Arizona State University—Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law

Curriculum

ASU Law offers more than 250 unique courses and has one of the best student-to-faculty ratios in the country. The college is committed to inclusion – ethnic, intellectual, socioeconomic and cultural – and advancing knowledge and legal principles that reflects diverse perspectives. The diversity of our scholars offers students depth and a variety of perspectives that are representative of local, national and global communities.

ASU Law has one of the nation’s highly ranked legal writing program, providing students an excellent opportunity to develop their legal writing skills, and as part of a premier, Tier I research institution and one of the largest public universities in the country, there are extensive opportunities for interdisciplinary work. Concurrent law degrees are offered with the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program, the Master of Social Work (MSW), and the PhD in Justice Studies.

JD Emphasis Areas

• Business Law
• Criminal Law
• Health Law
• Indian Law
• International Law
• Intellectual Property Law
• International Rule of Law and Security
• Law and Sustainability
• Patent Practice
• Science and Technology Law
• Sports Law and Business (offered concurrently with the Master of Sports Law and Business program)
• Trial Advocacy

Clinical Program

Since 1969, ASU Law’s Clinical Program has helped students develop the legal expertise and professional judgment they need to bridge the gap between a law degree and practicing law. In the clinics, students engage in challenging and rewarding legal cases for real clients, and many students find their clinical experience to be the high point of their law school education.

ASU Law’s program offers a wide variety of experiences through 10 clinics: Civil Litigation, First Amendment, Immigration Law and Policy, Indian Legal, Patent Law, and Post-Conviction, as well as four outside clinics: Innovation Advancement Program, Lodestar Mediation, Public Defender and Prosecution. Under the direct supervision of faculty and practicing attorneys, most clinics provide opportunities to take direct responsibility for clients in a law practice setting. In addition to providing legal services, each clinic has a classroom component where students explore issues of proficiency and ethics, lawyer-client relationship; alternative dispute resolution, and the attorney’s role as an advocate in the justice system.

Center for Constitutional Design

The mission of the Center for Constitutional Design is to promote nationwide conversations about constitutional reform and the advancement of constitutional democracy; to suggest ways reforms could be implemented to preserve our constitutional system; to leverage knowledge of other nations’ constitutions to better understand our own; and to convene, collaborate, and coordinate with citizens, thinkers, commentators, and institutions – nationally and internationally – to achieve these ends.

Center for Law, Science and Innovation

For over 35 years, the Center for Law, Science and Innovation has led the nation in exploring intersection of law, policy, science, and technology. Through the center, JD students may earn a certificate in Law, Science, and Technology, with an optional focus on intellectual property, the life sciences, or data, privacy and security.

A select number of students in each class are named Center Scholars and given enhanced opportunities to engage with faculty and outside partners on cutting-edge research and projects. The center is also home to Jurimetrics: The Journal of Law, Science, and Technology – the oldest and most widely circulated journal in the field – which is edited by the center’s students and published by the American Bar Association’s Section on Science and Technology.

Center for Public Health Law and Policy

The Center for Public Health Law and Policy explores fascinating and emerging global and domestic issues in public health law, policy, and ethics. Varied topical interest areas include emergency legal preparedness, vaccinations, health care reform, injury prevention, and constitutional rights and protections.

The center brings students together leading scholars, practitioners, and policymakers to address critical challenges at the intersection of law, ethics, policy, and the public’s health. Its diverse group of scholars and partners seek to promote the role of law as a tool for improving the public’s health by conducting targeted legal and policy research, developing innovative tools and educational materials, generating extensive scholarship, and collaborating with public health and medical leaders. The center also hosts the Western Region Office of the Network for Public Health Law, supported primarily by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The Network provides technical assistance to practitioners and attorneys nationally, and allows students the opportunity to research, develop, and implement public health law solutions.

Lodestar Dispute Resolution Center

The Lodestar Center is a nationally recognized center of excellence in the field of dispute resolution. It provides opportunities to develop expertise in the processes through which most legal matters are resolved: negotiation, mediation, and arbitration. The center's research and public engagement expands ASU Law’s efforts to understand the nature of conflict and its impact on the effectiveness of dispute resolution.

Antitrust Law Program

The Antitrust Law program will increase thoughtful debate and create opportunities for the antitrust bar to learn about and debate legislative and regulatory proposals through the study of antitrust developments, the organization of events to further discussion and debate in the field, motivating and training law students to become antitrust lawyers, facilitating engagement with leading practitioners, enforcers and policymakers, and leading thoughtful, common-sense antitrust enforcement that promotes competition and improves the world.

Indian Legal Program

Established more than 30 years ago, the Indian Legal Program (ILP) has grown to become one of the most respected Indian law programs in the nation. Situated in the heart of the Southwest, with connections to Arizona’s 22 tribes and tribes nationally, the ILP is in the perfect location for students looking to study the developing field of Indian law.

Our nationally recognized faculty members are leading scholars in their fields, producing research and publications, as well as providing outreach and public service. ASU Law’s Indian Legal Program offers an Indian Law JD certificate program, and its Indian Gaming and Tribal Self-Governance Programs offer MLS and LLM emphasis areas: Indian Gaming (MLS and LLM), Tribal Self-Governance (MLS and LLM), Federal Indian Law (MLS) and Tribal Policy, Law and Government (LLM).

Master of Laws Program (LLM)

The Master of Laws (LLM) program allows one year of post-JD study tailored to the scholarly and practice interests of participating students. Lawyers may pursue an LLM in Biotechnology and Genomics, Intellectual Property, or Tribal Policy, Law, and Government. Most choose to customize their LLM studies, focusing on intellectual property, health law and policy, sustainability, international law, sports law and business, or any of the other areas that advance their professional goals.

Academy for Justice

The Academy for Justice envisions a criminal justice system where actual practices correspond with best practices and policy decisions are based on data and evidence. The Academy aims to bridge the gap between academia and on-the-ground criminal justice reform by identifying the major challenges confronting our criminal justice system and making scholarly research and ideas accessible to policymakers, stakeholders, journalists, and the public.

The academy develops and promotes fact-based, non-partisan scholarship that identifies potential reforms and facilitates the sharing of information between academics and those responsible for making and implementing criminal justice policy.

International Rule of Law and Security Program

The International Rule of Law and Security (IRLS) program at ASU Law, developed in partnership with the McCain Institute for International Leadership and based in Washington, D.C. and Phoenix, Arizona, is an academic and experiential learning program designed to prepare students for jobs in the U.S. and overseas that promote justice and good governance, human rights, and national and international security. 

Law and Sustainability Program

The Law and Sustainability program at ASU Law provides world-class instruction and meaningful research experiences that equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to become influential leaders in the global sustainability movement. The program’s renowned faculty research and teach in every major area of sustainability policy, including climate change, water, energy, and environmental protection. Students who are part of the program have access to a range of externships, research opportunities, moot court experiences, and mentorships available in few other law schools across the globe.

The McCarthy Institute

In 2021, ASU Law expanded its Intellectual Property Law program by bringing on The McCarthy Institute. The institute sponsors student and faculty research projects from ideation through publication in peer-reviewed law journals. McCarthy Research Fellows pursue innovative and important solutions to pressing interdisciplinary problems at the intersection of trademarks, branding, and consumer behavior. In addition to project funding, McCarthy Research Fellows receive personal guidance from the faculty, advisors, and directors in addition to unique networking opportunities with industry leading professionals.

The McCarthy Institute’s IP-Con brings together academics, practicing attorneys, and students from across the globe to engage with one another as they consider current topics in intellectual property law.

Sports Law and Business Program

The Allan “Bud” Selig Sports Law and Business program at ASU Law is a unique program, blending sports, law, and business and taught by experienced faculty, including MLB Commissioner Emeritus Allan “Bud” Selig. In addition to offering a Master of Sports Law and Business (MSLB) degree, students may choose to earn both a JD and MSLB in seven semesters through the program. This concurrent degree option gives students the full range of JD curriculum, preparing them for the legal industry while also allowing students to take advantage of the full scope of business courses offered through the SLB program. This degree option is offered to incoming law students that have been admitted to ASU Law and current ASU Law students up until the first semester of their 2L year.

The Difference Engine: An ASU Center on the Future of Equality

The Difference Engine is a university-wide center based out of ASU in California. The Difference Engine, pairs interdisciplinary entrepreneurship with the enthusiasm of ASU students and the thought leadership of ASU faculty and staff to fix our nation’s greatest inequalities. As part of ASU Law, students interested in “putting the law into action” may join a number of center projects, from the Women’s Power Index, which ranks domestic organizations and companies on their stated commitment to equity and inclusion, to SuperCharger, an incubator-style clinic where law students apply legal principles and help social entrepreneurs build solutions to combat rising inequality.