Charleston School of Law Juris Doctor Program Catalog and Student Handbook 2023-2024: Faculty Research Assistant and LRAW Fellow Credit

Below is a brief outline of the Charleston School of Law Academic Catalog. Click the + sign to see the linked list under each heading. You can also click on the top tabs to see a complete list under each heading tab. A complete list of content under each heading is found in the Detailed Academic Catalog Guide Outline.

Faculty Research Assistant 995 (1 credit hour) graded Pass/Fail

Students may earn academic credit as Research Assistants (RA) for full-time faculty members at the Charleston School of Law upon selection by a faculty member and subject to certain qualifications and requirements listed below. 

Eligibility.

Students must have satisfactorily completed one academic calendar year and be in good academic standing. 

Course Requirements.

• RAs will perform legal research and writing, without pay, under the faculty sponsor’s active supervision.  
• RAs are expected to produce substantive work, which the faculty sponsor reviews, assesses, and provides feedback to the RA.
• RAs must keep time records and log at least 50 hours of work. These records must be submitted to the sponsoring faculty member who will then keep them on file.
• RAs must meet with a librarian to discuss legal research; the librarian must sign the Librarian Meeting Confirmation Form which should be included with the Grade Submission Form from the faculty sponsor. 

Other Information:

Students may only use 4 credits from the course towards the required number of credits for graduation.  This course may not be used to satisfy the Upper-Level Writing Requirement, the Skills Requirement, or the Drafting Course Requirement.

Course Registration 

Students selected to be a Research Assistant must register for the course by no later than the last day of the add/drop period for that semester or session, using the specific registration form available from the Office of the Registrar.  Faculty-sponsors must also sign this form during the registration period.   No faculty member may have more than 2 research assistants per semester, except with the permission of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.. 

Legal Research, Analysis and Writing Teaching Fellow 656 (1 credit) graded Pass/fail

Students may earn academic credit as Legal Research, Analysis, and Writing (LRAW) Teaching Fellows (TFs) for LRAW faculty members at the Charleston School of Law, upon selection by an LRAW professor, and subject to certain qualifications and requirements listed below:

       Course Requirements

TFs will assist their LRAW professor in the conduct of the 1L Legal Research, Analysis, and Writing class. Under the supervision of the LRAW faculty, and without pay, TFs may draft and review problems, critique students on objective standards, provide instruction on research and Bluebook. Course requirements include:

• Attending class with their assigned 1L LRAW section;
• Hosting 1L academic workshops which may be in conjunction with the Office of Academic Success;
• Holding at least two hours of office hours per week for the purpose of meeting with 1L students;
• Attending LRAW Department meetings; and,
• Performing other tasks related to the mission of the LRAW department, such as crafting model answers and outlines, and serving as practice judges during oral argument assignments.

Eligibility

To be eligible for selection as a Teaching Fellow, a student must:

• Be enrolled and in good academic standing at the Charleston School of Law;
• Have satisfactorily completed one full or part-time academic year (fall and spring semesters) at the Charleston School of Law; and,
• Have received a grade of B or higher in his or her 1L LRAW class.

Course Registration

Students selected to be a Teaching Fellow must register for the course during the registration period for that particular semester or session, using the specific “Registration for Academic Credit as an LRAW Teaching Fellow.”  Eligible students are expected to serve for two consecutive semesters, but must register for credit for each semester.

Other Course Information

• Students may not earn more than four credits under this provision. 
• This course is graded on a Pass/Fail basis. 
• This course may not be used to satisfy the Upper-Level Writing Requirement, the Skills Requirement, or the Drafting Course Requirement.

Please see this page for information about:

•  Faculty Assistant Research Credit
• Legal Research, Analysis and Writing Fellow Credit