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Co-Curricular Activities
The award of credit for the following co-curricular activities is subject to the approval of the faculty adviser or team coach.
Law Review (2/2 units for staff; 3/3 units for editors)
The Chapman Law Review is a legal journal edited and published by School of Law students selected on the basis of academic achievement and a writing competition. Students on the Chapman Law Review receive credit for demonstrable competence in scholarly writing and editing.
Subject to approval prior to registration by the faculty advisor, academic credit is awarded as follows: 1) staff members may each receive two units of academic credit per semester for a total of eight units; and, 2) editors may each receive three units of academic credit per semester of participation in their final year of law school which, together with credits received as a staff member, may not exceed ten units. The production of a student note (whether published or not) may satisfy the writing requirement if the note meets the standards set by the faculty advisor.
NeXus Law Journal (1/1 units for staff; 2/2 units for editors)
NeXus is a peer-edited journal of opinion operated by students. The journal provides an interdisciplinary forum for the wide array of individuals and groups affecting American life. Subject to approval prior to registration by the faculty advisor, academic credit is awarded as follows: 1) staff members may each receive one unit of academic credit per semester for a total of four units; and, 2) the managing and production editors may each receive two units of academic credit per semester of participation in their final year of law school which, together with credits received as a staff member, may not exceed six units.
Skills Competitions
Students may earn credit for external trial or appellate competitions, or for the International Arbitration Competition. Students may earn one unit of credit for Negotiations and Client Counseling Competitions if they reach the regional level of competition, or three units for trial and appellate competitions outside of the law school. No student may participate for credit in more than one external competition during a semester. In addition, participation in skills competitions is subject to an overall limitation of no more than two different types of skills competitions for credit and no more then three external competitions for credit (regardless of type). External competitions include appellate and trial advocacy, client counseling, negotiations, and similar activities. A competition may consist of several rounds. The following skills competitions are approved by the faculty:
Appellate Competitions (1 unit per competition)
Under supervision of faculty advisors, students prepare appellate briefs and conduct oral arguments before panels of practicing lawyers, professors, and judges. Competitions must be interscholastic to receive credit. Participation in interscholastic competitions is determined by the Appellate Moot Court Board.
Trial Competitions (3 units per external competition)
Under supervision of faculty advisors, students prepare appropriate trial documents and conduct trials before panels of practicing lawyers, professors, and judges. Competitions must be interscholastic to receive credit. Participation in interscholastic competitions is determined by the Trial Moot Court Board.
Negotiations Competition (1 unit per competition)
Students who compete at the regional or national level of an interscholastic negotiation competition may earn one ungraded academic credit. Students are expected to conduct all necessary research and preparation for the competition. Participation is determined by the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Board.
Client Counseling Competition (1 unit per competition)
Students who compete at the regional or national level of an interscholastic client counseling competition may earn one ungraded academic credit. Students are expected to conduct all necessary research and preparation for the competition. Participation is determined by the ADR Board.
International Arbitration Competition (1 unit per competition)
Students who compete in the International Arbitration Competition learn the fundamentals of dispute resolution in the international sphere. Participation in the Vis International Commercial Moot Competition requires students to draft written memorials for the year’s official problem. The second component of participation is oral advocacy.
Honor Code
Ethics are as important to Chapman University School of Law as are academic performance and the mastery of practical legal skills. The faculty and the administration wish to prepare the Chapman Law student for a career as an attorney through an education that embodies and promotes the highest ideals of the legal profession. Paramount among those ideals is the concept of honor, which fosters a community of trust that will be carried into the larger community long after students have graduated from the Law School.
All students are governed by the Honor Code, the exclusive policy for dealing with ethical violations that include lying, cheating, stealing, plagiarism, harassment, criminal actions committed on campus, crimes committed after admission and while off campus, and obstruction. The Honor Council serves as the ultimate adjudicatory body in all Honor Code proceedings. Council members are drawn from the faculty and the student body. A copy of this Code is included in the Student Handbook and made available to new students upon matriculation through the office of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Updates to the Code or the handbook are distributed to returning students at the beginning of the each fall semester.
Law students are cautioned that they are also responsible for scrupulous adherence to the wider Student Conduct Code of Chapman University.
A student may not earn more than 16 units toward completion of the J.D. degree from non-graded courses. These include Chapman Law Review, NeXus, non-graded clinics, externships, skills competitions, non-law graduate courses, and credits earned at other ABA law schools.
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