Ways to Learn

  • Online

Quick Facts

  • 3 Years Full-Time
  • 4 Years Part-Time
  • 82 Units

This Program is Now Available at NCU

The Juris Doctor Online program has been relocated to JFK School of Law at NCU. To learn more, visit the new program page.

Learn More

Overview

Introducing an accredited JD program that is fully online!

Since 1965, John F. Kennedy University’s College of Law has been providing highly motivated students of all ages and life circumstances with the tools they need to succeed in the legal profession. By going fully online, the JD program just became even more accessible to busy adult students balancing work, life—and the drive to make change in their communities.

At its heart the program emphasizes clinical and practical skills training in the realm of public interest law and social justice. Hands-on training experience is embedded into the curriculum allowing students to provide much-needed services to their local communities while learning practical, applied aspects of the legal profession that build off the solid theoretical foundation they are developing to pass the CA Bar Examination.

Read More

Highlights

  • Online program with State Bar of California accreditation
  • Hands-on training through clinical programs and internships
  • Personalized faculty instruction
  • BarBri-designed California Bar exam prep program included in tuition

For the last 55 years, JFKU’s College of Law has focused on delivering quality legal education to students who were not otherwise able to attend due to work, family, and other commitments which prohibited them from traditional law schools. Offering our JD Program in a fully online format is a continuation of this mission, making it even more accessible for students outside our local area, and for those busy adult students balancing work, family, and other life commitments.  The desire to become a legal professional should be available to all who put in the effort and have the drive to make lasting change in their communities.

By offering students from across the country the opportunity to attain a legal education, the JFKU online JD program aligns with both JFKU’s and the California State Bar’s mission of making a law degree flexible, affordable, and accessible to all types of students. Our online program also provides students significantly more individualized faculty attention than the traditional law school model via highly interactive and personalized feedback on student learning throughout the curriculum. 

In addition to receiving substantial individualized interaction with faculty, students in our program will continue to be part of a cohort and engage in student-to-student contact, in particular during annual onsite campus events. Start dates for the program are in fall and spring.

Program Relocation Information

The School of Law in its entirety is being relocated to Northcentral University (NCU). This means that the current dean of JFK School of Law, and all faculty, will be relocating to NCU along with our School of Law programs (JD and BA Legal Studies/Paralegal Cert Programs). The School of Law will remain the John F. Kennedy School of Law at Northcentral University, bringing with it the legacy, vision and mission, and values of the law school.

NCU is an accredited, not-for-profit, fully online institution, with over 11,000 students in 6 different schools. The JFK School of Law will be its 7th. Both the President and Provost of NCU are attorneys and committed to quality, affordable, and accessible legal education. Given NCU’s expertise in online education and fiscal stability, this move will allow for much greater long-term security and growth for the law school.

We do not anticipate any accreditation changes for the Cal Bar, and applications to accreditors have been filed for the accreditations to transfer to NCU along with the programs.

Here are the updated tuition discounts for students who choose to continue on at NCU:

  • Students that are currently in the JFK Law School will maintain their current rates through spring term.
  • Students currently enrolled in Summer and Fall at JFKU will receive a 20% discount.
  • New students entering the JFK Law School in the fall will also receive a 20% discount.
  • Students who transfer to NCU will receive a 31% tuition discount off JFKU’s current per unit rate.

If you students do not wish to continue with NCU, we are working to establish articulation agreements with the following local options.

Local Options:

  • SF Law School
  • Lincoln Law School, San Jose
  • Golden Gate

Why JFKU

businessandprofessional

Individualized Learning Fostered by Intensive Faculty Interaction

Our online program allows for a level of individualized teacher-to-student interaction that is unique among law schools. On a regular basis, each student receives personalized assessments and feedback on written analyses and on their individual understanding of course material. As opposed to the traditional law school’s “sage on the stage” lecture style, this close facilitation enhances learning by emphasizing individual development and support.

mba

Hands-on Training through Clinical Programs and Internships

To ensure that each student receives real-world practical experience in the course of their legal training and to further our goal of providing legal assistance to the local community, students are required to do 60 hours of service learning. Most satisfy this requirement by participating in an internship or clinical experience in their communities.

fieldwork
fieldwork

BarBri Bar Review Program

Access to BarBri Bar Review Program outlines and materials throughout the JD program is rolled into tuition for all students. Having BarBri embedded into your program allows you to access test prep materials right away and engage with your test prep journey seamlessly as you move through the curriculum. 

Law

Faculty that Practices What They Teach

The College of Law’s accomplished full-time faculty is supplemented by an adjunct faculty of successful current practitioners, including attorneys and judges, who bring an up-to-the-minute, on-the-ground perspective to classroom learning and who are uniquely situated to introduce our students to the elements of legal practice that go beyond casebooks and theory.

Curriculum

Fall - First Year
Units
Law 112A Torts A
3
Tort law covers that area of civil law that provides legal remedies for personal injuries and property damage caused by others. Tort law virtually always involves money. Beneath the demand for money is often a desire for respect, mutual recognition, or vindication. Tort cases often involve struggles between profits and safety. Too often, tort cases turn injury and loss into commodified products marketed in the legal system. Tort law says a lot about how society treats each other, how we expect to be treated, who recovers, and who does not. It does not treat all of us the same.
Law 115A Contracts A
3
This course provides an overview of the means by which individuals become subject to contractual obligations; the ways in which contractual terms are interpreted; the methods by which these obligations are satisfied, modified, or revoked; the rights and obligations of non-contracting parties; and the remedies for failure to fulfill contractual duties.
Law 117 Legal Methods
3
The primary focus of Legal Methods and Examination Skills is to introduce the structure of legal rhetoric. This is accomplished in the context of planning and writing answers to hypothetical law school examination questions. Students are also introduced to a system for organizing and synthesizing the material of substantive courses and to the resources of the Law Library, particularly those materials useful during the first year. First-year students enrolled in this course entering school in the spring semester will earn three units of credit for this course.
Law 120 Criminal Law
3
The philosophy of criminal responsibility, the laws defining crimes and establishing punishment, and the negation of criminal responsibility by reason of general and special defenses comprise the majority of topics discussed in this course. Particular areas, such as the defenses of mistake, insanity, and intoxication, and the impact of legal doctrine on the actual administration of criminal justice, are also explored.
Spring - First Year
Units
Law 112B Torts B
3
Tort law covers that area of civil law that provides legal remedies for personal injuries and property damage caused by others. Tort law virtually always involves money. Beneath the demand for money is often a desire for respect, mutual recognition, or vindication. Tort cases often involve struggles between profits and safety. Too often, tort cases turn injury and loss into commodified products marketed in the legal system. Tort law says a lot about how society treats each other, how we expect to be treated, who recovers, and who does not. It does not treat all of us the same.
Law 115B Contracts B
3
This course provides an overview of the means by which individuals become subject to contractual obligations; the ways in which contractual terms are interpreted; the methods by which these obligations are satisfied, modified, or revoked; the rights and obligations of non-contracting parties; and the remedies for failure to fulfill contractual duties.
Law 125 Legal Research and Writing
3
Legal Research and Writing builds on the skills learned in Legal Methods and Examination Skills. Students conduct research in the Law Library, find the law applicable to hypothetical problems, and write memoranda analyzing the rights and obligations of the “clients.”
Law 318 Criminal Procedure
3
An in-depth examination and discussion of the development of federal criminal procedure and the evolution of constitutional case law are utilized and applied to landmark cases. This course focuses primarily on the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments and the attendant rights of and limitations upon the individual defendant, law enforcement, the prosecutor, and the criminal defense attorney.
Electives
Summer - First Year
Electives
Fall - Second Year
Units
Law 212A Real Property A
3
This course covers the traditional scope of property law including land possession, estate interests, landlord and tenant law, concurrent ownership rights and liabilities, and regulatory takings. The course also places special emphasis on modern developments in real property facing today’s practitioner in the areas of conveyance, land use, and finance.
Law 214A Civil Procedure & Skills A
3
Civil Procedure and Skills is the study of the rules of courts. Unlike other substantive courses, Civil Procedure and Skills is not the examination of rights, injuries, and available remedies. Instead, Civil Procedure and Skills is the framework upon which those rights are brought before the tribunal and how to collect on remedies awarded for injury. Topics include jurisdiction, venue, service of process, pleading, discovery, multiparty litigation, pretrial motions, trial, judgments, and appellate procedure. The course covers both federal and California civil procedure.
Law 216A Evidence A
3
Within the context of the California Evidence Code and the Federal Rules of Evidence, students analyze the nature of judicial proof and consider the theory and application of the rules regulating the admission and exclusion of testimonial and documentary proof.
Law 320A Constitutional Law A
3
This course reviews the constitutional system of the United States, including the role of the judiciary; division of powers between the states and the federal government; powers of the president and Congress; limitations on the powers of government for the protection of life, liberty, and property; federal and state citizenship; and the constitutional protection of individual rights.
Electives
Spring - Second Year
Units
Law 212B Real Property B
3
This course covers the traditional scope of property law including land possession, estate interests, landlord and tenant law, concurrent ownership rights and liabilities, and regulatory takings. The course also places special emphasis on modern developments in real property facing today’s practitioner in the areas of conveyance, land use, and finance.
Law 214B Civil Procedure & Skills B
3
Civil Procedure and Skills is the study of the rules of courts. Unlike other substantive courses, Civil Procedure and Skills is not the examination of rights, injuries, and available remedies. Instead, Civil Procedure and Skills is the framework upon which those rights are brought before the tribunal and how to collect on remedies awarded for injury. Topics include jurisdiction, venue, service of process, pleading, discovery, multiparty litigation, pretrial motions, trial, judgments, and appellate procedure. The course covers both federal and California civil procedure.
Law 216B Evidence B
2
Within the context of the California Evidence Code and the Federal Rules of Evidence, students analyze the nature of judicial proof and consider the theory and application of the rules regulating the admission and exclusion of testimonial and documentary proof.
Law 320B Constitutional Law B
3
This course reviews the constitutional system of the United States, including the role of the judiciary; division of powers between the states and the federal government; powers of the president and Congress; limitations on the powers of government for the protection of life, liberty, and property; federal and state citizenship; and the constitutional protection of individual rights.
Electives
Summer - Second Year
Units
Law 310 Trial Advocacy
3
This course engages students in practical exercises designed to develop students’ familiarity with trial procedures, including pretrial motions, jury selection, opening statements, presentation of documentary and testimonial evidence, and closing arguments. During these exercises, students are required to employ the rules of evidence, both California and federal, necessary to successfully bring and defend pretrial motions, to raise and respond to objections at trial, and to conduct other stages of the trial. (Students who have completed one of the on-campus clinical programs (Housing Advocacy, Legal Clinic for Elders, or Children, Families & the Law Internship), or who have completed a significant off-campus internship placement with demonstrated experience in litigation and/or appellate practice, may seek a waiver of EITHER Trial Advocacy or Appellate Advocacy. If approved, the waiver relieves the student of the requirement that credit be earned in the waived course. Waiver of a course does NOT confer unit credit.)
Electives
Fall - Third Year
Units
Law 315 Wills and Trusts
3
This course examines the law of intestate succession; the drafting, execution, revocation, and revival of wills; the nature of trusts; selected aspects of the law of future interests; and the creation of durable powers of attorney and other vehicles for establishing family rights and protections.
Law 418 Professional Responsibility
2
This course explores the modern challenges to fulfilling the attorney’s professional responsibility and the far more profound dilemmas facing a responsible attorney seeking to practice ethically and to adhere to the highest professional values in the 21st century. Topics include organization and regulation of the legal profession; canons of ethics; disciplinary measures; the lawyer’s responsibility to clients, the community, and the profession; and the obligation of judges to remain impartial and independent.
Law 425 Business Associations
3
In addition to covering the basic principles governing sole proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations, this course reviews the law of agency, state corporation laws, and federal and state securities laws that regulate public and closed corporations. The course also examines the processes and systems that provide for the issuance of shares, corporate structure and governance, the liability of corporate managers, and restrictions on dividends and distributions.
Extended Bar Review A
3
This course is designed to jumpstart bar exam preparation by developing substantive knowledge and sharpening critical bar exam success skills. Specifically, students will receive in-depth review of highly tested topics in Contracts, Evidence, Torts and Real Property. Students will then put that knowledge to use working through practice MBE, and essay questions. Students will learn how to develop a strong but flexible framework to resolve bar exam multiple-choice, essay and Performance Test (PT) questions, sharpen reading comprehension, issue identification, rule mastery, critical thinking, and legal analysis skills.
Electives
Spring - Third Year
Units
Law 313 Community Property
2
This course examines the California community property system, including general principles of classifying marital property, management and control of community property, liability of marital property for debts and torts of the spouses, and division of community property on dissolution or death.
Law 420 Remedies
3
This course identifies and distinguishes the types of recovery available to a plaintiff for both legal and equitable relief, including the study of the viability of monetary damages, specific performance, injunctive relief, and other recovery in tort, contract, real property, and constitutional law.
Extended Bar Review B
2
This course is designed to jumpstart bar exam preparation by developing substantive knowledge and sharpening critical bar exam success skills. Specifically, students will receive in-depth review of highly tested topics in Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, and Criminal Procedure. Students will then put that knowledge to use working through practice MBE and essay questions. Students will learn how to develop a strong but flexible framework to resolve bar exam problems, sharpen reading comprehension, issue identification, rule mastery, critical thinking, and legal analysis skills.
Law 428 Advanced Legal Writing
1
Advanced Legal Writing focuses on a variety of advanced legal writing topics, including drafting solutions to client problems and refining skills in issue identification and written analysis.
Electives
Spring - First Year
Units
Law 112B Torts B
3
Tort law covers that area of civil law that provides legal remedies for personal injuries and property damage caused by others. Tort law virtually always involves money. Beneath the demand for money is often a desire for respect, mutual recognition, or vindication. Tort cases often involve struggles between profits and safety. Too often, tort cases turn injury and loss into commodified products marketed in the legal system. Tort law says a lot about how society treats each other, how we expect to be treated, who recovers, and who does not. It does not treat all of us the same.
Law 115B Contracts B
3
This course provides an overview of the means by which individuals become subject to contractual obligations; the ways in which contractual terms are interpreted; the methods by which these obligations are satisfied, modified, or revoked; the rights and obligations of non-contracting parties; and the remedies for failure to fulfill contractual duties.
Law 125 Legal Research and Writing
3
Legal Research and Writing builds on the skills learned in Legal Methods and Examination Skills. Students conduct research in the Law Library, find the law applicable to hypothetical problems, and write memoranda analyzing the rights and obligations of the “clients.”
Law 318 Criminal Procedure
3
An in-depth examination and discussion of the development of federal criminal procedure and the evolution of constitutional case law are utilized and applied to landmark cases. This course focuses primarily on the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments and the attendant rights of and limitations upon the individual defendant, law enforcement, the prosecutor, and the criminal defense attorney.
Electives
Fall - Second Year
Units
Law 212A Real Property A
3
This course covers the traditional scope of property law including land possession, estate interests, landlord and tenant law, concurrent ownership rights and liabilities, and regulatory takings. The course also places special emphasis on modern developments in real property facing today’s practitioner in the areas of conveyance, land use, and finance.
Law 214A Civil Procedure & Skills A
3
Civil Procedure and Skills is the study of the rules of courts. Unlike other substantive courses, Civil Procedure and Skills is not the examination of rights, injuries, and available remedies. Instead, Civil Procedure and Skills is the framework upon which those rights are brought before the tribunal and how to collect on remedies awarded for injury. Topics include jurisdiction, venue, service of process, pleading, discovery, multiparty litigation, pretrial motions, trial, judgments, and appellate procedure. The course covers both federal and California civil procedure.
Law 216A Evidence A
3
Within the context of the California Evidence Code and the Federal Rules of Evidence, students analyze the nature of judicial proof and consider the theory and application of the rules regulating the admission and exclusion of testimonial and documentary proof.
Law 320A Constitutional Law A
3
This course reviews the constitutional system of the United States, including the role of the judiciary; division of powers between the states and the federal government; powers of the president and Congress; limitations on the powers of government for the protection of life, liberty, and property; federal and state citizenship; and the constitutional protection of individual rights.
Electives
Summer - Second Year
Units
Law 310 Trial Advocacy
3
This course engages students in practical exercises designed to develop students’ familiarity with trial procedures, including pretrial motions, jury selection, opening statements, presentation of documentary and testimonial evidence, and closing arguments. During these exercises, students are required to employ the rules of evidence, both California and federal, necessary to successfully bring and defend pretrial motions, to raise and respond to objections at trial, and to conduct other stages of the trial. (Students who have completed one of the on-campus clinical programs (Housing Advocacy, Legal Clinic for Elders, or Children, Families & the Law Internship), or who have completed a significant off-campus internship placement with demonstrated experience in litigation and/or appellate practice, may seek a waiver of EITHER Trial Advocacy or Appellate Advocacy. If approved, the waiver relieves the student of the requirement that credit be earned in the waived course. Waiver of a course does NOT confer unit credit.)
Electives
Spring - Third Year
Units
Law 313 Community Property
2
This course examines the California community property system, including general principles of classifying marital property, management and control of community property, liability of marital property for debts and torts of the spouses, and division of community property on dissolution or death.
Law 420 Remedies
3
This course identifies and distinguishes the types of recovery available to a plaintiff for both legal and equitable relief, including the study of the viability of monetary damages, specific performance, injunctive relief, and other recovery in tort, contract, real property, and constitutional law.
Extended Bar Review B
2
This course is designed to jumpstart bar exam preparation by developing substantive knowledge and sharpening critical bar exam success skills. Specifically, students will receive in-depth review of highly tested topics in Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, and Criminal Procedure. Students will then put that knowledge to use working through practice MBE and essay questions. Students will learn how to develop a strong but flexible framework to resolve bar exam problems, sharpen reading comprehension, issue identification, rule mastery, critical thinking, and legal analysis skills.
Law 428 Advanced Legal Writing
1
Advanced Legal Writing focuses on a variety of advanced legal writing topics, including drafting solutions to client problems and refining skills in issue identification and written analysis.
Electives