Legal Studies Department

Hamline is a small university with a law school on its campus and is able to provide several unique opportunities for students. The legal studies department offers courses and programs for students interested in becoming lawyers and paralegals (legal assistants) and for students in other fields who have an interest in law. Hamline legal studies students interact with law students and professors and learn to use a first-class research law library.

Our legal classes are small and intimate. Each major has a legal studies faculty advisor. The Hamline Plan guarantees an excellent liberal arts background, and the legal studies department provides top flight instruction in legal subjects taught by experienced legal studies professors and lawyers. Our students can obtain internships with judges, state government, and law firms. They also have the opportunity to write for The Precedent, our departmental publication, and compete in mock-trial tournaments. Hamline’s mock-trial program is an open one—no tryouts or eliminations. Every student who wants to compete and learn about the work of attorneys will get the opportunity to do so.

Hamline University provides solid academic preparation and an enriched learning environment for pre-law students. Prospective law students can major in any field. Law schools want students with a broad-based education. Law schools also expect students to have highly developed reading, analyzing, writing, and speaking skills. Law firms want lawyers and paralegals who are diligent, well-educated, and motivated, and who can work independently. These are the qualities emphasized by the Hamline Plan. 

ACADEMIC PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The legal studies department offers the Legal Studies major, the Law School Early Admission program (also known as the 3-3 program, the BA/JD program, and the American law and legal systems major), a paralegal certificate program, and a Legal Studies minor.

Legal Studies major

The Legal Studies major is designed to be flexible. This major suits the needs and interests of pre-law students, paralegal students, and students majoring in other disciplines heavily regulated by the law such as environmental studies, political science, communication, management, and international studies.

Law School Early Admission program

Also known as the 3-3 program, the BA/JD program, and the American law and legal systems major

This major provides an opportunity for a select group of highly motivated and exceptionally qualified undergraduate students to start law school one year early, at the end of their junior year. This is a joint program between the legal studies department, College of Liberal Arts, and the Hamline University School of Law.

Paralegal certificate program

Hamline’s American Bar Association-approved paralegal program is distinctive. The best paralegals have a broadly based liberal arts education plus specific training in law and legal assisting skills. At Hamline, students can get both while pursuing their bachelor’s degree. This program leads to a paralegal certificate, which enables students to work in a law office or law-related setting under the supervision of attorneys upon graduation from college.

Students majoring in any field and graduates of other four-year colleges and universities are eligible for the paralegal certificate program. A paralegal certificate does not qualify the recipient for the practice of law; it prepares students to work with attorneys on the substantive aspects of a client’s case. This certificate is not a major; however, paralegal students can pursue a major in legal studies.

Legal Studies minor

Students majoring in any discipline can minor in Legal Studies. This minor is appropriate for students majoring in fields that are impacted by law and legal regulation like political science, communications, management, and international studies. A legal studies minor is also a good choice for students who are considering law school. The minor in legal studies is not intended to prepare students to work as paralegals, and it is not approved by the American Bar Association.

The legal studies programs do not qualify students to sit for the bar examination or to work as lawyers. Post-graduate study in an American Bar Association-approved law school after graduation from college is required.