STUDENT HANDBOOK - Cumberland School of Law - Samford ...

Skills courses where grading is primarily based upon performance simulations
Externships
Courses that mimic the law firm clerking experience
Professional Skills Course Requirement
Students must complete at least one designated professional skills course.
Courses that satisfy this skills requirement currently are:
Business Drafting (746)
Basic Skills in Trial Advocacy (800)
Negotiation (801)
Mediation Advocacy (803)
Advanced Skills in Trial Advocacy (804)
Mediator Practice (805)
Appellate Advocacy (820)
Advanced Appellate Advocacy (821)
Pretrial Practice (824)
Law Office Practice & Management (829)
Health Law Transactions (653)
Estate & Trust Administration (641)
Academic Programs
Courses that satisfy the professional skills requirement are designated on the class schedule by an “S” in the course
section.
Course Selection and Registration
At the conclusion of the first two semesters, students complete their own registration. The associate dean for academic
affairs will have general student meetings about course selection and curricular planning throughout the year. Students
are also encouraged to:
Begin taking the remaining five required courses in the third semester; do not leave all requirements for the
third year.
Think about and research possible areas of practice.
Talk to faculty and lawyers.
Participate in a volunteer placement in the first and second year through the Public Interest Project to explore
work environments and areas of practice.
Take courses of personal interest.
Registration by Point Bidding
The Cumberland School of Law uses a bidding system to assist students in obtaining a priority schedule. Students have
30 points to distribute among the courses they request. The points allow students to weight a course as to the degree of
desirability and to influence the order in which it is scheduled relative to other students requesting the same course. For
example, students in each class year requesting a course with a weight of 15 points will be scheduled before those who
place a weight of less than 15 points on the same course.
Students are encouraged to select alternate courses. No points are bid on alternate courses. For each priority
course that is not available at the number of points bid, an alternate course will be added to a student schedule, starting
with the first choice to the extent that 1) space is available in the alternate course; 2) the alternate course does not
conflict with the priority courses for which a student is registered; 3) the alternate is not another section of a course for
which a student is already registered; and 4) adding the alternate course does not put the student's total credit hours
above the maximum.
4