Student Resources
Our Student
Services
Employment Assistance
Although Cal Northern School of Law does not provide employment placement services, students often find employment through less formal means. Job announcements received by Cal Northern School of Law are posted on the law school’s bulletin boards and faculty and staff members provide an informal referral network. Students sometimes learn of job openings through the law school’s Legal Internship program and as a result of student membership in the local bar associations.
Special Accommodations
Students with a disability have a right to reasonable accommodation in accordance with the Americans With Disabilities Act. Accommodation requests should be submitted to the Administrative Office in accordance with the school’s policy for accommodation of disabled students.
Student Bar Association
Cal Northern Student Bar Association (SBA) is the liaison between the student body, administration, and community. The SBA is dedicated to facilitating student progress and developing and maintaining valuable relationships. The SBA is supported by membership fees paid at the beginning of the fall semester and is open to all Cal Northern students. New officers and class representatives are elected each year. SBA representatives work with the administration to ensure that student needs are known. The SBA presents programs and social events throughout the year. They also coordinate the Student Mentoring Program and sponsor three Student Bar Association Recognition Award scholarships awarded annually during the Spring Semester. Visit the student-run website today!
Student Store
SBA operates an on-site and online store with school supplies and Cal Northern merchandise. SBA also hosts a Used Book Forum where students can buy used textbooks directly from other Cal Northern students.
Deferred Payment Program
The Law School provides students an opportunity to pay for their legal education over the course of an entire semester or session through the Deferred Payment Program. Further information about the no interest, deferred tuition installment plans are found in each semester’s registration materials.
Scholarships
Cal Northern School of Law offers a variety of scholarships. The program includes scholarships that are available each fall semester and will cover a portion of the tuition and fees (excluding the cost of BarBri or any other bar review course offered by CNSL). Scholarships are awarded based on scholastic achievement, financial need and/or service to the community. The number of awards varies from year to year, but each year half of the awards will be merit-based and half will be need-based in addition to consideration of merit.
Academic Counseling
Faculty members are available for academic counseling before class from 6:00pm to 6:30pm, after class at 9:30pm or at another mutually-convenient time, by appointment to discuss with students course topics, examinations and grades. Students are encouraged to review their examination papers and to confer with their professors regarding their exam performance as soon as possible after exams.
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Tutoring Program
Cal Northern School of Law seeks to provide services to students including the implementation of a Tutoring Program to best serve students’ academic needs by carefully developing individualized curriculum designed to meet students’ expectations for successful completion of law school. The Director of Academic Support in conjunction with Administration has assessed the need for a tutoring program. The needs assessment focused on students who are most in need of tutoring and has identified a target group of students at greatest risk. The assessment results have been used to design a program that builds on students’ skills and interests and provides activities of direct benefit to students.
Students in academic difficulty are required to attend up to three hours of tutoring as a condition of enrollment. The Academic Standards Committee may consider a student’s level of participation in the Tutoring Program in deciding upon petitions for readmission.
The Mary G. Carrion Law Library
The law library is an integral part of Cal Northern School of Law and serves the needs of students, faculty and staff. The library collection includes the materials required by the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California, such as federal and California cases and statutes, encyclopedias, digests, periodicals and other legal reference materials. Through LexisNexis students have unlimited online access to legal research.
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It should be noted that LexisNexis computerized legal research library is limited to research directly connected to educational activities. Please understand sharing IDs is against LexisNexis and Cal Northern policy and should not be done. Any violation may subject the student to disciplinary action.
The law library is provided for study, academic research and related activities for the students of Cal Northern School of Law. Since the law library is a shared facility, talking, socializing, and other disruptive activities are not permitted. No food or beverages of any kind are permitted in the law library.
The law library is open Monday through Thursday from 9:00a.m. to 9:30p.m. on Friday from 9:00a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and Saturday and Sundays from 10:00a.m. to 4:00p.m. during the academic year. The open hours may be modified from time to time.
An annual Law Library Fee of $250.00 is due at the beginning of the fall semester. The fee entitles the student to the use of the law library facilities and its research and reference materials as well as use of the computer lab.
Wireless Network
The campus has a wireless network that allows students with wireless-enabled laptops to access LexisNexis and the Internet from anywhere on campus. Unless students are specifically directed to do so by their instructor, students are not permitted to access the wireless network during class.
Computer Center
The library includes a computer center with three workstations where students may access online legal research databases, selected law-related domains, the Internet and word processing software as well as a printer.
Study & Student Lounge
Cal Northern School of Law encourages student interaction for learning purposes. The Socratic method of instruction, generally used in teaching law, allows for student questioning and dialogue. Students are encouraged to form study groups for continued study, discussion and preparation outside the structured classroom program. Quiet space for individual and group study is available during the day and on weekends when the library is open. A student lounge is provided with a microwave oven and vending machines containing a variety of snacks and beverages.
Barbri Study Materials / Bar Support
Cal Northern School of Law contracts with BARBRI, a commercial bar review provider, to provide law study materials to its students. Access to BARBRI study materials, including study outlines and online resources are provided to each student in the first semester of enrollment.
Student I.D. Cards
Each student is issued an ID card within the Fall semester of their first year. The card will be good throughout the student’s attendance at Cal Northern and entitles the student to discounts on study aids and workshops offered by the Student Bar Association.
Consumer Information Disclosures
Student Records / Privacy Act
The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, protects students from having their records released to persons or institutions without the written consent of the student. Exceptions are Cal Northern personnel, officials of other institutions in which the student seeks to enroll, accrediting agencies carrying out their accreditation functions, organizations providing the student’s financial aid, and persons in compliance with a judicial order. Exceptions also may be made for persons in an emergency in order to protect the health or safety of a student. Certain “directory” information may be released to third parties, such as name, city, and enrollment status. A student may restrict or prevent access to this information by requesting in writing that the Registrar not release this information. Cal Northern School of Law is committed to maintaining student confidentiality.
RETENTION OF STUDENT RECORDS
Pursuant to Cal Northern’s Recordkeeping Policy and Procedure active student files are maintained in fire-proof locking filing cabinets in the Administration office. Hard copy records of Cal Northern’s past students are maintained in the on-site storage room. Hard copy and electronic records are maintained for all student files from 1983-2009. The law school is currently in the process of scanning student files from 2012-2016. With the implementation of the electronic data management system Populi in 2016, all student files as of Fall 2017 are maintained electronically through the law school’s data management system as well as hard copy on-site. If the original records are lost, stolen, destroyed or corrupted, duplicate records shall be created from records maintained on either the law school’s server, off-site backup or Populi. Student transcripts and degree or certificate granted are maintained indefinitely and all other records are maintained for 5 years.
Alumni Association
Every graduate is eligible to become a member of the Alumni Association. The Alumni Association hosts social events throughout the year, publishes an Alumni Directory, and awards an annual Alumni Scholarship to a graduating student each Spring.
Textbooks
Current textbook lists will be available upon receipt of the Fall, Spring and Summer Student Bulletins. Students are advised to wait to purchase texts until receipt of the bulletin in order to purchase the current edition.
First Year Textbooks
Fall/Spring Semesters 2024-2025
Principles of Tort Law, Concise Hornbook, 4th Ed. (2016) ISBN: 978-0314285621 Marshall S. Shapo (West Academic Publishing) *Recommended |
Purchase on Amazon | |
Prosser, Wade and Schwartz’s Torts: Cases and Materials, 14th Ed. (2020) ISBN: 978-1684674077 Schwartz, Kelly and Partlett (Foundation Press/University Casebook Series/West Academic) *Required |
Purchase on Amazon | |
*New | Rules of Contract Law, 2023 Statutory Supp (ISBN: 978-15438-50826) Knapp, Crystal, Prince, Hart & Silverstein (Aspen/Wolters Kluwer Pub.) *Required |
Purchase on Amazon |
*New | Problems in Contract Law: Cases and Materials, 10th Ed. (2023) ISBN: 979-8886-144130 Knapp, Crystal, Prince, Hart & Silverstein (Aspen/Wolters Kluwer Pub.) *Required |
Purchase on Amazon |
Criminal Law: Cases and Materials, 4th Ed. (2017) ISBN: 978-15310-04187 Saltzburg, Diamond, Kinports, Morawetz and Little (Carolina Academic Press) *Required |
Purchase on Amazon | |
Mastering the Law School Exam, 2nd Ed. (2023) ISBN: 978-16345-92253 Suzanne Darrow-Kleinhaus (West Academic) *Required |
Purchase on Amazon | |
Law School Without Fear, Strategies for Success, 3rd Ed. (2009) ISBN: 978-15994-14195 Shapo & Shapo (Foundation Press) *Required |
Purchase on Amazon |
Summer Semester 2025
California Style Manual, 4th Ed. (2001) ISBN 13: 978-0314233707 Edward Jessen (Thompson West) *Required |
Purchase on Amazon | |
New |
Alternative Dispute Resolution: The Avocate’s Perspective (2016) ISBN: 978-63281-544-6 Carolina Academic Press *Required |
Purchase on Amazon |
Second Year Textbooks
Fall/Spring Semesters 2024-2025
Evidence: Cases, Commentary, and Problems, 5th Ed., 2020 (ISBN No. 978-15438-04577) Slansky & Roth (Aspen/WoltersKluwer) *Required |
Purchase on Amazon | |
Property: Cases and Materials (University Casebook Series), 2007 (ISBN 978-15994-12528 ) Cribbet, Findley, Smith & Dzienkowski (Foundation Press) *Required |
Purchase on Amazon | |
Principles of Property Law (Concise Hornbook Series), 7th Ed., 2016 (ISBN 978-163460-7018, 1634607015) Hovenkamp, Kurtz & Gallanis (West Academic) *Required |
Purchase on Amazon | |
*New |
California Probate Code 2024 Annotated, California Desktop Codes (ISBN 9781731985880) Hirsch & McGovern (Thompson Reuters) *Required |
Purchase via Publisher |
*New |
Pleading and Procedure, Cases and Materials, 12th Ed., 2020 (ISBN-13: 978-164242-7622) Hazard, Fletcher, Bundy and Bradt (Foundation Press) Spring Semester *Required |
Purchase on Amazon |
*New |
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: 2024 Edition: With Statutory Supplement (Quick Desk Reference) ISBN: 978-164002-1440 (Michigan Legal Publishing) Spring Semester *Required |
Purchase on Amazon |
Summer Semester 2025
*New |
Pleading and Procedure, Cases and Materials, 12th Ed., 2020 (ISBN-13: 978-164242-7622) Hazard, Fletcher, Bundy and Bradt (Foundation Press) *Required |
Purchase on Amazon |
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Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: 2024 Edition: With Statutory Supplement (Quick Desk Reference) ISBN: 978-164002-1440 (Michigan Legal Publishing) *Required |
Purchase on Amazon |
*New |
Alternative Dispute Resolution: The Avocate’s Perspective (2016) ISBN: 978-63281-544-6 Carolina Academic Press *Required |
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Third Year Textbooks
Fall Semester
Community Property in a Nutshell, 2018 (ISBN: 978-1683286844) Jo Carrillo (West Academic) *Recommended |
Purchase on Amazon | |
Constitutional Law, 21st Ed., 2022 (ISBN: 978-1636593647) Noah R. Feldman and Kathleen M. Sullivan (Foundation Press) *Required |
Purchase on Amazon | |
*New | Business Structures, 5th Edition (2019) ISBN: 978-16402-0413-3 Epstein, Freer, Roberts and Shepherd (West Academic) *Required |
Purchase on Amazon |
*New | Cases and Materials on California Community Property Law, 11th Ed., (2017) ISBN 978-0314-28372-6 Jo Jo Carrillo and Gail Boreman Bird (West Academic) *Required |
Purchase on Amazon |
Corporations and Other Business Organizations: Statutes, Rules, Materials and Forms, 2021 Ed. (ISBN 978-16470-8902-3) Cox & Eisenberg (West Academic/Foundation Press) *Recommended |
Purchase on Amazon |
Summer Semester 2025
Pleading and Procedure, Cases and Materials, 12th Ed., 2020 (ISBN-13: 978-164242-7622) Hazard, Fletcher, Bundy and Bradt (Foundation Press) *Required |
Purchase on Amazon | |
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: 2024 Edition: With Statutory Supplement (Quick Desk Reference) ISBN: 978-164002-1440 (Michigan Legal Publishing) *Required |
Purchase on Amazon |
Fourth Year Textbooks
Fall/Spring Semesters 2024-2025
*New | Criminal Procedure & the Constitution, Leading Supreme Court Cases and Introductory Text (2023 Edition) ISBN: 978-16856-19893 Israel, Kamisar, LaFave, King & Primus (West Academic Pub.) *Required |
Purchase on Amazon |
*New | Legal Reasoning, Writing, and Other Lawyering Skills, 4th Ed. (2022) ISBN: 978-15310-24048 Slocum and Nerger (Carolina Academic Press) *Required |
Purchase on Amazon |
*New | Equitable Remedies, Restitution and Damages, Cases and Materials (2011) ISBN 978-031419-4930, 0314194932 Kovacic-Fleischer, Nelson & Love (West Academic Pub) *Required |
Purchase on Amazon |
*New |
Principles of Remedies Law, 4th Ed. (2022) Concise Hornbook Series 978-16470-84080 Shoben, Kelly & Weaver (West Academic Publishing) |
Purchase on Amazon |
Winnin’ Time!, 5th or 6th Ed. Steven Harris, Esq. *Required |
Purchase via Publisher |