Programs of Study

The Programs of Study of Loyola University New Orleans College of Law have been shaped by Louisiana’s unique role as the only state of the United States having a legal system based on significant elements of both the civil law and common law traditions. The civil law was imported into Louisiana during the eighteenth century, when it was first a colony of France, and later, of Spain. After the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, Louisiana began to adopt a number of common law institutions and concepts, which have endured to the present.

The civil law tradition is derived from classical Roman law, as supplemented by medieval canon law and customary law. In most contemporary civil law jurisdictions, legislatively-enacted codes form the basis of legal study and practice. In the civil law tradition, the role of the academic jurist is at least as important as the role of the judge in defining and interpreting the law. The civil law influence in Louisiana is evident in such areas of private law as property, obligations, persons, successions, and donations.

The common law tradition originated in England in the late twelfth century, when three different common law courts began to evolve. The common law has traditionally emphasized the role of the judge in defining and interpreting the law, while according a significant fact-finding role to juries. In England, the legal profession itself assumed primary responsibility for legal education and training, thus limiting the influence of academic jurists and the universities in the development of the common law. In England, the common law courts and the Court of Equity evolved along parallel, yet separate paths, resulting in distinctly different remedies and concepts. Most contemporary common law jurisdictions have adopted codes on a very limited basis, usually only in the area of commercial law. The common law influence in Louisiana is evident in such areas of private law as torts and trust, and in all areas of public law, including state constitutional law, criminal law and procedure, civil procedure, and evidence.

The commercial law of Louisiana contains significant elements of both the civil law (as in the law of sales) and the common law (resulting from the adoption by Louisiana of most portions of the Uniform Commercial Code, which has been enacted by all of the other states of the United States).

As a result of Louisiana’s unique legal heritage, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law has developed three Programs of Study:

1. The Civil Law Program for full-time students in the Day Division;
2. The Civil Law Program for part-time students in the Evening Division; and
3. The Common Law Program for full-time students in the Day Division.

The two Civil Law Programs are designed to prepare students for the practice of law in Louisiana and to provide a foundation for a legal career in any civil law or mixed law jurisdiction.

The Common Law Program is designed to prepare students for the practice of law in any of the common law states of the United States and in the District of Columbia. It also provides a foundation for a legal career in any of the other common law jurisdictions of the world, such as England, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.