Thomas Jefferson School of Law is strongly committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment where everyone is valued and supported so that everyone has the opportunity to thrive.  The Law School respects all types of diversity and also recognizes the particular history of traditionally marginalized groups.

One of the reasons we have such a dynamic and vibrant law school community is that we are tremendously diverse.  As of today, students of color make up nearly 60% of our student body, and more than 50% of our students are women.  We come from many different cultures and regions.  We identify with many different races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, gender identities, and religions.  We have had a wide range of life experiences.  The discussions and relationships that spring from bringing such diverse perspectives together in one place, where important issues in law and society are discussed every day, enrich us all in lasting ways.  This is one of the reasons the Law School’s mission includes providing an outstanding legal education for a diverse student body.  Learning from and working with others from a rich array of different backgrounds is critical to becoming an effective lawyer in an increasingly globalized society.

As we pursue this mission, we expect all Law School community members to embrace inclusion and help to promote an environment of mutual respect. 

The study of law, particularly in a time of growing divisions across the country, benefits from a truly collegial and supportive environment, where all types of diversity are embraced and welcomed.  Diversity, of course, includes many dimensions:  race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity and expression, national origin, religion, ancestry, age, marital status, veteran status, disability and more.  The Law School strives to be a place where all types of diversity are respected, and discrimination on these bases is not tolerated.  Diversity is only the first step: to truly create a community, we must be inclusive as well.

The Law School’s policies against discrimination and harassment (found in the Student Handbook) play important roles, but nothing is as important as the effort of all members of the community to cultivate an inclusive mindset and to be accepting of all backgrounds and life experiences.  The Law School invites all community members with concerns or ideas for fostering a more diverse and inclusive environment to contact Dean Linda Keller, President Karin Sherr, Associate Dean Anders Kaye, or Assistant Dean Lisa Ferreira.

Diversity Pledge

The Thomas Jefferson School of Law faculty has unanimously endorsed the San Diego County Bar Association’s Diversity Pledge.

Read the SDCBA’s Diversity Pledge

Read our Non-Discrimination Policy

The Student Affairs Office provides advice and counseling on academic and personal matters for students and acts as a liaison between students, faculty, and other law school administrators. In addition, the office funds student organizations; coordinates student activities; designs programs, and hosts workshops on academic and lifestyle issues.

Contact this office for information about: 

• Personal and Academic Issues
• Academic Scheduling
• Disability Accommodations
• Family and Medical Emergencies
• Leave of absence request
• Visiting away at another school
• Summers away
• Withdrawing
• Health Insurance
• Housing
• Commencement

Student Affairs Office Hours:

Contact Information:

Student Affairs Office

Room 649

Main Number: (619) 961-4203 Fax: (619) 961-1203

Email: studentaffairs@tjsl.edu

Lisa Ferreira

Assistant Dean for Student Affairs & Title IX Coordinator

Phone: (619) 961-4202

E-mail: lisaf@tjsl.edu

Angela Bayne

Associate Director for Student Affairs

Phone: (619) 961-4203

E-mail: abayne@tjsl.edu

Also visit us on the web at the mail TJSL website under Student Life.

Thomas Jefferson School of Law’s Teach-Out plan for its ABA program has been approved by the ABA Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar.

This plan allows students who matriculated prior to December, 2019, to complete their education at Thomas Jefferson’s campus in downtown San Diego.  The J.D. program offered through the Teach-Out Plan remains an accredited program for the limited purpose of teaching out and issuing the J.D. degree to students who matriculated prior to December, 2019, and meet the Law School’s graduation requirements no later than the end of the Spring 2023 semester. Recipients of those degrees are considered by the ABA Council to be graduates of an ABA-approved J.D. program.

The Law School will admit new J.D. students only to its J.D. program accredited by the California State Bar Committee of Bar Examiners for the Fall 2020 term, with an optional Early Start in Summer 2020.  For more information on this opportunity, please see www.tjsl.edu/admissions/jd-admissions.

Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar of the American Bar Association

321 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60654 

312-988-6738

The Criminal Law Fellowship Program brings together a group of students passionate about working in the criminal law, whether as criminal defense attorneys, prosecutors, policy-makers, lawmakers, reformers, or activists. 

The Program focuses especially on developing essential practice skills that will help Fellows jump into practice quickly and confidently, and on helping Fellows start networking with attorneys already practicing criminal law so that Fellows can meet future colleagues, mentors, advisors, recommenders, and employers before they finish law school.

Below, you will find a number of important resources for Criminal Law Fellows, including:

• Introduction to the Program Director
• Program Requirements
• Suggested Course of Study and Practice For Criminal Law Fellows
• Program Learning Objectives
• The Fellow Program and the Center for Criminal Law and Policy

INTRODUCTION TO THE PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Director: Associate Dean and Professor Anders Kaye anderskaye@tjsl.edu   Teaching Expertise: Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Vice Crime, Evidence, Federal Criminal Law, The Law of Rape   Criminal Practice: Public defender, New York Legal Aid Society, Criminal Appeals Bureau (1997-2001). Consultant to New York Capital Defender’s Office.   Research: Why do we punish? Who deserves to be punished (if anyone)? Are there alternative approaches to crime prevention and control that do not require infliction of punishment? Why are drug use and non-violent, non-traditional sex made crimes?

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

In order to complete the Fellowship Program, you must satisfy a number of requirements, set out below. Doing so allows you to identify yourself as a Criminal Law Fellow upon graduation, signaling to employers and peers that you have a long-standing commitment to criminal practice, and that you have made a serious effort to prepare for that practice. It also enables the Director of the Program to identify you as a Fellow in references and recommendation letters, and to provide concrete, meaningful evidence of your passion for and investment in practicing criminal law.

Here are the Fellowship Program's formal requirements:

1. Admission to the Fellow Program. Fellows must be admitted to the Program.
   a. This normally occurs at the time of admission to the law school. 
   b. The Director may admit a student to the Program after the admissions process is complete if there is an opening in the Program, the Program requirements can reasonably be completed, and the student demonstrates a serious interest in practicing criminal law after graduation.
2. Substantial Study of Criminal Law. Fellows must complete at least eighteen units of (qualifying) criminal law courses, with passing grades, prior to graduation. Courses focused primarily on criminal law or criminal procedure doctrine or policy, including the required courses in Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure, normally qualify. The Program Director determines which courses qualify, so if you are in doubt about a course, please contact the Program Director. 
3. Complete One One-Unit Fellow Course. Fellows must complete at least one one-unit Fellow course in order to satisfy the requirements for the Program. The Director will arrange to offer at least one one-unit Fellow course each school year. Fellows may take the course in their first, second, or third year of study.
4. Participation in Fellow Events. Fellows must regularly attend Fellow events throughout their time in the Program. Fellows must attend at least three Fellow events in their first year of study, four Fellow events their second year of study, and four Fellow events in their third year of study. 
5. Criminal Practice Externship or Internship.
   a. Fellows must complete at least one externship, internship, or other similar employment with an agency, office, or attorney in criminal practice. The practice experience should involve predominantly criminal practice and should be equivalent to at least a full semester of at least ten hours of work per week.
   b. The Director will determine whether the practice experience qualifies, considering such factors as the duration of the experience, the proportion of the experience devoted to criminal practice, and the Fellows duties and responsibilities during the practice experience.
6. Waiver of Requirements in Exceptional Circumstances. In exceptional circumstances, the Director may waive any of these requirements at the Director's discretion. Please let the Director know as early as possible if you anticipate seeking a waiver due to exceptional circumstances.  
7. Removal in Exceptional Circumstances. The Director may, in exceptional circumstances, suspend or remove a Fellow from the Program. For example, the Director may do so if it appears that Program participation will make it difficult for a Fellow to succeed academically, or if a Fellow’s conduct conflicts with Program administration or with other Fellows’ learning experiences in the Program.     
8. Graduation Memorandum. Fellows approaching graduation must send the Program Director a brief (but complete) Graduation Memorandum showing how they have fulfilled the requirements above.  Doing so enables the Director to include you in Program records as a student who has completed the Criminal Law Fellowship Program. It also ensures that the Program has detailed information about you that we can use in references and recommendations in the future. Your Graduation Memorandum should specifically address each of the requirements set out above. Please send your Memorandum to Dean Kaye at anderskaye@tjsl.edu.

SUGGESTED COURSE OF STUDY AND PRACTICE FOR CRIMINAL LAW FELLOWS

The Fellow Program is meant to enable Fellows to hit the ground running in criminal practice after graduation. In order to achieve this goal, the Program requires Fellows to develop practice skills, knowledge of the criminal law, and professional networks in a number of different ways.  The table below suggests a course of study and practice for doing so. 

While Fellows are not required to follow this course, all Fellows should plan carefully to complete the Program’s requirements, to arrange extensive practice opportunities, to study substantive criminal law throughout their course of study, and to persistently pursue opportunities to expand their professional networks.   

FELLOW GOALS

As a Fellow in the Criminal Law Fellowship Program, you should aim to achieve several goals that will prepare you to enter criminal practice with confidence.  Below, we suggest some of the most important goals you should pursue during your time in the Program, and some of the ways the Program can support you as you work to achieve them.

1. Knowledge of Substantive Law Relevant to Criminal Practice.
   a. Goal.  By the time you complete the Program, you should aim to be able to understand the substantive doctrine and theory relevant to criminal practice, including criminal law and criminal procedure.  You should be able to identify legal rules, concepts, and theories arising in these areas, and to effectively apply the substantive law in these areas to factual situations.
   b. Program Support.  Fellows study this doctrine and theory in required and elective courses offered in the J.D. program, as well as in occasional courses offered through the Fellow Program.  The Program requires Fellows to complete at least eighteen units of study in these areas as condition for completion of the Program.
2. Development of Practical Skills Relevant to Criminal Practice.
   a. Goal.  Fellows should strive to develop practical skills relevant to Criminal Practice, including legal analysis, research, drafting, pre-trial practice, trial practice, and post-conviction practice in the criminal context. 
   b. Program Support.  Fellows may be introduced to and develop these skills in (i) their first-year legal writing course, (ii) required criminal practice experiences (externship, internship, or other equivalent), (iii) elective courses developing such skills (such as criminal practice oriented trial practice and motion drafting courses) which may be taken to satisfy the Program’s criminal law study unit requirement, and (iv) a required one-unit Fellow course introducing and developing such skills.   
3. Development of Professional Interpersonal Skills Useful In Criminal Practice.
   a. Goal.  Fellows should invest in developing professional interpersonal skills useful in criminal practice, including networking; forming peer, mentoring and counseling relationships; and communicating effectively about criminal law, policy, and practice.
   b. Program Support.   Fellows are required to participate in Program events involving practicing attorneys throughout their time in the Program. We encourage Fellows to interact with these practicing attorneys in ways conducive to networking, formation of peer, mentoring and counseling relationships, and effective communication about criminal law, policy, and practice.  Where appropriate, we will provide advice, feedback, and other support in these areas.   
4. Knowledge About The Scope and Diversity of Criminal Practice.
   a. Goal. Fellows should aim to become familiar with the scope and diversity of forms of criminal practice and the requirements and expectations associated with these diverse forms.
   b. Program Support. Fellows are required to participate in programs involving practicing attorneys from diverse practice areas.  These attorneys will discuss their practice areas and describe the requirements and expectations associated with these areas.
5. Knowledge About Managing A Criminal Practice Office.
   a. Goal. Fellows should aim to become familiar with the challenges associated with opening and maintaining a criminal practice office and methods and strategies for doing so successfully.
   b. Program Support. Fellows are required to participate in programs involving practicing attorney managing criminal practice offices.  These attorneys will discuss the challenges faced opening and maintaining such offices and methods and strategies for doing so successfully.

THE FELLOW PROGRAM AND THE CENTER FOR CRIMINAL LAW AND POLICY

Thomas Jefferson also hosts The Center for Criminal Law and Policy, which presents criminal justice-related events and issues certificates to students who fulfill Center requirements.  The Fellow Program and the Center are separate entities, and Fellows are not required to complete the Center Certificate requirements.  However, Criminal Law Fellows can often satisfy the Center Certificate requirements relatively easily, so it is worth considering pursuing the Center Certificate as well, as another way to demonstrate passion for and commitment to criminal law.  You can find out more about the Center and its Certificate Program on the Center webpage.

Thomas Jefferson School of Law offers two fellowship programs for students interested in Criminal Law, and those interested in Intellectual Property, Entertainment & Sports Law.

The Criminal Law Fellowship Program is designed for law students interested in pursuing a career in criminal law. It offers intensive criminal law exposure from the first day of law school through courses tailored to criminal practice and special events with expert practitioners. Criminal Law Fellows can be certified to practice in criminal court at the beginning of their second year of law school and are encouraged to spend at least two semesters working in a real criminal practice setting. They also receive preference to register for all advanced criminal law and procedure classes.

The Intellectual Property, Entertainment & Sports Law Fellowship Program is designed for law students interested in fields where intellectual property plays an important role, including the sports and entertainment industries and various aspects of business law from small mom-and-pop start-ups to large tech companies. This fellowship provides superior access to intellectual property, sports, and entertainment law in the classroom and in the field. Students can work one-on-one with professors on scholarly projects and have the opportunity to work for academic credit in the Law School's patent and trademark clinics as well as with companies, law firms, and public entities that deal with intellectual property issues. The fellowship regularly hosts events with scholars and practicing lawyers. Students in the fellowship receive preference to register in all fellowship-related electives. 

We invite you to visit the web pages of these fellowship programs to learn more.

Thomas Jefferson School of Law’s faculty are prolific scholars. Their extraordinary level of productivity surpasses that of faculty at several longer established law schools in California and elsewhere.

Their books, articles and other works are in demand by universities and practitioners throughout the U.S., as well as internationally.

Their work appears in top legal journals and is frequently downloaded on the Social Science Research Network. (SSRN)

Explore their scholarship and see the expertise our faculty provides for our students. 

Review Period – April 25 – April 30, 2024

Final Exams - May 1 – May 10, 2024

Semester Ends - May 10, 2024

Class Schedule

• Class Schedule - Fall 2023

Exam Schedules

• Midterm Exam Schedule - Fall 2023
• Final Exam Schedule - Fall 2023