(Photo courtesy of Bildungsroman/Wikimedia Commons)

CU’s law school has created a one-year, 28-credit Master studies Law Degree and is now accepting applications.

The program will enable students with at least an undergraduate degree to obtain legal training without fully committing to a Juris Doctor.

“There are a range of opportunities for professionals interested in legal-related fields who are not practicing lawyers,” said law school Dean Phil Weiser. “The MSL degree is a targeted program that will prepare students to obtain and excel in such positions.”

“It sounds like if you know exactly what you want to do (the MSL) can be a smarter path,” said first-year law student Nick Trevino. “But a J.D. provides more flexibility from what I understand.”

MSL students will be admitted into different specialty tracks, each with different course options.

These courses include an overview of the American legal system, legal research, writing and analysis and other courses relating to the student’s chosen specialty track.

The first specialty track, which debuts in August 2015, focuses on training students as patent agents.

Upon completion of the MSL, patent law degree students will be prepared for the patent bar exam.

“The ever more technologically advanced nature of our economy has created a growing demand for employees who can help companies secure the patents necessary to protect valuable ideas and products,” said Bill Mooz, scholar-in-residence at Colorado Law, a former senior in-house counsel and a leader in developing the MSL degree.

More specialty tracks will be added in the coming years.

Contact CU Independent Breaking News Editor Sam Klomhaus at Samuel.Klomhaus@Colorado.edu.