General Practice
A general practitioner is one who practices in many areas of the law, typically in a small law firm or as a solo practitioner. General practitioners are found in small towns and in large cities. The KU Law curriculum is designed to allow both breadth and depth of study, depending on the career goals of the student. Students who wish to be general practitioners usually want to be exposed to several areas of the law that they expect to encounter in their practice: property law, tort law, family law, probate law, administrative law, criminal law, and general business matters, including contract law. A general practice will often include litigation and appellate work.
Curriculum
Property Courses
- Property Law
- Land Transactions
- Government Control of Land Development
Torts Law
- Torts I
- Torts II
- Product Liability
Family Law
- Family Law
- Juvenile Law
Criminal Law
- Criminal Law
- Criminal Procedure
- Advanced Criminal Procedure
- Criminal Prosecution Field Placement Program
- Project for Innocence & Post-Conviction Remedies
Business Law
- Contracts (required)
- Business Associations I and II
- Commercial Law: Secured Transactions
- Commercial Law: Payment Systems
- Bankruptcy
- Federal Income Taxation
- Taxation of Business Enterprises
- Business Planning Seminar
Estate Planning
- Estate Planning: Principles
- Trusts and Estates
- Estate Planning: Practice
Administrative Law
- Administrative Law
- Water Law
Litigation, Appellate Work, and Alternative Dispute Resolution
- Civil Procedure
- Evidence
- Lawyering Skills I and II
- Advanced Litigation
- Trial Advocacy
- Alternative Dispute Resolution
- Pretrial Advocacy
Other Courses
- Practice in Kansas
- Employment Law
- Employment Discrimination Law
- Advanced Legal Research
- Agricultural Law and Contemporary Food Production and Safety Issues
- Complex Litigation
- Environmental Law Survey
- Local Government Law
- Oil and Gas
- American Legal History
- Comparative Law
- Jurisprudence
- Conflict of Laws
Clinics & Field Placements
In addition to the Criminal Prosecution Field Placement Program and the Project for Innocence & Post-Conviction Remedies, three other clinics and field placements would aid the prospective general practitioner:
- Legal Aid Clinic: legal assistance to indigent clients for both civil and criminal matters
- Elder Law Field Placement Program: representation of elderly individuals in consumer, housing, and public benefits litigation
- Judicial Field Placement Program: work as a law clerk for a state or federal trial judge.
Other Opportunities
Students can gain practical experience through summer clerkships or part-time work during the school year in general practice firms. First-year students may participate in the university's Traffic Court as prosecutors or defense lawyers handling appeals by KU students, staff and faculty of parking citations.
Students may also participate in any of a number of moot court and mock trial programs with competitions on campus, regionally and nationally. They may hone their interviewing skills in the ABA Client Counseling Competition. Finally, students may prepare for active membership in the ABA and state and local bar associations through involvement in the Student Bar Association and other student organizations.