General Practice
Overview
A general practitioner is an attorney who practices in many areas of the law, typically in a small law firm or as a solo practitioner. Students who want to pursue a career in solo or small-firm practice usually want to be exposed to several areas of the law that they expect to encounter in practice. KU Law’s curriculum includes classroom and hands-on learning experiences in relevant areas including property law, tort law, family law, criminal law, litigation and appellate work.
Students can gain experience in live-client clinics, including the Legal Aid Clinic and the Project for Innocence & Post-Conviction Remedies. Field placement programs offer students the chance to work with judges, gain courtroom experience or represent elderly individuals in consumer, housing or public benefits litigation.
General Practice Curriculum Guide
Students who plan to become general practitioners may benefit from taking courses in these subjects:
Property:
- Property (required)
Tort Law:
- Product Liability
- Torts (required)
Family Law:
- Family Law
- Juvenile Law
Criminal Law:
- Criminal Law (required)
- Criminal Procedure: Adjudication
- Criminal Procedure: Investigation
- Criminal Prosecution Field Placement
- Project for Innocence & Post-Conviction Remedies
Business Law:
- Bankruptcy
- Business Organizations
- Business Planning Seminar
- Commercial Law: Secured Transactions
- Contracts (required)
- Federal Income Taxation
- Taxation of Business Enterprises
Estate Planning:
- Estate Planning: Practice
- Estate Planning: Principles
- Trusts and Estates
Administrative Law:
- Administrative Law
- Water Law
Litigation, Appellate Work and Alternative Dispute Resolution:
- Advanced Litigation
- Alternative Dispute Resolution
- Civil Procedure (required)
- Evidence
- Lawyering Skills I and II (required)
- Pretrial Advocacy
- Trial Advocacy
Other Courses:
- Advanced Legal Research
- American Legal History
- Comparative Law
- Complex Litigation
- Conflict of Laws
- Employment Law
- Employment Discrimination Law
- Environmental Law
- Jurisprudence
- Local Government Law
- Oil and Gas
Many students interested in this career path choose to gain practical experience through summer clerkships or part-time work during the school year in general practice firms. Starting in their first year, law students can serve as prosecutors or defense lawyers in the university’s Traffic Court. The court handles appeals for on-campus traffic citations.
KU Law students regularly participate in moot court and mock trial competitions at the on-campus, regional and national level. Getting involved in the Student Bar Association and other student organizations helps prepare students for active membership in the ABA and state and local bar associations.
Students pursuing a career as a general practitioner learn from a faculty with diverse scholarship interests and professional backgrounds. For questions about how to develop your course plan, contact Melanie Daily, clinical associate professor, at melaniedaily@ku.edu.
Questions?
Melanie Daily
Clinical Associate Professor
Director, Legal Aid Clinic
melaniedaily@ku.edu
785-864-5302