Transfer Students

Each year a few positions in our second-year J.D. class become available, and we welcome applications for Early Action and Regular Action transfer into our innovative J.D. program.

If you have any questions about applying with advanced standing as a second-year student, please feel free to contact our admissions office: 800-756-0036 or lawadmissions@case.edu.

Students currently enrolled in other law schools who wish to take courses at Case Western Reserve University School of Law for credit toward the other school's degree requirements may apply to attend as a Visiting Student. Visitor applicants must submit the following:

• A completed application, including the application fee (waived for LSAC electronic applicants);
• A letter explaining their reason for wishing to take courses at Case Western Reserve University School of Law;
• An original CAS report;
• An official transcript of completed law school work;
• A letter of good standing from their dean;
• A letter from their dean indicating that the school will accept academic credits from Case Western Reserve University School of Law; and
• An official class rank after all law schoolwork completed.

Students currently enrolled in an accredited law school may apply for admission with advanced standing. The number of transfer applicants that we accept depends on the number of spots available in the second-year class. The primary factor in the admission decision is prior law school performance; undergraduate grades and the LSAT score will also be considered.

Transfer applicants must submit:

• A completed application, including the application fee (waived for LSAC Electronic Applications);
• Personal statement;
• Two Letters of Recommendation
• An original CAS report;
• An official transcript of completed law school work;
• A letter of good standing from your dean; and
• An official class rank after all law schoolwork completed.

The law school transcript and class standing must be based upon all course work completed.

As a transfer applicant, you have the option of applying Early Action. Applications received and complete by March 30 will be reviewed and decisions made by April 30. Completed applications must include final grades from your first semester at law school. Offers of early decision will be conditioned upon your successful completion of all first year courses at the law school from which you are transferring.

The deadline for applying with advanced standing through our Regular Decision Process is July 1. Applications will be reviewed as they become complete and candidates will be notified of final decisions within two weeks after the file becomes complete.

Transfer Application Deadlines
Application	Notification	Seat Deposit
For entry Spring Semester
December 1	December 15	January 3/$250
For entry Fall Semester - Early Action Program
March 30	April 30	May 15/$250
For entry Fall Semester - Standard Decision Program
July 1	August 1 or later as completed	Two weeks after date of admission/$250

We have our own Office of Financial Services, which assists you with the student loan process. We encourage you to begin the financial aid application process before receiving an offer of admission, because it may take up to four months to process the application. While we will process late financial aid applications, these funds may not be available by the start of the semester.

If you are admitted as a Transfer Student with Advanced Standing, you are not eligible for law school scholarships or grants.


Transfer students who enroll at the law school typically receive advanced standing for up to 31 credit hours for coursework taken at another law school. Subject to approval by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, credit will be granted only for courses in which transfer students received grades of "C" or better.

Early Action Transfer applicants will have equal access to our special curricular offerings in the fall semester. The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs will work closely with faculty to ensure ample opportunity for admission to high-demand courses for our Regular Decision Transfer applicants as well.

Transfer students must complete any Case Western Reserve School of Law course requirements for which substantially comparable transfer credit was not granted. These include:

• CORE 1 and 2 (fundamental lawyering skills, including research and writing);
• CORE 3 (fundamental lawyering skills, focusing on transactional settings);
• Strategic Representation and Communication;
• First-year Perspectives Course;
• The Writing Requirement; and
• Professional Responsibility

Your Transfer application status will affect the timing of your entry into the CSO process. Because admitted Early Action Transfer candidates are notified by April 30 and have submitted their Seat Deposit by May 15, they enter the CSO process ahead of many CSO deadlines and program opportunities. (The first deadline for students planning to submit interview bids is early July and our first interview program is in early August.) Admitted Regular Decision Process Transfer applicants typically enter the CSO process in the late summer.

• Personalized career counseling with a member of the CSO
• In-person or telephone appointments to discuss your second summer job search, participating in the Fall Interview Program, and preparing for interviews
• Review of your resume and cover letter
• Access and a password for our on-line interview program and job posting system
• Emails about Fall Interview Program events, employers, and deadlines
• Information about participating in other national, regional, and local fall job fairs.

• Personalized career counseling with a member of the CSO
• Depending upon timing of admission, one-on-one appointments to discuss your second summer job search, participating in the school-year Interview Program, preparing for interviews, and review of your resume and cover letter
• Access and a password for our on-line interview program and job posting system
• Information about participating in other school-year national, regional, and local fall job fairs

• On-Campus Interviews (starting with Early Interview week in mid-August and continuing throughout the Fall semester);
• Off-Campus Interviews in Chicago, New York, Washington D.C., New England and Southern California;
• Resume Collect;
• Resume Direct

Case Western Reserve University School of Law
11075 East Boulevard
Cleveland, OH 44106
Direct: 216.368.6353
Fax: 216-368-4713
Email: lawjobs@case.edu


We offer an Orientation program prior to the start of Fall classes, which is specially designed to assist you as a new Transfer student. The Orientation includes:

• An introduction to CaseArc
• An introduction to administrative services at Case School of Law
• An opportunity to take care of administrative matters, including courses registration, computer and university services, and obtaining a locker and mail folder

Early Action Transfer candidates who have paid their Seat Deposit will be able to compete for a second-year slot in one of these four academic journals: Law Review, Journal of International Law, and Health Matrix, and the Journal of Law, Technology and the Internet.

You will be selected on the basis of a writing competition that begins after the Spring Semester. All second-year associates then participate in a dedicated journal seminar, which provides academic and technical support for student scholarship from senior scholars, research librarians, and notes advisers.

Early Action candidates also have the opportunity to join the Canada-U.S. Law Journal, a joint publication with the University of Western Ontario faculty of law, which conducts its selection in the early fall semester upon a review of grades, a citation exam, and an interview. There is no seminar associated with the Canada-United States Law Journal.

Depending on the availability of student slots at the end of the summer, Regular Decision candidates may have a limited opportunity to compete for a position on one of the four academic journals. Regular Decision candidates will also have the opportunity to join the Canada-U.S. Law Journal.