Dedman School of Law
(2010 Graduate Catalog)
Graduate Legal Studies
The School of Law established its graduate degree programs more than 50 years ago. They are intended to enhance careers in the private practice of law, in teaching and in public service by providing the opportunity for graduate level education and training. The programs are designed to increase the student’s understanding of legal theory and policies, broaden the student’s legal horizons and encourage the development of legal research and writing skills.
The Master of Laws degree programs are open to lawyers who are graduates of approved law schools and whose academic and professional records indicate a likelihood of successful graduate legal study. While most classes are scheduled during the day, selected courses (primarily in the tax, business and international law fields) may be offered in the early morning and in the evening.
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Among the School of Law’s graduate degree programs, the main focus is on its Master of Laws in taxation degree for those holding a J.D. degree and on its Master of Laws degree for foreign law school graduates. However, the school also offers (on a limited basis) a general Master of Laws degree and (on a very limited basis) a Doctor of the Science of Law degree.
1. Master of Laws in Taxation
The Law School has a long tradition of strength in the area of federal taxation. The LL.M. (taxation) program, for full-time or part-time students, is a comprehensive, advanced-degree program designed for attorneys intending to specialize in tax practice. It focuses not only on technical mastery of the tax laws but also on wider issues of tax and fiscal policy. Most of the courses in the curriculum provide survey-level instruction in subjects typically not addressed in J.D.-level tax courses. In addition, advanced courses develop in-depth, practice-oriented expertise.
Courses are taught by the Law School’s faculty and by adjunct professors and lecturers who are experienced, practicing tax specialists in Dallas area law firms and corporate law departments. To accommodate employed students, many tax courses are offered in the early morning, the late afternoon and the evening.
Admission Criteria
Admission to this program is by selection. An applicant for admission to the LL.M. (taxation) degree program must hold a J.D. degree from an American Bar Association-accredited law school.
Students may attend either full time or part time, but admission for the full-time program is effective only for the fall term.
Application Procedure
Applicants must include with their applications a letter stating why they are interested in entering the graduate degree program, two letters of recommendation and certified transcripts from both their undergraduate and law schools. Applications for the full-time program beginning in the fall term should be received by the admissions office by April 15 of the year of intended enrollment.
Applications for the part-time program beginning in the fall term should be received by the admissions office by April 15 of the year of intended enrollment and for the part-time program beginning in the spring term by December 1 of the year preceding enrollment.
Financial Aid
The Robert Hickman Smellage, Sr. Memorial Fund provides scholarship assistance to a limited number of graduate students. In addition, the SMU financial aid office is available to assist U.S. students in obtaining student loans.
Specialized Courses
The following listing (abstracted from the full list of courses in Section VIII, The Curriculum) illustrates the diversity and depth of courses offered at the School of Law in taxation and related fields. Applicants should note, however, that the Law School does not offer all of these courses and seminars each term or even each year. In addition, some courses have limited enrollments or prerequisites that a student may not satisfy. The Law School Registrar’s Office publishes a schedule of courses before the beginning of each term. Students must consult these schedules for actual course offerings. The credit hours for each course are given at the beginning of each course description included in Section VIII, The Curriculum. Other related courses not listed may also be offered each year on a one-time-only basis.
Advanced Corporate Taxation
Corporate Planning
Corporate Taxation
Directed Research in Taxation
Estate, Gift and Income Taxation of Trusts and Estates
Estate Planning and Practice
Federal Tax Procedure I and II
International Tax I
International Tax II
Legal Accounting
Partnership Taxation
State and Local Taxation
Tax Accounting
Tax Practice and Professional Responsibility
Taxation and Fiscal Policy
Taxation of Deferred Compensation
Taxation of Professional and Closely Held Corporations
Taxation of Property Dispositions
Wills and Trusts
Degree Requirements
To receive the LL.M. (taxation) degree the student must meet all of the following requirements:
A. Residence in the School of Law for no fewer than two terms if a full-time student and no fewer than three terms if a part-time student. Except with special permission of the Committee on Graduate Legal Studies, all full-time students in this program must begin their studies in the fall term.
B. Completion of 24 term hours in courses, seminars or research and writing. Of these 24 term hours, 18 hours must be in the taxation area. Mandatory courses are Tax Accounting, Taxation and Fiscal Policy and Tax Practice and Professional Responsibility.
With prior approval of the Committee on Graduate Legal Studies, a student may take four of the required 24 term hours in graduate programs of Dedman College (SMU’s school of humanities and sciences), in Perkins School of Theology or in the Cox School of Business. The student will receive Law School credit on completion of all work to the instructor’s satisfaction, but the grades will not be computed into the student’s Law School average.
The student may be permitted to undertake directed research for a one-hour to three-hour graded paper if he or she can obtain a faculty sponsor.
C. A student entering the program must have a grade point average of C or 2.0 on all courses taken. The requisite GPA of C or 2.0 must be obtained in the first 24 credit hours. A student will not receive credit for a course or seminar in which his or her grade is below D or 1.0.
D. Completion of all requirements within 36 months from the date of initial enrollment as a graduate law student. However, a candidate continuously enrolled as a part-time student has 60 months to complete all requirements.
2. Master of Laws for Foreign Law School Graduates
The graduate program for international students is rooted in the efforts of the School of Law in the early 1950s to make the school a leading international legal center. More than 1,400 international graduates of the School of Law from more than 75 countries now occupy prominent positions in government, legal practice, business, the judiciary and legal education around the world.
The primary goal of the program is to enhance the international student’s legal skills so that he or she may become a more effective lawyer and member of society. In this respect, the program seeks to develop: (i) an appreciation of the role of law in national and international development, (ii) the ability to identify, through comparative and international studies, policy considerations of various legal rules, (iii) an appreciation of the role of the lawyer in social and economic change, (iv) legal analysis and problem-solving abilities to enable the student to meet the complex needs of our modern world, (v) a basic understanding of the U.S. legal system, as studied from a comparative perspective, and (vi) a frame of reference for dealing with business and legal interests in a transnational setting.
This LL.M. degree does not qualify a person to take the bar examination in Texas or in most other U.S. jurisdictions.
Admission Criteria
An applicant for admission to this LL.M. degree program must be a graduate of a recognized foreign law school. The applicant’s undergraduate record must demonstrate scholarly legal aptitude. An applicant for whom English is a second language must present evidence of a Test of English as a Foreign Language computer-based score of 233 or written score of 575. U.S.-trained law students may not apply to this degree program.
Application Procedure
An applicant must include with the application: a short curriculum vitae; evidence of proficiency in English (normally a Test of English as a Foreign Language computer-based score of 233, Internet-based score of 90 or written score of 575); a certified transcript in English of grades received in law school; letters of recommendation in English (or translated into English) from the dean of the applicant’s law school and from a law professor; evidence of financial ability to pay tuition, fees and all other expenses during the applicant’s stay in the United States; and a recent head-and-shoulders photograph of the applicant.
Financial Aid
The Robert G. Storey Memorial Fund usually provides around $10,000 for one international student per year. The Sohmen Endowed Scholarship Fund and Sohmen Chinese Scholars Program Endowment provide full tuition and fees and a monthly living stipend for up to four students from China. In addition, a limited number of additional scholarships may be available.
International applicants should note that the School of Law has no funds to grant for travel expenses, either to or from the United States or within the United States, nor does it have any administrative influence through which governmental or private agencies can be persuaded to assist in travel.
Specialized Courses
The following listing illustrates the diversity and depth of courses offered at the School of Law in comparative and international law. Applicants should note, however, that the Law School does not offer all of these courses and seminars each term or even each year. In addition, some courses have limited enrollments or prerequisites that a student may not satisfy. The Law School Registrar’s Office publishes a schedule of courses before the beginning of each term. Students must consult these schedules for actual course offerings. The credit hours for each course are given at the beginning of each course description included in Section VIII, The Curriculum. Other related courses not listed may also be offered each year on a one-time-only basis.
Banking Law and Regulation: Domestic and International
Comparative Law I and II
Globalization of the Law: Business and Finance
Immigration Law
International Banking and Finance
International Business Transactions
International Commercial Arbitration
International and Comparative Health Law
International Crimes
International Economic Law and Development
International Environmental Law
International and Foreign Legal Research
International Franchising Law
International Intellectual Property
International Law (Public)
International Litigation and Arbitration
International Organizations Law
International Protection of Human Rights
International Tax I and II
International Transactions: Western Hemisphere
Oil and Gas Contracts: Domestic and International
Perspectives of American Business Laws
Perspectives of the American Legal System
Degree Requirements
A. Except with special permission of the Committee on Graduate Legal Studies, all students in this program must begin their studies in the fall term. In addition, they must participate in an extensive orientation program held at the School of Law in mid-August of each year before the start of classes in the fall term.
B. Students pursuing the LL.M. degree for foreign law school graduates must complete 24 hours of credit from courses or seminars selected in consultation with the student’s faculty adviser, who is assigned during orientation. Faculty members advising candidates for this degree will make every effort to tailor a student’s study plan to his or her specific graduate objectives. However, all students are required to take the course on Perspectives of the American Legal System. They will normally also take one basic J.D. course such as Contracts. In addition, many students take Perspectives of American Business Laws and/or International Business Transactions.
The School of Law awards the LL.M. degree to those students who complete their coursework with an average grade in all courses equivalent to a grade of
C- or 1.7. A student will not receive credit for a course or seminar in which his or her grade is below
D or 1.0. Students for whom English is a second language are allowed additional time to complete written final examinations.
Admission to the Juris Doctor Program
The J.D. is the basic law degree for U.S. law students. For this reason, the School of Law does not normally consider the degree appropriate as a graduate degree for international students already possessing a basic law degree within their home countries. However, in a very limited number of instances, international students who have graduated with distinction in the LL.M. program of the School of Law and who can demonstrate legitimate graduate study objectives for furthering their careers in their home countries may be considered for admission to the J.D. program without being required to take the Law School Admission Test. Admission under such conditions to the J.D. program is solely within the discretion of the Committee on Graduate Legal Studies and the admissions committee and will normally entail an additional study of 72–87 credit hours. Advanced credit, if any, is based upon the student’s foreign law study, not on the LL.M. credit.
3. Master of Laws (General)
The general LL.M. program offers law graduates an opportunity to broaden their backgrounds in certain specialized areas of law by enrolling in advanced courses and seminars and by engaging in specialized research. Although the School of Law awards no specific subject-designated LL.M. degrees under this program, most students seeking this degree concentrate in areas such as corporate and commercial law, international law, legal practice and procedure, natural resources law or property law.
Admission Criteria
Admission to this program is by selection. An applicant for admission to the general LL.M. degree program must hold a J.D. degree from an American Bar Association-accredited law school. Full-time students are strongly preferred, and admission for the full-time program is only in the fall. Part-time applicants must demonstrate special academic reasons or circumstances for choosing a part-time track.
Application Procedures
Applicants must include with their applications a letter setting out their interest in entering the graduate degree program, two letters of recommendation and certified transcripts from their undergraduate and law schools. Each applicant must have, in advance of acceptance, the commitment of a School of Law faculty member to serve as the applicant’s academic adviser. The application, along with all supporting documentation, must be received in the Office of Admissions by April 15 of the year of intended enrollment.
Financial Aid
The University financial aid office is available to assist students in obtaining student loans. No scholarship funds are available for general LL.M. students.
Degree Requirements
To receive the general LL.M. degree, the student must meet all of the following requirements:
A. Residence in the School of Law for no fewer than two terms if a full-time student and no fewer than three terms if a part-time student.
B. Completion of 24 term hours in courses, seminars or research and writing recommended by the student’s academic adviser. A student entering the program must have a grade point average of C or 2.0 on all courses taken. The requisite GPA of C or 2.0 must be obtained in the first 24 credit hours. A student will not receive credit for a course or seminar in which his or her grade is below D or 1.0.
With prior approval of the Committee on Graduate Legal Studies, a student may take four of the required 24 term hours in graduate programs of Dedman College (SMU’s school of humanities and sciences), in the SMU Perkins School of Theology or in the SMU Cox School of Business. The student will receive Law School credit on completion of all work to the instructor’s satisfaction, but the grades will not be computed into a student’s Law School average.
The student may be permitted to undertake directed research for a one-hour to three-hour graded paper if the student can obtain a faculty sponsor.
A student has the option of writing a Master’s thesis (for four to six credit hours). This thesis must be written under the direction of a professor at the School of Law and must be approved by both the professor and the Committee on Graduate Legal Studies. After the supervising professor approves the thesis, the student must submit four copies of the thesis to the Committee on Graduate Legal Studies at least 60 days before the date on which the student seeks to receive the degree. In writing the thesis, the student must comply with committee instructions. A thesis is either approved or disapproved; it is not graded.
C. Completion of all requirements within 36 months from the date of initial registration as a graduate law student. However, a candidate continuously enrolled as a part-time student has 60 months to complete all requirements.
4. Doctor of the Science of Law
The degree of Doctor of Juridical Science is the highest postgraduate law degree offered by the Dedman School of Law. The S.J.D. primarily is a research and writing degree (as opposed to a course-oriented degree such as the LL.M. degree) during which the S.J.D. candidate conducts extensive postgraduate-level legal research with a view toward submitting an acceptable doctoral dissertation of publishable quality within a five-year period. See Degree Requirements.
Nature of the Degree
The S.J.D. is not a professional degree, such as the Law School’s J.D. degree; it is intended to be an intense postgraduate, academic research experience.
Admission Requirements
The S.J.D. is a highly limited access postgraduate degree. The following are criteria for admission:
- Career goals. The S.J.D. is primarily intended for highly qualified candidates seeking a legal academic career or a high-level, policy-oriented governmental or intergovernmental position, and the candidate must demonstrate such a career goal.
- Academic achievement. An applicant must demonstrate outstanding achievement in previous academic programs.
- Research and writing. An applicant must demonstrate the ability to conduct graduate-level legal research and writing in English. Preference is given to Dedman School of Law LL.M. students who have excelled in their LL.M. degree and have shown an ability to conduct graduate-level legal research and write in English as evidenced by a course paper or a directed research paper submitted as an LL.M. candidate at SMU. Applicants who hold an LL.M. degree or equivalent from another law school and who demonstrate excellent legal research and legal writing abilities in English may be considered for admission. Also, individuals who have an established academic, legal professional, governmental or intergovernmental career, who have suitable career objectives for pursuing the S.J.D. degree and who have demonstrated significant legal research and legal writing abilities in English may be considered for direct admission into the S.J.D. (with or without an LL.M. degree).
- Primary supervisor. The applicant must obtain as a primary supervisor a faculty member of the SMU Dedman School of Law. The primary supervisor must have particular expertise in the S.J.D. candidate’s general area of doctoral research. See Role of Primary Supervisor section.
- Statement of subject of dissertation. The applicant, with the assistance of the primary supervisor, must submit a document of no more than 2,000–3,000 words explaining the research topic the applicant will undertake for the purpose of preparing the dissertation.
Admission to the S.J.D. Program
An applicant who is granted admission to the S.J.D. program initially is admitted in a probationary status. The S.J.D. candidate must demonstrate progress toward completion of the requirements for the degree to continue as an S.J.D. candidate. The S.J.D. candidate is matriculated as of the first day of the first term in which the S.J.D. candidate commences the S.J.D. program. The date of matriculation is relevant for purposes of the various time periods.
Probationary Status for First Two Years
The S.J.D. candidate must be in residence at the Law School for not less than two academic years, during which time the S.J.D. candidate is in probationary status. During the first probationary year, the S.J.D. candidate (subject to the overall direction of the primary supervisor) will be concerned primarily with conducting extensive research for the purpose of identifying all relevant legal and other materials in the dissertation subject matter. In addition, the S.J.D. candidate will prepare and submit to the primary supervisor (in the following order): 1) a suitable research abstract indicating the thematic and analytical framework and proposition(s) to be proved, and the objectives to be achieved by the dissertation; 2) a detailed subject-matter outline for the dissertation; 3) an extensive working bibliography; and 4) an introductory draft chapter (or equivalent writing) that is at least 10,000 words and that indicates doctoral-level legal research and legal writing abilities.
During the first probationary year, the S.J.D. candidate may be required or advised by the primary supervisor to take selected Law School or other University courses, classes, seminars, etc., that are directly related to enhancing the S.J.D. candidate’s prospects for completion of the degree. As a general proposition, however, the S.J.D. candidate should be engaged in doctoral research and writing, not taking courses. If the S.J.D. candidate is pursuing other time-consuming objectives (such as, studying for a bar examination or for other professional qualifications) at the same time as pursuing the S.J.D., the S.J.D. candidate must advise the primary supervisor and the Committee on Graduate Legal Studies. The Committee on Graduate Legal Studies looks with disfavor on such activities, as they generally are detrimental to the S.J.D. candidate’s prospects for completing the degree. In any case, an S.J.D. candidate cannot be pursuing two degree programs at the same time.
Annual Progress and Reports to Graduate Committee
An S.J.D. candidate must submit an annual report to the Committee on Graduate Legal Studies. The report must be submitted within two months after the anniversary date of matriculation as an S.J.D. candidate. The report is to inform the committee of the progress of the S.J.D. candidate and is to include a description of the research and writing completed during the reporting period. In addition, the primary supervisor will submit a report to the committee regarding the progress of the S.J.D. candidate toward completion of the degree.
In order for the S.J.D. candidate to continue in probationary status for the second year, the committee must be satisfied that the S.J.D. candidate, during the first probationary year, has made substantial progress towards completion of the degree. If the committee determines that the S.J.D. candidate, during the first probationary year, has not made substantial progress towards completion of the degree, the status as an S.J.D. candidate is terminated and the person is withdrawn from the S.J.D. program.
By the end of the second probationary year, the S.J.D. candidate must complete a 30,000-word to 40,000-word work product comprising at least two chapters (or equivalent) of the dissertation. This work product must be of “publishable” quality, and the Committee on Graduate Legal Studies will look with favor on the S.J.D. candidate’s publishing in an acceptable medium at least a portion of this work product. In order for the S.J.D. candidate to complete the two-year probationary status (and be admitted unconditionally to the S.J.D. program), the S.J.D. candidate must demonstrate by the end of the second probationary year that there is a substantial likelihood the candidate will successfully complete the degree requirements within the required five-year period. In making this determination, the graduate committee will consider, among other relevant information, the candidate’s annual report for the second year and the primary supervisor’s report for the second year. If the necessary substantial likelihood is not shown, the status as an S.J.D. candidate is terminated and the person is withdrawn from the S.J.D. program.
Supervisory Committee
After an S.J.D. candidate has completed the two-year probationary period, the Committee on Graduate Legal Studies shall appoint other people to comprise a supervisory committee for the S.J.D. candidate. The committee shall be composed of at least three members, including the primary supervisor, another member of the Dedman School of Law faculty appointed by the committee and a senior “external” person qualified in the area of research and appointed by the committee. The primary supervisor has principal responsibility for nurturing and supervising the S.J.D. candidate. The supervisory committee is to read and critique the dissertation submitted by the S.J.D. candidate and to advise the Committee on Graduate Legal Studies as to whether the S.J.D. candidate has produced a satisfactory dissertation.
After the Probationary Period
After successful completion of the two-year probationary period, an S.J.D. candidate has up to three additional years to satisfy all requirements for the S.J.D. degree. The S.J.D. candidate need not be in residence at SMU during this period. During the post-probationary period, the S.J.D. candidate will have general continuing access to the primary supervisor, but on a less intense and less frequent basis than during the first two years of probationary status.
Requirements for Degree
Within a five-year period from first matriculation as an S.J.D. candidate, the S.J.D. candidate must satisfy the following requirements:'
- Completion of the two-year probationary period.
- Submission of a doctoral dissertation of at least 80,000 words but no more than 100,000 words (including footnotes, but excluding bibliography, front pages, table of contents, and any annexes or appendices) on a coherent, analytical and focused theme of a substantially legal nature or submission of an equivalent doctoral dissertation in the form of a series of interrelated articles/chapters on a more general topic, but which collectively comprises a topically coherent volume.
- The dissertation must constitute the original work product of the S.J.D. candidate.
- The dissertation must represent and show evidence of substantial doctoral-level research work.
- The dissertation must display significant legal analyses on a doctoral-level subject.
- The dissertation must be of a publishable quality according to acceptable U.S. law review standards.
- The dissertation must make a substantial contribution to the advancement of the understanding of the relevant research subject matter.
- It is within the discretion of a S.J.D. candidate’s supervisory committee to require a viva voce (oral examination), at which the S.J.D. candidate will be asked “to defend” orally his/her dissertation in the presence of the members of the supervisory committee.
- The dissertation must be approved by each member of the supervisory committee.
The award of the S.J.D. requires approvals of the Committee on Graduate Legal Studies, the law faculty and University. Such decisions cannot be appealed, except as provided. If the S.J.D. candidate’s doctoral dissertation is not approved, the graduate committee will provide the S.J.D. candidate with an explanation of the reasons why it was disapproved, and the S.J.D. candidate then will be given one further 12-month period within which to endeavor to satisfy such comments and to resubmit a revised dissertation. If the S.J.D. candidate then does not within the 12-month period satisfy all doctoral requirements, the person is withdrawn from the S.J.D. program.
Role of Primary Supervisor
The primary supervisor will serve as the S.J.D. candidate’s academic adviser and will provide the S.J.D. candidate with general and specific guidance on the S.J.D. candidate’s research and written work product. The supervisor is not to serve as an editor of the S.J.D. candidate’s work product. While the supervisor will make general comments on the submitted work product and may make selective specific comments or otherwise may help arrange for the S.J.D. candidate to take advantage of available University/Law School postgraduate legal writing resources, the burden is on the S.J.D. candidate to make any needed editorial arrangements at the candidate’s own expense (such as a qualified J.D. student who may be willing to assist in the editorial process). During the required two-year residency period, the supervisor will meet on a periodic basis with the S.J.D. candidate. However, it is to be understood that the S.J.D. degree is a research degree requiring extensive independent legal research by the S.J.D. candidate in the area of the dissertation.
Termination of Status as Candidate
The status of an S.J.D. candidate may be terminated, and the person withdrawn from the S.J.D. program, for any of the following reasons:
- Failure to satisfy the requirements of the first probationary year.
- Failure to satisfy the requirements of the second probationary year.
- Failure to submit a dissertation within the prescribed five-year period.
- If a dissertation is submitted in a timely manner, failure to satisfy all requirements and standards for the dissertation.
- Failure to pay in a timely manner any required fees.
An S.J.D. candidate whose status is terminated may make a formal appeal in writing to the Committee on Graduate Legal Studies. This appeal must set forth all relevant and/or extenuating circumstances and reasons why the committee should reconsider the termination. It is within the sole discretion of the committee whether to reconsider or not, and, if it chooses to reconsider, then any decision of the committee is final. If the committee does reconsider, it may impose any general and/or specific conditions/requirements as it wishes.
Fees
For the first year of the program, S.J.D. candidates will be charged the equivalent of full-time tuition and fees applicable to LL.M. students. Thereafter, S.J.D. candidates will be assessed a special fee for each fall and spring term until approval of the final dissertation. This fee will be set at the beginning of each term. The 2009–10 fee is $1,750 per term.
There are no Law School scholarships or research/teaching assistantships available for the S.J.D. degree. On an individual basis, an S.J.D. candidate may apply to be the research assistant of a particular faculty member, but any such arrangement must be made individually with the faculty member, who reserves full discretion in such a matter.
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See Section II D, Tuition and Fees and the current catalog supplement
Bursar's Financial Information: Southern Methodist University.
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To obtain further information and applications for admission, contact the Office of Admissions, Dedman School of Law, Southern Methodist University, PO Box 750110, Dallas TX 75275-0110; 214-768-2550.
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