The law school offers six certificate programs: Elder Law, Environmental and Natural Resources Law, International Trade and Finance, Media, Law and Policy, Tax Law and Tribal Lawyer. Each allows students to focus on an area of law and develop expertise in it. The requirements for each program are in the Academics section of the law school's Web site at www.law.ku.edu. During their first year of law school, students must notify the associate dean for academic affairs of their intention to meet certificate requirements.
The percentage of Americans over 60 has been growing steadily and significantly. The Elder Law Certificate program allows students to focus on the substantive law upon which an elder law practice is based as well as on the unique issues relevant to client counseling and professionalism when dealing with this expanding population. Participation in the Elder Law Clinic is one of the requirements of the program.
Since the inception of modern environmental and natural resources law in the late 1960s and 1970s, the field has become increasingly important, both in its own right and as a result of the frequency with which environmental and natural resources law issues intrude into other, more traditional fields of practice such as real estate, insurance, and corporate law. The Environmental and Natural Resources Law Certificate exposes students to the basics of this constantly changing area of practice so that they become competent to address environmental and natural resources law issues in whatever context they arise.
Among the requirements of the program is participation in one of several available clinical or writing programs, including the Legislative Clinic, the Public Policy Clinic, an externship with the Kansas City regional office of the Environmental Protection Agency or a local environmental or natural resources law public interest group, or preparation of an Independent Research project or a note or comment on a relevant topic for the Kansas Law Review or the Kansas Journal of Law and Public Policy.
The globalization of business has forced nearly all lawyers to have some general familiarity with the rules of international trade, commerce, investment, and finance, and it has created exciting new opportunities for those lawyers who want their practice to focus specifically in these areas. The Certificate Program in International Trade and Finance offered by KU Law School is designed to assist JD students in preparing for this increasingly global practice of law, and in particular to emphasize the business nature of that practice.
To earn the Certificate in International Trade and Finance, a student must take four courses directly concentrating in this area, at least one complementary course in comparative law, and at least one course examining a broad business sector in which the international dimensions can be studied. The program also includes a writing requirement.
Private enterprise and governmental institutions increasingly depend on, and are affected by, communications media. As a result, legal representation in both the private and public sectors is enhanced by an understanding of media influence on the development and administration of law and public policy. The Media, Law, and Policy Certificate focuses on legislative challenges, judicial decision-making, and administrative policy in an era increasingly shaped by information technologies, global networks, and the media.
Among the requirements of the program is participation in two of these three clinics: Public Policy Clinic, Legislative Clinic, Media Law Clinic.
There is a growing demand for attorneys with expertise in the tax field. Completion of the tax law certificate requirements allows students to develop the practical and technical skills needed to build successful careers. Certification also assures employers that the student not only has a mastery of basic principles of individual and entity taxation but has been exposed to many of the intricacies of tax law and practice.
One of the requirements of the program is a minimum of 20 hours of participation in an Internal Revenue Service-sponsored Voluntary Income Tax Assistance program or a similar nonprofit tax assistance program.
Effectively representing Indian nations and tribes requires an understanding of the extremely complicated body of federal, state, and tribal law that affects every aspect of indigenous societies. The Tribal Lawyer Certificate program ensures that law students who plan careers representing indigenous nations have the skills necessary to appreciate and strengthen the unique nature of tribal legal systems and governments.
Among the program's requirements
is an internship with a tribal legal department
or a private or public interest law firm specializing
in Indian law.
