Master of Arts in Legal Studies

As we approach the twenty-first century, the field of law continues to respond to social and technological changes that could not have been envisioned a decade ago. Keen competition in the marketplace, consumer awareness, cost containment, technological innovation and alternative methods for resolving disputes have created a need for better educated legal personnel to assume new roles in the legal field.

To address new and growing areas in the law, Montclair State University has developed the Master of Arts in Legal Studies. The courses of study offer a unique opportunity to integrate theory with practice, achieving the twin objectives of educational and professional growth.

Through a broad range of subjects, the Master of Arts in Legal Studies provides graduate instruction to develop the student's critical understanding of the law. This degree offers academic opportunities leading to career advancement in law and law-related fields. The MA serves the needs of a diverse community of students interested in law at the graduate level for whom law school is not the educational objective.

The Master of Arts in Legal Studies provides graduate instruction in Legal Studies through a broad range of subjects which develop the student's critical understanding of the law. This degree provides academic opportunities leading to career advancement in law-related fields. It provides a General Program for students who desire advanced preparation in Legal Studies with optional concentrations in Governance, Compliance, and Regulation; Dispute Resolution; Legal Management, Information and Technology; and soon to be approved Intellectual Property and Law and Crime concentrations.

Course Offerings

Course offerings are on the cutting edge of specialty areas such as alternative dispute resolution, compliance, legal technology, law office management, trademark law, jurisprudence, intellectual property, ethics and professional responsibility. The M.A. serves the needs of a broad range of students interested in law at the graduate level for whom law school is not the educational objective.

Four Concentrations

The M.A. in Legal Studies offers concentrations in two dynamic and growing fields for legal professionals.

The study of Dispute Resolution provides students with practical applications and theoretical considerations in negotiation, mediation and other alternative or contemporary ADR processes. The federal courts as well as the New Jersey Supreme Court have begun to mandate the incorporation of dispute resolution into many aspects of the judicial system. The private provision of dispute resolution is also growing. In corporate employment, a dispute resolution concentration enhances the value and mobility of an employee in areas such as human resources and employee relations. Additionally, law-related education in primary and secondary education includes a focus upon the area of peer mediation.

The Governance, Compliance, and Regulation (GCR) concentration is a new program composed of courses which have proven to be of great value to students who are employed in governance and compliance areas. Truly an interdisciplinary concentration, GCR is a crucible in which professionals from corporations, government regulatory agencies, and in-house legal firms form an educational community exchanging ideas about the expanding regulatory environment. Serving students in the pharmaceutical industry, the human resource field, the insurance industry, and international and domestic agencies, the concentration is our fastest growing concentration.

The Legal Management, Information and Technology (LMIT) concentration is designed to prepare students to create, administrate, and manage human resources, and technological processes which involve the application of statutes, case law, and administrative regulations which define the rights and responsibilities of individuals and corporations in industry and in the public sector. The core of the concentration is a series of courses which illuminate the process of private and public sector compliance, human resource law, and technology in regulating and controlling the efficiency of the relationship between employer and employee, between corporations and government, and among corporations. The advanced curriculum allows students to sculpt their program in order to achieve their personal goals in the technological management of private law firms, corporations, or government service.

For further information contact about General Program, LMIT, GCR, IP, or L&C.

Contact: Professor Jack Baldwin LeClair

Phone : 973.655.7953

for information on Dispute Resolution

Contact: Dr. Barbara A. Nagle

Phone: 973-655-7292

E-mail: nagleb@mail.montclair.edu

Requirements

Candidates for admission to the Master of Arts in Legal Studies must have a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university and meet Montclair State University's minimum requirements for the Graduate Records Examination. In addition, candidates should have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.75 for their undergraduate work and in the three undergraduate prerequisite courses (an introductory law course, civil litigation, and legal research). Candidates who do not meet these criteria may be accorded deferred matriculation status and permitted to enroll in a maximum of two graduate courses in the M.A. program. If they attain a minimum of 3.0 in those graduate courses, then they may be granted full matriculation status for the M.A. program.

Students must choose one of the following tracks within the Master of Arts:

• General
• GCR
• Legal Management, Information, and Technology
• Dispute Resolution Concentration
• L&C

Students select twenty-four credits in accord with their areas of concentration or interest. Each student's program is designed in consultation with the Graduate Director, Dr. Jack Baldwin Leclair. All students are required to write a Master's Thesis on an approved topic or to take a comprehensive examination.

The Master of Arts in Legal Studies provides advanced educational preparation for law-related fields. The Department of Legal Studies also offers a post-baccalaureate Paralegal Studies Certificate Program which is an appropriate course of study for entry level preparation. The Master of Arts in Legal Studies provides advanced educational preparation for law-related fields. The Department of Legal Studies also offers a post-baccalaureate Paralegal Studies Certificate Program which is an appropriate course of study for entry level preparation.

GENERAL PROGRAM OF STUDY

PROF. JACK BALDWIN LECLAIR- Graduate Director, M.A in Legal Studies and Concentration Advisor: LMIT, and GCR.

DR. BARBARA NAGLE --Concentration Advisor, M.A in Legal Studies, Dispute Resolution.