Prerequisites: RCC*; approval of Academic Dean. Independent study in a specialized area of the law, under the supervision of a faculty member; may be taken for 1, 2 or 3 credit hours, depending upon the nature of the research study involved, but in no event will more than three credit hours be applied toward the J.D. or LL.M. degree. Approval to register given upon a showing that a legitimate independent research study project has been approved by a faculty member, that the faculty member believes the amount of study time and effort likely to be involved in the project is commensurate with the number of contemplated credit hours, and that the faculty member will provide adequate supervision during the course of the project to justify the award of academic credit. It is the responsibility of any student seeking to enroll in Independent Legal Research to submit a written statement, signed by the supervising faculty member, indicating compliance with the criteria set forth above. Completion of an appropriate 2 or 3 credit hour project will satisfy the Upper Level Writing requirement. Faculty may exercise the discretion to award credit but to withhold upper level writing certification for a project.