VIRGINIA SCHOOL OF LAW
STUDENT BAR ASSOCIATION
course registration
Virginia Law students takes courses during Fall and Spring semesters, and some students participate in the January Term. During the Fall semester, registration for law school courses held during the January Term and the Spring semester takes place. Registration for Fall semester classes occurs over the Summer. Student Records both emails the registration calendar and catalogue and posts it to LawWeb.
Two Course Registration Systems
In any given term, students interact with two systems when registering for courses: the Lottery Course Selector (LCS) and SIS. During pre-registration, students will utilize LawWeb's LCS feature, found under "Course Selection" to request placement in the courses that interest them the most. Students rank their preferred courses in order of interest and can rank up to 30 courses. Students select courses and are given priority in the selection process based on their class year, with 3Ls and LL.M.'s selecting courses first, followed by the 2Ls, and lastly the 1Ls. Following the release of LCS results for a given student's class year, they can view the courses they received by navigating to the LCS tab in Law Web.
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Students use a separate system called SIS to swap, drop, and add courses from the start of the add/drop period through the first week of the term. If a student is on a waitlist for a course, they will view the waitlist through SIS.
Tips & Tricks
Planning your courses can be stressful when there are few requirements on what to take. Here are a few tips to help you along the way:
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Fulfill all the law school’s curricular requirements. Some requirements are imposed by the American Bar Association and some are specific to Virginia Law. Included in this list are a writing course and a professional ethics course, but there are several other requirements. Find a full list of curricular requirements by logging into LawWeb and following the “Academic Policies” link on the homepage.
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Start planning early. In order to take some clinics or practical skills courses your 3L year, you may need to take a certain course during your 1L Spring or your 2L Fall. For example, the Prosecution Clinic is popular among 3Ls, but students are required to take prerequisite courses to enroll like Evidence, Professional Responsibility, one of three Criminal Procedure classes, and Trial Advocacy in order to be eligible for the Clinic. Be mindful of courses with prerequisites that you may wish to take as an upperclassman you may want to take as a 3L, and plan accordingly.
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Ask for advice. Professors know the curricular offerings of the school well, as do second and third-year students. Reach out to individuals in either group, or in specific journals, clubs or student organizations, to see what courses will be most valuable given your academic interest and career preferences. The Student Records Office is located in Slaughter Hall and is available to answer any questions that you may have.