7/10/2019

With the start of the 2019-2020 academic year upon us, one might think that the summer was slow and quiet at Delaware Law School, but that was not the case. 

The summer semester at Delaware Law was packed with juris doctor summer law classes, international law classes, and a jump start opportunity for our incoming first-year juris doctor class. 

Summer Advantage is the name of the program that allows incoming first-year students to begin law school early.  Instead of starting in August, Summer Advantage students begin in June and earn their first three credits before the official start of school for the fall semester.  Thirty-nine students took “advantage” of the program this summer as they studied Constitutional Law:  The First Amendment with Dean and Professor of Law Rodney A. Smolla.  Summer Advantage students gain practical experience earlier in their law school careers.  The program also makes it easier for part-time students to graduate in three and one-half years instead of four years. 

Upper level juris doctor students used summer classes to lighten their course load in upcoming semesters, allowing them the opportunity to earn up to six credits over the course of the seven-week summer semester. 

Delaware Law School’s Office of Graduate, International, Compliance and Legal Studies Programs conducted multiple summer law programs offering foreign-trained law students and practitioners the opportunity to study topics such as introduction to the U.S. legal system and various U.S. corporate law areas.  Assistant Dean Eileen Grena says, “Over the summer, the international summer law programs welcomed more than 30 students from countries around the globe, including Italy, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and others, seeking an immersion in U.S. law and culture.”

Grena added, “Students learn and experience legal topics such as Advanced Concepts in Corporate Law, Human Dignity Rights, Environmental Human Rights, American Legal Studies, Constitutional Law, Anti-Corruption and International Money Laundering in our summer programs. Their academic instruction was complimented by excursions that took them beyond the classroom and into Delaware and Pennsylvania live court proceedings, the U.S. Supreme Court and the Philadelphia Constitution Center.”

As we file this story, students are already in the rhythm and routine of the fall semester.  The summer semester offered great educational opportunities for our students and it certainly was NOT sleepy at Delaware Law School!