Juris Doctor: Daniel Webster Scholar Honors (J.D.)

The Daniel Webster Scholar (DWS) Honors Program is practice-based program designed to make students client-ready upon graduation.  Students admitted to the program take six DWS-specific courses that involve substantial simulation.  These courses are Pretrial Advocacy; Trial Advocacy; Negotiations and Dispute Resolution; Business Transactions; a miniseries covering six areas, including Family Law, and Conflict of Laws; and a client counseling capstone course that integrates and builds upon the skills the students have already learned through the program. 

Students apply to the program at the end of their 1L year and begin in the Fall 2L semester.  Students who participate in the program do not take the traditional bar examination but rather are evaluated for bar admission based on their performance during the two-year program—the program itself serving as a variant of the bar examination.  

• Legal analysis and reasoning: Graduates will be able to identify, comprehend, and apply the relevant substantive and procedural laws to solve a legal issue, informed by an understanding of the diversity of viewpoints on and contexts for any issue.
• Written and oral communication: Graduates will be able to present material effectively in these formats for both objective analytical and advocacy purposes across a range of settings, including in the courtroom.
• Professionalism: Graduates will be able to act in an ethical, respectful, and self-aware manner with all other stakeholders, including clients, employers, and the court.
• Legal research: Graduates will be able to navigate and assess relevant legal authorities using appropriate tools.
• Public service: Graduates will be able to contribute productively to strengthening the justice system, with a sensitivity toward the needs of people facing societal barriers.
• Problem solving: Graduates will be able to engage in focused and pragmatic collaboration toward goals.
• Client counseling and management: Graduates will be able to provide trustworthy and responsive action upon clients’ matters.
• Factual investigation and analysis: Graduates will be able to implement a strategic plan for information-gathering, which includes the ability to iterate on the plan as needed, and evaluate the results of the information obtained.