Fourth Year of Law School - Juris Doctor (JD)

By the fourth year of Law School at American Heritage University School of Law, a student is now familiar with most legal terminologies, expectations, and new study habits are formed by this time. Three courses in this phase of your legal education are part of the Scope of the California Bar Examination.

Each of those courses is highlighted in the course descriptions below.

IMPORTANT: For any student looking to transfer their credits from a previously attended Law School to begin the Third Year at AHUSOL, you will need to have successfully passed the First Year Law School Exam or your transfer credits MUST be from an ABA or Committee Accredited law school.

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Fourth Year Courses

Law 401: Community Property

Students will examine the California law relating to community, quasi- community and separate property, the division of marital assets upon divorce and death of a spouse, marital agreements, business assets, commingling of funds, property improvements, spousal liability for community and separate debts, education expenses, spousal rights to pension and disability income, lawsuit settlements, life insurance proceeds, and management and transfer of community property assets.

This course covers one of the topics in the California Bar Examination. Learn more at the State Bar’s Website.

Student Elective I

Course	Frequency	Next Offering
LAW 407 – FAMILY LAW	As needed	TBD
LAW 409 – IMMIGRATION LAW	As needed	TBD
LAW 415 – ANTI-TRUST LAW	As needed	TBD
LAW 417 – ENVIRONMENTAL LAW	As needed	TBD

View all elective courses in the academic catalog.

Law 403: Wills, Trust and Succession

This course is a two-part survey of the law of probate. Students will learn California probate law as it relates to the formation and validity of testamentary wills, intestacy succession, and disposition of probate assets. Then, students will study common law revocable and irrevocable trusts and the statutory, doctrinal and decisional law pertaining to trust creation, modification and termination, trust management, the powers, duties and obligations of trustees, and beneficiary rights.

This course covers one of the topics in the California Bar Examination. Learn more at the State Bar’s Website.

Law 404: Professional Responsibility

This course is a survey of attorneys’ legal and ethical obligations, and the standards that are attendant to the practice of law and the legal profession. Students will study California and model statutory codes and decisional law that define an attorney’s legal and ethical obligations to clients, the courts, opposing counsel and the profession. They will study various legal conflicts that may arise during client representation while fulfilling the varying roles of advocate, officer of the court, public icon, and working practitioner.

Students will study the business and economic aspects of the practice law, restraints on practice, the role of the judiciary and the state bar in enforcing attorney rules of professional conduct, and sanctions for violating the rules.

This course covers one of the topics in the California Bar Examination. Learn more at the State Bar’s Website. It also prepares students to take the Multi-State Professional Responsibility Exam.

Student Elective II

Course	Frequency	Next Offering
LAW 407 – FAMILY LAW	As needed	TBD
LAW 409 – IMMIGRATION LAW	As needed	TBD
LAW 415 – ANTI-TRUST LAW	As needed	TBD
LAW 417 – ENVIRONMENTAL LAW	As needed	TBD

View all elective courses in the academic catalog.

Preparation for FYLSX 0%

Preparation for Law Student Certification 100%

Preparation for JD Graduation 100%

Preparation for GBX 100%

What to Expect in the Fourth Year

MPRE Check Point

To practice law in California, applicants must not only pass the California Bar Examination, they must also pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE). Students who have not taken the exam need to do so at this point.

MPRE

Moral Character

A positive moral character determination is one of several requirements for admission to the practice of law in California.

Getting started

Completion of Courses

At this point in your journey, students need to focus on completing all courses required to graduate from the program to earn their JD

General Bar Exam (GBX)

The next California Bar Exam is scheduled for October 26, 2021. The exam will be administered primarily remotely online. Once all courses are completed, student can apply with the State Bar of California.

General Bar Exam Info