic courtroom atmosphere for classroom instruction and for competition practice by students on the law school’s trial advocacy and moot court teams.

Research and Clinical Training Areas

Legal Research and Writing

Chicago-Kent has one of the most rigorous and comprehensive legal research and writing programs in the country. The required five-course curriculum immerses students in basic and advanced research techniques; memorandum and brief writing; transactional writing and client representation; and specialized research and writing in such areas as securities, labor and employment, environmental, international, public interest, or intellectual property law. Finally, students in their third or fourth year take a seminar focused on a specific area of law for which they write a scholarly paper.

Clinical Education

The C-K Law Group, a teaching law firm located in the law school, is one of the largest in-house clinical programs in the United States. The center is staffed by ten full-time attorneys and serves hundreds of clients each year. Students who intern in the law offices have the opportunity to work on cases in a wide variety of clinical practice areas—civil practice, criminal law, employment law, employee benefit claims,  estate planning, probate and transactional law, environmental law, family law, immigration law, intellectual property law, mediation, and tax law—under the supervision of a clinical professor. Other skills training opportunities are available through the Judicial and Legal Externship programs. Students in the Judicial Externship Program are placed with participating judges in the federal district, appellate, and bankruptcy courts, and in Illinois state courts at all levels. Judicial externs work directly with the judge and the judge’s senior law clerk and perform the same duties as the law clerk, including researching, writing memoranda of law, drafting opinions, and generally observing and participating in the day-to-day operation of the court. Those selected for the Legal Externship Program work with teaching attorneys in a wide range of government and private practice settings.

Trial Advocacy

Chicago-Kent's trial advocacy program is consistently ranked among the best in the nation. Chicago-Kent offers a two-semester sequence in trial advocacy taught by judges and practitioners with extensive trial experience. In the first semester, students practice jury selection, opening statements, direct examination, cross-examination, and closing arguments, and they conduct at least two full trials. In the second semester, students learn strategic trial techniques and conduct at least four full trials.

An advanced course in litigation technology ensures students are prepared to use computer technology in the courtroom, a critical aspect of contemporary trial practice.

Course Descriptions

See the Chicago-Kent College of Law website for detailed information about faculty and courses.

Admissions

J.D. Program Admissions

Applicants for admission to the J.D. Program at Chicago-Kent must have received a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university prior to beginning classes at the law school. Students are admitted to the law school based on the information contained in their applications, their standardized test scores, undergraduate records, personal statements, and their letters of recommendation.

All candidates must take either the LSAT or the GRE and register with the LSAC Credential Assembly Service. For additional information on admission requirements, potential students should contact the law school admissions office at 312.906.5020 or visit the J.D. admissions website.

LL.M. Program Admissions

Information about admission to Chicago-Kent's LL.M. programs is available on the LL.M. admissions website.

Degrees Offered

Juris Doctor (J.D.)

Master of Laws (LL.M.)

Master of Laws in Global Business and Financial Law

Joint-Degree Programs

J.D./LL.M. in Global Business and Financial Law

With Stuart School of Business

J.D./M.B.A.
J.D./M.P.A
J.D./M.S. in Sustainability Analytics and Management
J.D./M.S. in Finance
LL.M./M.B.A.

Juris Doctor (J.D.)

The college offers both full-time and part-time divisions. Entrance, scholastic, and graduate requirements are the same for both divisions, and full-time faculty teach in both divisions. Entering classes begin only in the fall, but incoming first-year students may take one course during the summer semester before their first year. Three years are normally required for full-time day division students to complete the 87 credit hours needed for the Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree. Part-time evening students take a total of 22 credits in the first year and part-time day students take a total of 23 credits. After the first year, part-time students normally take 8 to 13 credits per semester and can finish their degree requirements in four years, particularly if they take classes during one summer session.  A selection of courses is offered each summer, mostly in the evening. First-year courses are required, but students participating in the 1L Your Way program may take an approved upper-level elective or a clinic in the spring of their first year. Most courses in the second and third years are elective, although the faculty recommends that all students take certain upper-class courses. In addition to traditional courses, the curriculum offers a wide variety of innovative courses and seminars to enrich the student’s academic experience.

Juris Doctor Curriculum

Master of Laws (LL.M.)

Chicago-Kent offers Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree programs in global business and financial law; international intellectual property law; legal innovation and technology; trial advocacy; and U.S., international, and transnational law. Each program requires 24 credit hours. The courses are taught by outstanding practitioners and offer students the opportunity to do advanced research and writing under the direct supervision of a faculty member. A student may pursue these programs on a full- or part-time basis. The LL.M. degree programs in global business and financial law; international intellectual property law; legal innovation and technology; trial advocacy; and U.S., international, and transnational law are offered to foreign attorneys. Chicago-Kent also offers a combined J.D./LL.M. degree program in global business and financial law, which enables students to earn both degrees after seven semesters of full-time residence, instead of eight; and a combined LL.M./M.B.A degree program.

J.D./LL.M. in Global Business and Financial Law

Deregulation of financial services, development of financial derivatives, reform of taxation, regulation of specific risks in the wake of the Crisis of 2008, and deployment of new technologies have created an environment in which attorneys and other professionals must broaden their knowledge and sharpen their analytical skills in understanding the integrated financial services markets. The graduate program in financial services law offers both full- and part-time students a unique opportunity to broaden their understanding of the principles underlying increasingly complex systems and services, to deepen their knowledge of particular topics of interest, and to enhance their skills as professionals. Courses are offered on weekday evenings.

J.D./Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.)

A joint-degree J.D./M.B.A. program in conjunction with Stuart School of Business allows students to receive both J.D. and M.B.A. degrees in a reduced time period, depending on undergraduate preparation. The primary objective of the program is to provide law students with a strong academic background in management. This program is particularly valuable for those law students who intend to be involved in activities and commercial transactions within the business community. The M.B.A. program’s focus on professional specialization, combined with business-oriented law courses in the law school curriculum, enhances a lawyer’s ability to work effectively as part of the corporate and business worlds.

J.D./M.S. in Sustainability Analytics and Management

The law school offers a joint J.D./M.S. in Sustainability Analytics and Management degree program in conjunction with Stuart School of Business. The Sustainability Analytics and Management Program is a unique multidisciplinary program integrating engineering, law, and business management to answer the increasing demand for management-level personnel who have an understanding of environmental issues. An attorney with environmental training is able to work either as a lawyer or in corporate or governmental management.

J.D./M.S. in Finance

The law school, in conjunction with Stuart School of Business, offers a joint-degree J.D./M.S. in Finance. The program is designed for students who wish to specialize in securities and commodities law for a law firm, brokerage firm, commodity exchange or trading company. Students gain a unique perspective on the economics of financial products and markets that are used to advise clients, to propose regulation, or to litigate.

J.D./Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.)

The law school offers a joint-degree J.D./M.P.A. in conjunction with Stuart School of Business. This program explores practices and policies in the public sector.

LL.M./Masters of Business Administration (M.B.A.)

A joint-degree LL.M./M.B.A. program in conjunction with Stuart School of Business allows international and domestic students to receive both LL.M. and M.B.A. degrees in a reduced time period. This unique program provides the possibility for students to select one of two available M.B.A. degrees and combine it with one of three available LL.M. degrees.   For the business degrees, students can choose between an M.B.A. in General Management or an M.B.A. in Business Analytics. The General Management track has more of a general business focus while the Business Analytics focuses on STEM.  For the law degrees, students can select between the U.S., International & Transnational Law LL.M. degree; the Legal Innovation & Technology LL.M.; or the Global Business and Financial Law LL.M.

Certificate Programs

Students enrolled in the J.D. program at Chicago-Kent may earn certificates in specialized areas. Certificates indicate that, as part of the required J.D. curriculum, the student has completed an identified subset of elective courses in the area of specialization.

Business Law

The J.D. Certificate Program in Business Law allows students to explore a broad range of business-related topics to build legal careers representing small and large businesses and corporations. Graduates have a solid understanding of the basic principles of business and commercial law and are familiar with the increasingly complex regulatory environment that business lawyers commonly encounter in practice. The curriculum includes traditional subjects such as business organizations, securities regulation, taxation, secured transactions, and bankruptcy. It also allows students to focus on individual interests by including an extensive array of elective courses such as E-Commerce, International Capital Markets, Employment Relationships, and Futures Regulation. The program requires a total of 24 credit hours emphasizing both theory and practice. Students must take three required courses, two courses from a list of core courses, additional courses from a list of elective courses, and a specialized legal writing course, and must complete an experiential requirement.

Criminal Litigation

Chicago-Kent’s J.D. Certificate Program in Criminal Litigation is designed to give students a comprehensive and balanced professional education to prepare them for the practice of criminal law. To earn the certificate, students must complete 25 credit hours of coursework from an approved curriculum. With emphases on both theory and practical skills development, the certificate program represents an opportunity to synthesize the goals of Chicago-Kent’s academic program in criminal law with those of the Trial Advocacy Program and the C-K Law Group, the law school's in-house teaching law firm.

Environmental and Energy Law

The J.D. Certificate Program in Environmental and Energy Law trains students to be environmental and energy professionals as well as law practitioners. Taking an interdisciplinary approach to the field’s scientific, economic, and ethical aspects, the program immerses students in the statutes and administrative regulations, case decisions, and theoretical underpinnings of environmentalism. The program attracts students from a wide range of professions. A highly regarded faculty teaches a carefully considered curriculum addressing a wide variety of cutting-edge issues. The program includes a clinic, environmental law externships, a journal, and a moot court team.

Students in the program complete 14 credit hours of approved coursework. If students are full-time, these courses are taken during the second and third years; if students are part-time, courses are taken during the second, third, and fourth years.

Intellectual Property Law

Intellectual property lawyers work where the law intersects with technology, science, and the arts to protect their clients’ creative products. The field of intellectual property law focuses on issues relating to patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and design protection. As part of the J.D. Certificate Program in Intellectual Property Law’s rigorous training, students obtain a firm foundation in three required substantive courses of intellectual property law—copyright, patents, and trademarks—and can choose from numerous electives in their studies of intellectual property, such as design law, entertainment law, and international intellectual property. Students also develop the practical skills needed for today's competitive legal market. IP certificate candidates participate in the Practice Experience, which involves real-world practice in the IP field with actual or simulated cases, applying the IP law knowledge they learned in previous coursework. The Practice Experience includes courses taught by experienced attorneys at law firms, such as the IP Clinic, IP Strategies, IP Trial Advocacy, IP externships, and patent litigation courses, as well as moot court competitions in which Chicago-Kent teams have consistently placed in national competitions. The IP program encourages scholarship and discourse among academics, practitioners, and students with events such as the Chicago Intellectual Property Colloquium and the annual Supreme Court IP Review. Students complete 20 credit hours of approved coursework. 

International and Comparative Law

In a climate of continuous change, Chicago-Kent’s J.D. Certificate Program in International and Comparative Law addresses the law’s global implications and extensive reach. Students can learn how to conduct an international business transaction, develop the skills to navigate between different legal regimes, and learn about the legal structures of international institutions and organizations. The program offers potential opportunities to link coursework to externships, foreign law study, and projects in nations across the globe. Students in the program must successfully complete 14 credit hours of course study in international and comparative law, including a two-credit seminar.

Labor and Employment Law

The J.D. Certificate Program in Labor and Employment Law is the centerpiece of Chicago-Kent’s Institute for Law and the Workplace. Through a logical, carefully paced sequence of coursework and practical skills training, the program provides comprehensive, rigorous preparation for the field of labor and employment law. To earn a certificate, program participants must complete four core courses, a seminar course, a practicum, and an additional labor/employment elective. The core courses are Labor Law, Employment Relationships, Employment Discrimination, and a specialized advanced legal research and writing course in labor and employment law.

Legal Innovation and Technology

The Certificate Program in Legal Innovation and Technology is a response to the demands of the changing legal market, which increasingly values professionals who can supplement their deep legal knowledge with a broad set of other skills—namely core competencies in quantitative methods and emerging technology—to make the delivery of legal services better and more efficient. The program, run though The Law Lab and directed by Professor of Law Daniel Martin Katz, is an interdisciplinary teaching and research center devoted to legal futurism that examines the intersections of law and technology, mathematics, science, and engineering.

Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution

Chicago-Kent’s J.D. Certificate Program in Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution offers an innovative curriculum that stresses the connection between legal doctrine, skills and values, and the art of lawyering. The program provides comprehensive training in trial skills, negotiation, and mediation, and a rigorous curriculum of clinical education. Students in the program complete a series of courses that includes evidence, pretrial litigation, trial advocacy, a judicial externship, and litigation and ADR clinical offerings. In-house clinical education takes place in the C-K Law Group, the school’s acclaimed teaching law firm, where students work with clinical professors on cases in criminal, civil rights, employment, family, and tax law, as well as vaccine injury litigation.

Praxis Program

The Praxis J.D. Certificate Program is designed for students who wish to prepare for practice with a truly experiential course of study. The curriculum guides participants through an individualized program designed to provide exposure to the core competencies required of successful lawyers. After all, how can a student learn to practice law without ever practicing their skills? Participating students must complete 24 credit hours of experiential or skills-based coursework (including a clinic or externship and the course Practice and Professionalism); undertake a series of self-assessments designed to measure progress in skill development; create a professional online profile; and attend a series of professional development workshops. Students enrolled in the Praxis Program may concurrently enroll in an additional, subject-matter certificate program offered by Chicago-Kent.

Privacy Law

The J.D. Certificate Program in Privacy Law is designed to provide students with the fundamental background, knowledge, and professional skills to interpret and respond to complex privacy laws, rules, and regulations. Students pursuing the Privacy Certificate will have the opportunity to explore privacy frameworks in the United States and abroad, learn about the different dimensions of privacy law (e.g., constitutional privacy, commercial privacy, etc.), and learn about industry guidelines and best practices. The program will also highlight practical problems of risk management in privacy decisions that routinely intersect with other areas of law. The program will enable students to develop the essential legal background necessary to successfully compete for roles in the constantly evolving field of privacy.

Public Interest Law

The J.D. Certificate Program in Public Interest Law builds on Chicago-Kent’s strong public interest tradition and adds to the rich array of activities, courses, and resources that encourage Chicago-Kent students to consider public interest law as a career and prepare students to be effective public interest lawyers. The certificate requires 12 credit hours, including Public Interest Law and Policy and a specialized advanced legal research and writing course concentrating on public interest law. Because the substantive scope of public interest lawyering is so broad, each student meets with the director of the program to plan additional courses that satisfy individual career and interest objectives.

Each student also meets several times with the Career Services Office to complete a personalized Public Interest Career Path Plan.

The Public Interest Law Certificate is distinct from, but coordinated with, the current volunteer program of pro bono activities at the law school. The Chicago-Kent Certificate of Service, which can be obtained by volunteering for pro bono service during law school under the Public Interest Resource Center (PIRC), is a requirement for the Certificate in Public Interest Law, but the PIRC certificate remains a distinct credential that any student can obtain.