Cornell Law School Handbook
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WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION Dear Students, Welcome and welcome back to Cornell Law School for the 2020-2021 academic year! This is and will be an academic year unlike any other in Cornell Law School’s history. For the first time, we will begin the academic year with some students studying remotely from your homes around the country and the world, others of you in Ithaca but still completing your coursework online and, yet others inside the halls of Myron Taylor Hall but studying and learning in a physically distant way. In spite of this unusual turn of events due to the global pandemic and the resulting public health protocols necessary for everyone’s safety, I know you will handle this situation with grit and grace, and will live up to A.D. White’s words as you learn to become “lawyers in the best sense.” This Student Handbook, along with other information available throughout the Law School’s website, is designed to introduce you to helpful offices and people, inform you of governing Law School and University policies, as well as serve as a starting point to answer many of your questions regarding academic matters, student services, and more. The health and safety of our community will require each of us to follow a set of evidence-based guidelines set forth by the University. Those guidelines can be referenced on the University’s COVID-19 Reactivation Planning webpage. Bookmark that page, the Law School’s COVID-19 FAQs and this handbook, as resources you will refer to frequently. As a lawyer in training, it is critical that you stay informed about the rules that govern members of our community and important developments at your Law School. Read Scoops, the Law School’s e- newsletter, each Monday when it is sent to your student email address. Check your Cornell email regularly for administrative announcements. Doing so is even more important when we will not all be in the building at the same time. Regularly checking these sources of information will help you avoid missing out on new policies, program offerings, and official information such as deadlines. Please do not, however, view these resources as substitutes for speaking directly to members of the law school administration, faculty, staff, and fellow students. You chose to attend a small law school. Take advantage of it! Although our student services team, along with most law school staff, will be working remotely, we remain available to you by phone or videoconference. If you have a question do not hesitate to call or e- mail the appropriate administrator. Our names, phone numbers and areas of responsibility are listed in this handbook. Remember, too, that the Law School is part of a larger university community with extensive resources for your health and safety, as well as to handle emergencies and report concerns. You can access all of these resources at www.caringcommunity.cornell.edu. I look forward to working with you and extend my very best wishes for a rewarding year. With warm regards, Markeisha J. Miner Dean of Students Table of Contents WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................. 1 2020 – 2021 LAW SCHOOL ACADEMIC CALENDAR* ..................................................................................... 3 ADMINISTRATIVE DEANS .............................................................................................................................. 4 GUIDING PRINCIPLES .................................................................................................................................... 5 ACADEMIC DEGREE REQUIREMENTS ............................................................................................................ 7 ACADEMIC POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ..................................................................................................... 15 LAW SCHOOL COURSE REGISTRATION ....................................................................................................... 27 NON-ACADEMIC MATTERS ......................................................................................................................... 32 SUPPORT SERVICES AND CAMPUS RESOURCES FOR LAW STUDENTS ........................................................ 45 STANDARDS FOR PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT WITHIN THE CORNELL LAW SCHOOL ................................... 46 LAW SCHOOL CODE OF ACADEMIC INTEGRITY ........................................................................................... 47 CODE OF ACADEMIC INTEGRITY ................................................................................................................. 49 EXAMPLES OF VIOLATIONS OF THE CODE OF ACADEMIC INTEGRITY ........................................................ 56 ACKNOWLEDGING THE WORK OF OTHERS ................................................................................................. 57 LAW SCHOOL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES GOVERNING LEAVES OF ABSENCE ......................................... 61 LAW SCHOOL PROCEDURES FOR ACCOMODATIONS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITES .......................... 63 LAW SCHOOL EMERGENCY/EVACUATION PROCEDURES ........................................................................... 64 LAW SCHOOL PROCEDURES FOR ADMISSIONS APPLICATION SUPPLEMENTS ........................................... 66 CORNELL LAW SCHOOL THIRD PARTY COMMUNICATIONS POLICY ........................................................... 67 2020 – 2021 LAW SCHOOL ACADEMIC CALENDAR* FALL TERM 2020 Monday, August 10 ORIENTATION & REGISTRATION for new LL.M students and mandatory Graduate Program instruction begins (Introduction to the American Legal System) [one-year Master’s program] Monday, August 17 ORIENTATION & REGISTRATION for all new J.D. students [three-year J.D. program] Tuesday, August 25 Fall term instruction begins (First day of classes will follow a Monday schedule) Monday, September 7 No Classes – Labor Day Wednesday, October 21 1L Practice Exam Tuesday, November 24 Instruction Ends Wednesday, November 25 Thanksgiving recess begins Monday, November 30 Final examinations begin – all examinations will be on-line Friday, December 11 Final examinations end – all examinations will be on- line SPRING TERM 2021 Tuesday, February 2 Lawyering Program instruction begins for first-year students Monday, February 8 Spring term instruction begins Friday, May 7 Spring term instruction ends Wednesday, May 12 Final examinations begin Friday, May 21 Final examinations end Saturday, May 22 Law School Convocation Sunday, May 30 University Commencement *The academic calendar is subject to change in order to maintain the safety, health, and welfare of all members of the Cornell community as the public health situation evolves. ADMINISTRATIVE DEANS Akua Akyea Beth Lyon Assistant Dean for Public Service Associate Dean for Experiential Education, Clinical Professor of Law, & Director of Clinical, John R. DeRosa Advocacy and Skills Programs Associate Dean for Career Services Markeisha J. Miner Martha Fitzgerald Dean of Students Associate Dean for Communications Kim Nayyer Shawn Gavin Edward Cornell Law Librarian, Associate Dean Associate Dean for Alumni Affairs & for Library Services, and Professor of the Development Practice Aimée Houghton Jens David Ohlin Assistant Dean for Graduate Legal Studies Vice Dean and Professor of Law Monica Ingram Elizabeth K. Peck Associate Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Assistant Dean for Judicial Engagement and Ofer Leshed Professional Development Associate Dean for Administration & Finance Eduardo M. Peñalver Odette Lienau Allan R. Tessler Dean and Professor of Law Associate Dean for Faculty Research and Fouad Saleet Intellectual Life, and Professor of Law Assistant Dean for External Education Chantal Thomas Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Law GUIDING PRINCIPLES Mission Statement Cornell Law School’s mission remains that articulated by Cornell President Andrew Dickson White upon the founding of the law school 132 years ago: “Our aim is to keep its instruction strong, its standard high, and so to produce … a fair number of well-trained, large-minded, morally based lawyers in the best sense.” Cornell Law School offers a 3-year J.D. program, a one-year LL.M. program for internationally educated attorneys, as well as a LL.M. program in law, entrepreneurship at our Tech campus in New York City for experienced practitioners, and a doctoral (J.S.D.) program with the Cornell Graduate School. Cornell Law School has 39 tenured and tenure track faculty, including 25 with chaired faculty positions; and 14 clinical professors in the legal research and writing program and in clinics at the local, national, and international level. The Cornell Law School faculty is consistently ranked among the top in the country for scholarly productivity and influence. The faculty has pre-eminence in many areas, including quantitative and qualitative empirical legal studies, international and comparative law, and robust doctrinal scholarship in core fields. Our commitment is to continue to be recognized as the leader among law schools at combining inspiring theoretical, doctrinal, and experiential teaching with cutting-edge scholarship in a supportive, intellectually rich community so that our graduates can achieve excellence in all facets of the legal profession. Learning Outcomes We offer a rigorous program of legal education designed to prepare students, upon graduation, for admission to the bar and for effective, ethical and responsible participation