Overview
The JD/LLM in Legal Innovation & Technology allows students to earn both degrees through a streamlined curriculum totaling 24 shared credits tailored to LIT. Students complete 12 JD credits from the existing Legal Innovation & Technology Concentration Courses—including required core courses and electives—and 12 LLM credits, consisting of two graduate-level business school courses (6 credits) and a supervised LIT LLM Capstone Project (6 credits). Under the direction of the LLM in LIT Academic Director, the Capstone project aims to meet students where they are regarding their individual career goals and interests. In the usual course, it would be completed over two semesters but could be completed in one, subject to the discretion of the program director. The Capstone project is intended to offer multiple pathways, such as externships, policy/clinical/community work, or tech development entrepreneurship projects.
Full-time dual degree students can complete both degrees in approximately 3.5 years—or 3 years with summer coursework—and part-time students in 4.5 years or less. Students must have a 3.0 GPA to apply and will receive both a JD and LLM in LIT degree at graduation.
Requirements
A student in good standing enrolled in the Suffolk University Law School JD program is eligible for admission to the JD/LLM in LIT dual degree program if the student has earned a cumulative GPA of at least 3.00 in the Suffolk JD program.
Conditional admission is available to either an individual applying simultaneously for admission to the JD program and the LLM in LIT program or a student in good standing enrolled in the Suffolk University Law School JD program. Conditionally admitted students will complete the usual first year curriculum and begin LIT electives after the first year is completed.
Conditional admission becomes unconditional as soon as a student satisfies the requirement of a cumulative GPA of at least 3.00 in the Suffolk JD program. A student who fails to satisfy this requirement is not permitted to continue in the JD/LLM in LIT program, but that circumstance does not have any adverse effect, by itself, on the individual’s academic standing in the JD program.
Course Requirements
JD Required Courses
Students must complete at least 12 credits from the existing Legal Innovation & Technology Concentration
LIT Core Courses (9 Credits)
Completion of all 4 LIT Core Courses, totaling 9 credits:
| LAW-2156 | Legal Technology for Small Firm Practice | 3 |
| LAW-2970 | Twenty-First Century Legal Profession | 2 |
| LAW-2975 | Process Improvement and Legal Project Management | 2 |
| LAW-4009 | Generative AI and the Delivery of Legal Services | 2 |
LIT Electives (3 Credits)
| LAW-2032 | Race, Ethical, AI and Cyber Civil Rights | 2 |
| LAW-2170 | Emerging Issues in Information Technology & Transnational Business | 2 |
| LAW-2209 | ODR Innovation Clinic Seminar | 2 |
| LAW-2660 | Digital Evidence | 2 |
| LAW-2720 | Emerging AI Regulatory Frameworks | 2 |
| LAW-2911 | Privacy/Data Security | 3 |
| LAW-2951 | E Discovery | 2 |
| LAW-2998 | Artificial Intelligence and the Law | 3 |
| LAW-4002 | Blockchain, Cryptocurrency and the Law | 1 |
* LIT courses are subject to change and not guaranteed to be offered every semester, or offered in a particular format whether online or in person.
LLM Required Courses (12 Credits)
1. Graduate Business School Electives (6 Credits)
Choose two courses (3 credits each) from the following Suffolk University Sawyer Business School offerings:
2. LIT and LLM Capstone Project (6 Credits)
A supervised, practice-oriented project completed under the direction of the LLM in LIT academic director. Students design a Capstone pathway aligned with their goals and available options within the program, which may include:
- Research and development of a new legal tech tool
- Legal innovation work through the Sawyer Business School’s SEED Clinic
- Externship with accompanying research or deliverable, such as a white paper or market report
- A policy or regulatory reform proposal
- Advisory or independent work with Suffolk Law’s LIT Clinic
The Capstone is typically completed over two semesters but may be completed in one semester with approval, subject to the discretion of the academic director.