Law School Mission Statement and Programmatic Learning Outcomes

A. Duncan School of Law Mission Statement

The mission of the Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law is:

1. To provide legal educational opportunities for the people of the underserved regions of the United States.
2. To offer solid, competent, practice-focused, legal education to students of widely disparate socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds with the goal that those students will successfully pass the Bar and with the thought that those students will return to and serve those communities from which they originate.
3. To prepare lawyers for careers in law that enable them to address the underserved legal needs of Appalachia and other underserved regions.

B. Programmatic Learning Outcomes

ABA Standard 302 provides as follows:

A law school shall establish and publish learning outcomes that shall, at a minimum, include competency in the following:

1. Knowledge and understanding of substantive and procedural law;
2.  Legal analysis and reasoning, legal research, problem-solving, and written and oral communication in the legal context;
3. Exercise of proper professional and ethical responsibilities to clients and the legal system; and
4. Other professional skills needed for competent and ethical participation as a member of the legal profession.

The LMU Law School faculty has adopted the following learning outcomes:

1. Knowledge and Understanding of Substantive and Procedural Law [302(a)]

Upon graduation, students will have demonstrated achievement of this outcome by:

Objective 1

Identifying, describing, and interpreting the fundamental terms, rules, and principles of law in: Civil Procedure, Torts, Contracts, Property, Criminal Law, Constitutional Criminal Procedure, Evidence, Constitutional Law, Professional Responsibility, Wills, Trusts and Estates, Business Organizations, Domestic Relations, Conflicts of Law, Secured Transactions, and other areas of substantive and procedural law within any elective, non-skills course.

Objective 2

Identifying and distinguishing the sources of law governing each major content area and recognizing the relationship of these sources of law to each other.

2. Legal Analysis and Reasoning Skills [302(b)]

Upon graduation, students will have demonstrated achievement of this outcome by:

Objective 1	Recognizing the legal issues implicated by case-based or hypothetical fact scenarios.
Objective 2	Applying relevant legal rules and principles to case-based or hypothetical fact scenarios.
Objective 3	Using both law and facts to resolve the legal issues implicated by case-based or hypothetical fact scenarios.

3. Legal Research Skills [302(b)]

Upon graduation, students will have demonstrated achievement of this outcome by:

Objective 1	Identifying and assessing the weight of authority.
Objective 2	Displaying knowledge of the fundamental tools of legal research.
Objective 3	Developing and executing an effective and efficient research strategy.

4. Communication Skills [302(b)]

Upon graduation, students will have demonstrated achievement of this outcome by:

Objective 1	Speaking in a clear, concise, logical, well-organized, professional manner that is appropriate to the audience and the relevant legal context.
Objective 2	Writing in a clear, concise, logical, well-organized, professional manner that is appropriate to the audience and the relevant legal context.

5. Professional Responsibility, Ethics, and Diversity Awareness [302(c), 302(d)]

Upon graduation, students will have demonstrated achievement of this outcome by:

Objective 1	Exhibiting the attributes required of lawyers, such as diligence, integrity, and involvement with the community and the profession.
Objective 2	Using knowledge of both the rules of professional responsibility and the skills of the legal profession to conduct themselves in an ethical and professional manner.
Objective 3	Expressing awareness of the impact of the legal system on diverse populations, such as those of different genders, racial and ethnic groups, and socioeconomic classes.
Objective 4	Serving the community, including rendering meaningful law-related services to persons of limited means or to organizations serving such persons.

6. Professional Skills [302(d)]

Upon graduation, students will have demonstrated achievement of this outcome by:

Objective1	Exhibiting the skills of an effective advocate, such as negotiation, collaboration, trial practice, and appellate practice.
Objective 2	Identifying and effectively engaging in both formal and informal dispute resolution processes.
Objective 3	Drafting, revising, and interpreting documents used in legal practice.
Objective 4	Displaying knowledge of the skills and responsibilities essential to solo and small firm legal practice, such as business planning, office management, and the establishment and maintenance of client trust accounts.