The Master of Arts in Legal Studies offers a program of study for students seeking advanced preparation in legal studies.  It provides academic opportunities leading to career enhancement for legal professionals.  The degree offerings are on the cutting edge of specialty areas such as dispute resolution, human resource management, private sector compliance, law office management, legal technology, legal information management, trademark law, ethics and professional responsibility.

Legal Studies provides graduate instruction through a broad range of topics which develop the student’s critical understanding of law.  Graduate offerings in Legal Studies are designed:

• To enhance professional development in law-related fields.
• To advance the study of law within the context of an interdisciplinary liberal arts education.
• To provide a more advanced level of legal knowledge in areas such as compliance and human resources.
• To prepare for the technologically sophisticated legal environment of the twenty-first century.
• To develop theoretical and practical knowledge of advocacy and dispute resolution.
• To develop advanced research and writing abilities.
• To enhance analytical and critical thinking skills essential to the legal field.

Students may choose the Master's program without a concentration. The Master of Arts in Legal Studies General Program is recommended for graduate students who wish to meet their individual academic needs by incorporating courses from diverse offerings. There is the opportunity to choose from among all of the graduate-level department electives, including courses from the optional concentrations in Dispute Resolution; Governance, Compliance, & Regulation; Law & Crime; Intellectual Property; and Legal Management, Information & Technology. The optional concentrations are intended to meet the requirements of two more specialized dynamic and growing fields for legal professionals. At the end of their course of study, students may choose either to write a thesis or be tested by comprehensive examination.

The programs of the department of Legal Studies incorporate education in the liberal arts with sound preparation for law-related profession.  Many career alternatives are possible for graduates in government, the corporate sector and private arenas.  Graduate course work in legal studies serves the needs of a broad range of professional including:

• Managers; supervisors; human resource directors; claims managers and administrators; government administrators; international specialists; and information specialists.

• Paralegal managers; legal assistant/paralegals; human resource officers; investigators; criminal justice professionals; legal advocates for victims of domestic violence, the disadvantaged and the physically and mentally challenged.

• Primary and secondary school teachers desiring education in law or conflict resolution/peer mediation; consultants; newspaper reporters; practitioners in the field of dispute resolution; professionals who utilize dispute resolution in various forums, such as labor, insurance and financial markets.

In contrast to the Master of Arts in Legal Studies, the Post-Baccalaureate Paralegal Studies Certificate Program is an appropriate course of study for entry level preparation.  Students may elect to pursue the Post-Baccalaureate Certificate and also the Master of Arts degree.  Contact the Department of Legal Studies for further information.

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.

Concentrations

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

The study of Dispute Resolution (LSDR) concentration 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, & Regulation (LSGC) concentration is a 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, & Technology (LSMI) 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.

The new Intellectual Property (LSIP) concentration is designed to address the specific needs of legal studies professionals in the concentration areas of a continuously evolving field. The program objectives are to provide appropriate education for Legal Studies students in the areas of theoretical and applied Intellectual Property law; to provide in-depth theoretical knowledge for those engaged in intellectual property compliance, governance, sales, and market enforcement who wish to re-tool their skills to meet the demands of the changing regulatory environment; and to provide a well-defined, comprehensive knowledge of intellectual property from creation through licensing so that corporate and government regulators will apply their skills proactively,

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. Barbara Nagle. All students are required to write a Master's Thesis on an approved topic or to take a comprehensive examination.

For further information about the General Program, LSMI, LSIP, or LSGC:

Contact: Professor Jack Baldwin LeClair

Phone : 973-655-7953

E-mail:

or for information on Dispute Resolution

Contact: Dr. Barbara A. Nagle

Phone: 973-655-7292

E-mail: