Pre-enrollment Orientation

The pre-enrollment orientation is held in order to give students a detailed explanation of the curriculum and the content of education, and advise them what preparation and reference books are necessary before enrollment so as to allow them to start their study effectively. Of course, for students who have studied law before and who want to reduce their period of enrollment to two years, we give academic advice on how to approach subjects that the students find difficult or courses that they have not studied during their undergraduate years.

Step-by-step Curriculum through Small-Group Instruction

Our curriculum adopts a step-by-step approach, allowing students to naturally acquire knowledge and skills. In the first year, in a small class of about twenty-five students of the Legal Research and Writing course, students thoroughly learn the fundamental skills of how to collect and use legal information such as statutes, cases and literature as well as legal drafting skills. As for basic law courses, which are a pillar of law school education and the core of the new national bar exam, interactive lectures in the first year allow students to acquire a solid foundation, and second-year seminars give them advanced knowledge. An advanced seminar in the third year provides comprehensive skills and knowledge that integrates substantive and procedural law as well as theory and practice. As a feature of the curriculum, “prerequisite system” requires students to take all of the course credits in a certain area (Civil Law, for example) before they proceed to seminars, which is the next step.  Likewise, students cannot go on to advanced seminars until they finish all the requisite courses up to seminars, which allows them to gradually acquire skills and knowledge.

 Also, in order to develop students' future area of specialization, the Ritsumeikan University School of Law provides a wide array of courses, including 58 advanced/applied courses. Seminar in Antimonopoly Law and Seminar in Bankruptcy Law were newly introduced in 2007. With regard to the advanced/applied courses, for example, the combination of two 2-unit lecture courses Legal Affairs of Intellectual Property I and II and a four-credit seminar in Legal Affairs of Intellectual Property gives students systematic instruction, which is aimed at steady development of students' competence.

Thorough Support System

 Faculty members advise students day-to-day matters of study (legal research and writing class for the first year, and a seminar of thirty students for the second and third year.)  Also, faculty are placed in each area of public law, civil law, criminal law, and practical and advanced subjects such as curriculum advisors to answer students' various questions regarding their study. In case students cannot take the required course credits, they are allowed to retake the exams after studying during summer or winter vacation. Additionally, students may seek advice from teaching assistants, comprising mainly of current students and bar-exam passers on basic studies, the way to research legal literature, and various study-related matters.