SCALE® - Two-Year J.D. Program
In addition to the three traditional programs of study, Southwestern established the first two-year J.D. program offered at an American Bar Association-approved law school. Known as SCALE®, the two-year J.D. program was established in 1974 with the aid of the largest federal grant awarded at that time to any law school by the Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education. SCALE places emphasis on conceptual learning and simulation training to facilitate the student's transition from classroom to law office. Limited enrollment allows for a low student-faculty ratio in the SCALE program, promoting spontaneous, in-depth, two-way communication and continuous feedback to the participants.
Why choose the SCALE Program?
Read alumnus Stephen Sullivan's perspective
Students in the SCALE program learn fundamental legal principles and analytic skills through an intensive, integrated curriculum that places great reliance on hypothetical problems as a teaching method. Throughout the first year of the program, such problems are used to teach substantive concepts of law and to develop the skills of case analysis, research, and writing, as well as the use of legal principles to resolve disputes.
In the second year, the classroom functions as a "teaching law office" using simulated client files. Realistic questions are presented by the "clients," and students must respond through legal documents, such as contracts or pleadings, and effective oral communication, such as negotiation or trial advocacy. Through this law firm model, students are given both individual and joint responsibility for projects. There is more of an emphasis on cooperative learning than in traditional programs.
SCALE's intensive work load relies on total immersion and is designed to begin acclimating students to the rigors of law practice. Hands-on experience is provided in class through assignments that mirror activities and requirements of a working law office, and through externships in professional legal settings. When not in externships off campus, SCALE students are in class about 18 hours per week. The program runs for 24 consecutive months, beginning in June and includes a special summer session between SCALE I and II that allows SCALE students to participate in many of the summer electives, study abroad, externships and work opportunities available to traditional students.
Although the course structure and teaching methods are different, the SCALE curriculum includes all the essential subject matter taught in traditional required courses, as well as partial coverage of many subjects generally found in elective courses. The program's primary goal is to educate students as generalists in the law. However, in the second SCALE year, the students are provided with the opportunity for in-depth exposure to a specific area of interest through careful selection of externship placements. They may also choose one elective from a selected list of courses offered in the traditional curriculum, with the Dean of Students' approval.
