Exams & Grading

This course is a yearlong course worth five credits. As required by Loyola Law School policy, this course will be graded anonymously according to a mandatory curve.

Your grade will be based on a midterm exam at the end of fall semester and a final exam at the end of spring semester. The midterm exam will count for 25% of your grade, and the final exam will count for 75%. The final exam will be cumulative. The midterm is purposefully weighted less than the final exam to give you the opportunity to improve your work in this class over time. At the start of the spring semester, I’ll provide feedback on the exam and offer advice for studying for the final exam and for other law school exams in the future. For those eager to start studying for finals now, I’m happy to share with you a super-secret way to perform perfectly on any kind of law school exam, regardless of subject matter, format, or difficulty, which you can access at this link.

We will discuss the details of the exams later in the semester.

Exam logistics are handled by the Office of the Registrar, not by me. Because grading is anonymous, the law school has adopted rules and procedures to protect student anonymity during the grading process. Under these rules, I am prohibited from learning about any logistical issues related to your exams. Please avoid making comments that would jeopardize your anonymity and do not include your student identification number on any communication with me. If you have questions about exam scheduling and accommodations, or if any problem arises during the administration of an exam, contact the Registrar at registrar@lls.edu or 213-736-1130 and do not include me in this communication.

I reserve the right to reduce grades by one-third of a letter grade for poor class participation due to repeated instances of unpreparedness, lack of attention in class, refusal to participate in good faith, and absences. Any decision to reduce a grade for poor class participation is at my discretion and is non-negotiable.