The Skills Curriculum

For over three decades the Skills Curriculum has been a one-of-a-kind experiential learning program providing Loyola law students with hands-on training in the performance of practical lawyering tasks and building their competency in fundamental legal skills. Instructors drawn from a talented pool of practicing attorneys, judges, and professors teach more than a dozen skills courses each semester in a wide variety of legal practice areas. The skills curriculum is where specialists in their field teach students how to draft a will, depose a witness in a maritime Jones Act case, interview a juvenile client, conduct difficult negotiations, deliver persuasive opening statements, create a contract for a real estate transaction, and so much more. Skills courses typically last for three hours over the course of one or two days, are ungraded, and appear on a student’s transcript under institutional coursework. Skills courses may be offered in any area of practice, but an effort is made each semester to schedule skills courses in a mix of major practice areas, including Civil, Criminal, Maritime, Social Justice, and Transactional.