Journalist Law School Overview

The Civil Justice Program at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles will host its eighth-annual Journalist Law School from Wednesday, May 29-Saturday, June 1, 2013 on Loyola Law’s Frank Gehry-designed downtown Los Angeles campus. The application deadline is Monday, March 4, 2013. 

The fellowship condenses core law-school subjects and break-out topics into a long weekend filled with courses taught by Loyola Law faculty, practicing attorneys and jurists. Journalists with at least three years of experience who cover the law in some fashion are encouraged to apply.Journalist fellows, who are competitively selected, receive a certificate of completion at the end of the four-day program. More than 200 reporters, editors and producers have completed the fellowship from a wide range of local, national and international news organizations.

There is no cost to journalists to attend the fellowship. Instruction, lodging and most meals are included. And the Journalist Law School will cover half of travel expenses up to $300. Fellows will be housed at the nearby Omni Los Angeles Hotel.

Fellows need to arrive in Los Angeles on the morning of Wednesday, May 29, 2013. The JLS will cover lodging from May 29 through the evening of June 1. Fellows will be responsible for any additional lodging. Fellows will have one free evening to explore Los Angeles on their own. Certificates will be issued during a graduation ceremony and reception on the evening of Saturday, June 1.

Loyola’s Civil Justice Program started the JLS in 2006 as a way to help journalists navigate the complexities of the legal system and enhance their coverage of it. “Journalists provide the keys to understanding the most complex institutions in our society, including the courts,” said Professor  ockleby, director of the JLS and Loyola’s Civil Justice Program. “If journalists have a deeper understanding of law and the legal system, they can help the public better understand – and critique – that system.”

The core faculty members -- Professors Nockleby, Laurie Levenson and Karl Manheim – will lecture on civil, criminal and constitutional law and other primary topics. They -- along with Professors Jay Dougherty, Allan Ides and Daniel Martin, as well as Dean Victor Gold -- recently published “The Journalist’s Guide to American Law” (Routledge, 2012), a comprehensive reference for reporters who cover the legal system. Fellows will receive a copy of the book. 

Additional faculty will lead breakout sessions, which accepted fellows will suggest and select in advance. Past breakout sessions include: After the Crisis: Mortgages, Credit Cards & Payday Lending; Disability Rights Law; Dynamics of the Supreme Court; Election Law; Family Law & Children; Habeas Corpus & the Death Penalty; Intellectual Property; Juvenile Law, the Law of War; Laws of Demonstrations; Legal & Judicial Ethics; Racial Discrimination and News Coverage; the Rules Governing Admission of Evidence at Trial; and Terrorists & Noncombatants: Guantanamo & Due Process.

JLS lectures are supplemented by speaker events featuring a variety of lawyers, judges and veteran journalists. Previous speakers include Shirley Abrahamson, chief justice, Wisconsin Supreme Court; Harland Braun, who represented Robert Blake in his murder trial, Law Offices of Harland Braun; Linda Deutsch, AP legal reporter; Mark Geragos ’82, who represented Michael Jackson and Scott Peterson, Law Offices of Geragos & Geragos; George W. Greer, judge in the Terri Schiavo case, Sixth Judicial Circuit; Nora Manella, California Court of Appeal; and Jim Newton, Los Angeles Times editorial page editor.

What previous fellows have said about the JLS fellowship:

“This should probably be required of all journalists earlier in their careers.”

“It’s a program that delivers on its promise: teach journalists a better, more comprehensive understanding of the law.”

“I came to the program expecting a crash course in the law and, fortunately, I got that. I really felt I was being taught by the very best legal academic minds and it both humbled me and inspired me to re-dedicate myself to better journalistic endeavors down the road. The payoff: accurate reporting and thus a more well-informed society.”

“The professors at Loyola Law School know their stuff. I can’t think of any session where I questioned the level of knowledge held by the speaker – and, as a reporter, I am paid to be skeptical of people’s words.”

The American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) is a founding sponsor of the program.

About Loyola Law School, Los Angeles

Located in downtown Los Angeles—a legal, financial and media capital—Loyola Law School is home to prominent faculty, dedicated students and cutting-edge programs. Committed to legal ethics and the public interest, it has produced top attorneys for more than 90 years. The Princeton Review ranked Loyola ninth for “Best Professors.” Loyola was ranked 29^th on the 2010 Super Lawyers U.S. Law School Rankings. National Jurist magazine ranks it eighth on its list of “Best Law Schools for Public Interest Law.” It was ranked seventh in the nation for trial advocacy, 10^th for tax law and 21^stfor legal writing by U.S. News & World Report.