4601 Concord Pike, PO Box 7474, Wilmington, DE 19803, USA
Phone: 302.477.2704
E-mail: lawgradprograms@mail.widener.edu | Website: law.widener.edu/gradprog
Introduction
Widener Law offers legal education at its best. It's personal, practical, and centered on professional experience. It's
- ... in depth.
The best way to reinforce classroom learning is to get hands on. Widener Law operates clinics, arranges externships and public interest legal placements, runs trial simulations and intensive advocacy training, and does much more to help you build the skills you need for a successful legal career. While you study in one of our top-notch programs, your classroom experience will come to life as you represent clients in landlord-tenant matters, domestic violence hearings, federal court cases, and many other matters.
- ... in focus.
Widener Law's two locations offer excellent specialization opportunities. Our Delaware Campus, located in the heart of America's "corporate capital," is the perfect location to focus on corporate and financial law. It's also home to our nationally recognized Health Law Institute. Our Harrisburg Campus, which sponsors our Law and Government Institute, is located just minutes from the Pennsylvania Capitol Complex and is full of opportunities to immerse yourself in government and public interest law. No matter where you choose to study, you'll be taught by a faculty of nationally respected legal scholars whose passion for the law is matched only by their passion for teaching.
- ... in touch.
Widener Law is about more than making the grade; it's about making a difference. Our welcoming campuses promote intellectual, social, and cultural diversity, and offer a wide range of experiences. We instill in our students a respect for the law as an instrument of positive change, as well as a means to build a rewarding career, and we encourage them to take advantage of our many clinical and externship experiences that provide pro bono legal assistance to low-income clients or involve serving the public interest through legal work in a government branch or agency.
The Benefits of Two Campuses
Widener Law's two great campuses—one in Wilmington, Delaware, the nation's "corporate capital"; the other in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's state capital—are guided by one mission and committed to providing a challenging, practice-based legal education. Each offers opportunities unique to its location.
Our Delaware Campus is located in Wilmington, home to many of the nation's largest corporations, as well as many leading corporate law firms. In addition to the Institute of Delaware Corporate and Business Law, which takes advantage of its strategic location, the Delaware Campus also houses our nationally recognized Health Law Institute. The Institute's research is shaping the future of health care law, and the certificate program it offers allows you to tailor your education to one of the legal profession's fastest growing specialties.
The Harrisburg Campus is just minutes from the Capitol Complex, where the Pennsylvania legislature, state and federal courts, and governmental agencies are located. It's also home to Widener's Law and Government Institute, founded to support legal service in the government and public interest sector by raising the caliber of preparation lawyers who enter those fields receive. The Harrisburg Campus has a partnership agreement with the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE), with special programs and scholarships for students and graduates of the 14 PASSHE universities.
There are many benefits to Widener's two-campus model—two alumni networks, two career development offices, and opportunities to specialize in corporate, health, government, or public interest law—but the most immediately tangible benefit may be convenience. Both campuses are conveniently located near Philadelphia; Baltimore; Washington, DC; and New York. Combine those locations with the flexible day and evening classes of our part-time programs, and it's no surprise we're the first choice for talented, ambitious students who must balance job and family commitments with the rigors of law school.
LLM Programs/Areas of Specialization
Widener Law's nationally recognized graduate programs in corporate and health law offer specialized study for accomplished professionals who want to enhance their careers. Because our programs attract students from all over the world, classroom discussions are informed by a diversity of experience and perspectives.
Corporate Law
Hundreds of thousands of companies have incorporated in Delaware and are governed by its corporate laws. The Master of Laws in Corporate Law and Finance program allows attorneys to gain the advanced knowledge and analytical skills needed in the business world while studying in the heart of America's unofficial "corporate law capital."
Degree Requirements
In order to earn a Master of Laws (LLM) in Corporate Law and Finance, you must complete 24 semester hours of coursework at the graduate level, including at least 20 hours in the areas of corporate law, international law, taxation, or finance. At least 18 of your 24 semester hours must be completed in residence at Widener Law, although you may complete this residence requirement as either a full-time or part-time student. You may earn graduate credit through one of the School of Law's study-abroad opportunities.
In order to qualify for the Master of Laws degree, you must complete all qualifications within four years of your date of matriculation. Graduate courses in corporate law and finance are worth between 2 and 4 semester hours of credit. Students from the United States are not generally given graduate credit for the basic course in Business Organizations completed at the Juris Doctor level, and we recommend that this course be completed before beginning graduate work.
Health Law
Health law is one of the most complex and frequent areas of litigation. Through the Master of Laws in Health Law program, lawyers can add value to their practice through comprehensive immersion in health law. The program prepares lawyers for careers in advanced counseling, litigation, and transactional work.
The fundamental objective of a Master of Laws (LLM) in Health Law is to prepare lawyers for advanced health law counseling, litigation, and transactional work by offering sequences of courses taught by excellent academics and experienced practitioners. Widener Law is renowned for the excellence of its corporate and finance offerings; the Health Law LLM draws on these strengths, adding a substantial regulatory and bioethical focus to the study of health law. Take a look at the health law course descriptions.
General Master of Laws Program (LLM)
Our general LLM program is designed to allow students the option of selecting from multiple concentrations on the Delaware or Harrisburg campus. The program is open to graduates of US Juris Doctor programs and international students who have completed a first degree in law from a non-US law school that fulfills the academic requirements for the practice of law in that country.
This degree is ideal for attorneys seeking in-depth training in an area of law in which they currently practice, as well as for those planning to develop a new area of practice.
Areas of Concentration—Delaware Campus
Students may select one of the following areas of concentration on the Delaware Campus.
- Corporate and Business Law: Students must take Business Organizations, Business Principles, Securities Regulation, and one other business related course, such as those in the following list, or another course with director approval:
- International Business Transactions
- Business Planning
- Mutual Funds
- Advanced Corporations
- Corporate Governance
- Colloquium: Selected Topics in Corporate Law
- Corporate Bankruptcy/Chapter 11
- Corporate Reorganization Under Chapter 11
- Federal Income Tax
- International Law
- Intellectual Property
- Intellectual Property and Business Associations
- Taxation of Business Entities
NOTE: This concentration will be available only to international law graduates. Domestic JD graduates interested in this specialty area will pursue the stand-alone corporate law LLM degree. - Environmental Law: Students must take at least 12 credits in environmental law courses. These must include the introductory course in environmental law, and, if available, at least one of the following core courses:
- Climate Change Law
- International Environmental Law
- Natural Resources Law
The remaining credits can be earned in additional core courses, the following elective courses, or in other courses approved by the director:
- Animal Law
- Energy and Public Utilities Law
- International Law
- International Trade
- International Trade and the Environment
- Land Use Planning
- Ocean and Coastal Law
- Regulation of Toxic and Hazardous Substances
- Science and the Law
- Toxic Torts
- Seminar: Climate Change
- Current Topics in Environmental Law and Policy
- Energy and the Environment
- Environmental Justice
- Environmental Law and the Constitution
- Food and Drug Law
- Life Science Law
- National Resources Law
- Public Health Law
- Sustainable Development Law
- Environmental Law Clinic (if eligible and approved by director)
- Criminal Law: All students must take the introductory course in criminal law, Criminal Procedure I, Criminal Procedure II, Evidence, and at least one course from the list below:
- Advanced Problems in Criminal Law
- Capital Punishment
- Cybercrime
- Domestic Violence
- Federal Criminal Practice
- International Criminal Law
- Juvenile Justice
- Public Corruption
- Scientific Evidence and Expert Testimony
- Seminar: Forensic Evidence
- Seminar: Law and Psychology
- Seminar: Post Conviction Remedies
- Seminar: Violence Against Women
- Sentencing
- White Collar Crime
- Criminal Law Clinics (if eligible and approved by director)
NOTE: Evidence, Criminal Law, and Criminal Procedure I are tested on the New York bar. - Health Law: All students must take Health Law I and Health Law II (regulation), and at least two of the following courses or other health-law related courses approved by the director:
- Bioethics and the Law
- Health Care Finance
- Health Care Transactions
- Health Law: Regulating Fraud
- Public Health Law
- Food and Drug Law
- Science and the Law
- Insurance Law
- Toxic Torts
- Seminar: Law and Psychology
- Clinical Program or Externship (if eligible and approved by the director)
NOTE: This concentration will be available only to international law graduates. Domestic JD graduates interested in this specialty area will pursue the stand-alone health law LLM degree. - American Legal Studies: This concentration is only available to international students who do not have a JD from an ABA-approved law school and is designed to prepare these students for a bar exam and legal practice in the United States. In addition to the required Introduction to US Law and LLM Legal Writing courses, students must take Professional Responsibility, Evidence, and Constitutional Law I. Students must take at least two more foundational or bar-tested courses, such as:
- Contracts (basic or advanced)
- Torts (basic or advanced)
- Federal Civil Procedure (basic or advanced)
- Administrative Law
- Federal Income Tax
- Business Organizations
- Constitutional Law II
- Wills and Trusts
- Sales and Leases
- Property I and II
- Criminal Law
- Criminal Procedure I and II
Remaining credits may be earned in any course(s) for which the student is eligible.
Areas of Concentration—Harrisburg Campus
Students may select one of the following areas of concentration on the Harrisburg Campus.
- United States Law (Government Law Focus): All students must satisfactorily complete a total of 24 credits approved by the LLM supervisor, including a three-credit course on Introduction to United States Law and Judicial Process, a three-credit course on Legal Methods, a three-credit course on Administrative Law, a four-credit course on Constitutional Law, and at least three credits from the following menu:
- Environmental Law
- Government Contracting
- Immigration Law
- Labor Law
- Legislation
- State and Local Government Law
- State Administrative Law
- State Constitutional Law
- Workers Compensation
- United States Law (Litigation Focus): All students must satisfactorily complete a total of 24 credits approved by the LLM supervisor, including a three-credit course on Introduction to United States Law and Judicial Process, a three-credit course on Legal Methods, a three-credit course in Civil Procedure focusing on practice and procedure, a three-credit course in Evidence, and at least four credits from the following menu:
- Civil Procedure II [Jurisdiction]
- Criminal Procedure
- Advanced Criminal Procedure
- Alternative Dispute Resolution
- Pre-trial Methods
- Interviewing and Counseling
- Negotiation
- Environmental Law: All students must satisfactorily complete a total of 24 credits approved by the LLM supervisor, including a three-credit course on Introduction to United States Law and Judicial Process, a three-credit course on Legal Methods, a three-credit course in Environmental Law, and nine credits from the following list:
- Agricultural Law
- Climate Change
- Natural Resources Law
- Animal Law
- Environmental Law Clinic
- Land Use Planning
- Oil and Gas Law
- International Environmental Law
- Sustainable Development (Seminar)
- Environmental Litigation
- State Administrative Law and Practice
- Environmentally Sustainable Development (one credit)
Concentration Degree Requirements
All students in the Widener University School of law LLM programs must satisfactorily complete 24 credits of coursework for the degree. "Satisfactory completion" is defined under Academic Standards in the Graduate Programs Student Handbook.
Contact Information
For more information about Widener University School of Law's LLM programs, please contact:
Karla Harris
Program Secretary
4601 Concord Pike
PO BOX 7474
Wilmington, DE 19803-0474
USA
Phone: 302.477.2704
Fax: 302.477.2067
E-mail: lawgradprograms@mail.widener.edu
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