Elon Law Flex Program: A Part-Time Law School Program in Charlotte
A Part-Time Law School Program that Fits Your Schedule. In Person. In Charlotte.
You shouldn’t have to move away to pursue your dream of practicing law.
Recognizing an unmet demand for legal education in the largest American city without a law school, and with permissions from the American Bar Association and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, Elon Law is launching an in-person, part-time program in Charlotte starting in Fall 2024. The Elon Law Flex Program will replicate, over four years or more, our highly experiential curriculum with the same distinguished faculty teaching in-person to meet the needs of aspiring attorneys in the Queen City seeking to study law while continuing to work, care for family members, or fulfill other obligations.
At the same time, students in the Flex Program will have the opportunity to take many of the same elective courses (plus others tailored to the Charlotte market such as banking law, health law, and sports and entertainment law) and participate in extracurricular and experiential learning programs. Elon Law already has a strong connection to Charlotte through the residencies-in-practice and internships our students complete with the city’s law firms, judges, and corporations. The Flex Program will allow us to build on those relationships.
We know the Elon Law Flex Program is a great opportunity for career professionals, those who are daytime caregivers, and others unable to commit to a full-time legal education. For those who are completing their undergraduate studies or who wish to begin their legal careers in as little time as possible, our established, full-time 2.5-year program in Greensboro is an ideal offering. Contact our admissions team to discuss which program may be best for you.
Be a part of growing the Charlotte legal community from within.
South End is Where Your Legal Journey Begins
South End, a bustling neighborhood filled with restaurants, retail, and industry just minutes from the Uptown central business district, is where Elon Law will teach the next generation of aspiring attorneys. Learn from our faculty in Elon University’s new state-of-the-art regional center at 330 West Tremont Avenue, a short walk from the LYNX Blue Line light rail system. Ample parking shared with Hi-Wire Brewing Co. makes Elon Charlotte a convenient location for working professionals to attend evening classes and to network with future colleagues.
We’ve Been Different by Design
With a focus on learning by doing unlike anywhere else, Elon University School of Law has integrated traditional classroom instruction with a required, full-time residency-in-practice field placement with a judge or attorney for all students. Our established curriculum in Greensboro today provides a logically sequenced program of professional preparation and is accomplished in 2.5 years, which provides exceptional value by lowering tuition and allowing graduates to begin their legal careers six months earlier than other law schools.
Our approach, complemented by opportunities to study in legal clinics, compete in moot court competitions, and edit scholarly articles for the Elon Law Review, regularly earns Elon Law national recognition for practical training. No wonder our annual number of applications for admission has increased 50% over the past decade.
Academic Calendars and Information for Flex Program Students
2024-2025 Academic Calendar for the Elon Law Flex Program (as of June 6, 2024)
August Term 2024
- August 13 (Tuesday): Registration & Orientation
- August 14 (Wednesday): Orientation
- August 14-29 (Wednesday-Thursday): Introduction to Legal Studies (ILS)
- August 30-September 2 (Friday-Monday): Break
Fall Trimester 2024
- September 3 (Tuesday): Fall Trimester Begins
- October 15 (Tuesday): Last Day to Withdraw from a Course or Law School with a “W”
- October 17-20 (Thursday-Sunday): Fall Break
- November 26 (Tuesday): Last Day of Fall Trimester
- November 27-29 (Wednesday-Friday): Thanksgiving Holidays
- November 30-December 1 (Saturday-Sunday): Reading Days
- December 2-9 (Monday-Monday): Final Exams
Winter Break
- Tuesday-Sunday (December 10-January 5)
Winter Trimester 2025
- January 6 (Monday): Winter Trimester Begins
- January 20 (Monday): Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday
- February 10 (Monday): Last Day to Withdraw from a Course or Law School with a “W”
- March 17 (Monday): Last Day of Winter Trimester
- March 18 (Tuesday): Reading Day
- March 19-22 (Wednesday-Saturday): Final Exams
Spring Break
- March 23-30 (Sunday-Sunday)
Spring Trimester 2025
- March 31 (Monday): Spring Trimester Begins
- April 18 (Friday): Easter Holiday (No Classes)
- May 5 (Monday): Last Day to Withdraw from a Course or Law School with a “W”
- May 26 (Monday): Memorial Day Holiday (No Classes)
- June 9 (Monday): Last Day of Spring Trimester
- June 10 (Tuesday): Reading Day
- June 11-14 (Wednesday-Saturday): Final Exams
Summer Session I 2025 (Optional)
- June 16 (Monday): Summer Session I Begins
- June 17 (Tuesday): Last Day to Drop/Add
- June 27 (Friday): Last Day to Withdraw from a Course with a “W”
- July 4 (Friday): Independence Day Holiday (No Classes)
- July 14 (Monday): Last Day of Summer Session I
- July 15-16 (Tuesday-Wednesday): Reading Days
- July 17-19 (Thursday-Saturday): Final Exams
Summer Session II 2025 (Optional)
- July 21 (Monday): Summer Session II Begins
- July 22 (Tuesday): Last Day to Drop/Add
- August 1 (Friday): Last Day to Withdraw from a Course with a “W”
- August 15 (Friday): Last Day of Summer Session II Classes
- August 16-17 (Saturday-Sunday): Reading Days
- August 18-21 (Monday-Thursday): Final Exams
Elon Law Flex Program Four-Year Curriculum Calendar
| Flex Year 1 | Flex Year 2 | Flex Year 3 | Flex Year 4 | |
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| Total Credit Hours | 22 (plus summer) | 21-22 (plus summer) | 17-24 (plus summer) | 10-16 |
Curriculum Notes
Information is subject to adjustment. Additional information about the Flex Program academic program and curriculum will be provided in the 2024-25 Flex Program Student Handbook, distributed to students by early August 2024. In the interim, the following notes are important for entering students.
Students must successfully complete 86 credit hours for graduation. The curriculum grid above assumes that the standard program graduation date will be at the end of the winter trimester of the Flex 4 year, allowing graduates to take the bar exam in July. Students not graduating at the end of that winter trimester would continue to take courses to satisfy graduation requirements.
While the standard program completion time is four years, students may take up to six years from their initial enrollment to complete all of the requirements for graduation. To stay on track to graduate in four years, students should take the required courses and the number of credit hours of “core” and elective courses noted in each term. Students may not take more than 8 credit hours per trimester.
The following courses are required for graduation: Introduction to Legal Studies (ILS), Legal Research, Criminal Law, Criminal Law Lab, Torts, Contracts, Civil Procedure, Property, Constitutional Law, Legal Method & Communication (LMC) I, II, & III, Business Associations, Evidence, Professional Responsibility, and Bar Exam Foundations.
Students are expected to take each of the required courses in the year and term indicated above. Students must seek approval from the administration to take less than the full course load for a term. Each required course likely will be offered only one trimester each academic year, so if a course is missed in the term offered, a student will need to wait until the next academic year to take the course, which may present scheduling challenges. For example, a student who misses Criminal Law in the Flex 1 fall trimester may not be able to take Criminal Law in Flex 2, since Civil Procedure is a required course in the Flex 2 fall trimester and may meet at the same time as Criminal Law.
While most courses will be offered in person at the Elon Charlotte facility, students will have the opportunity to take several online courses, particularly in the Flex 3 and Flex 4 years. Students will take 28 credit hours of online courses during their time in the Flex Program.
“Core” courses are not required but are tested on the bar exam, including Family Law, Wills & Trusts, Criminal Procedure, Sales, Secured Transactions, Real Estate Transactions, and Remedies. Students must take at least 8 credit hours of core courses. Electives are not required and not typically tested on the bar exam. In the spring trimester of the Flex 3 year, at least one of the courses taken must be a core course. During the Flex 4 year and beyond, students may take exclusively elective courses, assuming all required courses have been taken and a student has taken at least 8 credit hours of Core Courses.
In addition to the required courses listed above, students must complete the Upper-Level Writing Requirement (ULWR) and take a Communications Course in the Flex 3 or Flex 4 year to satisfy graduation requirements.
Seven (7) credit hours must involve experiential learning. Experiential courses may include Residency, Externships, Moot Court, Mock Trial, and Clinics. These courses will be taken during elective time blocks or summer sessions.
Bar Exam Foundations must be taken no more than one trimester before graduation. Students planning to graduate at the end of the winter or spring trimester will take Bar Exam Foundations in the winter trimester. Students planning to graduate at the end of the fall trimester will take Bar Exam Foundations in that trimester.
*Summer School: Each summer, there are two sessions of summer school ranging from four to five weeks in length. Many summer school courses are offered asynchronously online, but some may be in person. While students have the option of which summer(s) to enroll in summer school, they must take a minimum of 6 credit hours over the course of the first three summers. Students may take a maximum of 6 credit hours per summer session. If a student is required to take Mastering Legal Analysis (MLA), 3 of the required 7 credit hours will be MLA. Students also have the option to take required, core, and elective courses during the summer, which may reduce the number of credits needed in subsequent trimesters. Summer school courses are subject to availability and prerequisites. (For example, in the summer after Flex 1, students are eligible only to take Professional Responsibility, Secured Transactions, and Sales.) The Elon University Office of Financial Planning has indicated3 that students who enroll in at least 2 credit hours in a summer session will be eligible for Federal financial aid for that session.
Orientation & August 2024 Schedule (as of June 6, 2024)
Tuesday, August 13
5:00-8:30 p.m.
Registration & Orientation
Wednesday, August 14
6:00-7:00 p.m.
Tech/Library Orientation
7:15-9:00 p.m.
Introduction to Legal Studies
Thursday, August 15
6:00-9:30 p.m.
Introduction to Legal Studies
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from August 19-29
6:00-9:30 p.m.
Introduction to Legal Studies
Fall 2024 Class Schedule (as of June 6, 2024)
Mondays
Criminal Law
6:00-7:30 p.m.
Professor Bob Minarcin
Wednesdays
Criminal Law Lab
6:00-7:00 p.m.
Adjunct Professors Shavonn Bennette & Robert Corbett
Legal Research
7:15-8:15 p.m.
Professor Colby Groover
Thursdays
Criminal Law
6:00-7:30 p.m.
Professor Bob Minarcin
Introduction to Legal Studies (ILS)
7:45-8:45 p.m.
Professor Marty McAulliffe
Tuition, Other Expenses & Financial Aid
Tuition
Flex Program tuition is charged per credit hour. For the 2024-25 academic year (August 2024, Fall 2024, Winter 2025 and Spring 2025) tuition is $1,512 per credit hour. This tuition rate is subject to increase in future academic years.
Estimated Additional Expenses
Additional (indirect) expenses are those not actually charged by Elon Law. They include expenses for housing, food, books, transportation, and other personal/miscellaneous expenses.
The numbers below represent the maximum amount a student may receive in financial aid for these indirect costs. They should not be viewed as an indication of the actual expenses incurred by each student, as such expenses will vary widely among individual students. In addition, these estimated additional expenses assume, because the Flex Program is a part-time program, that students will be relying on employment income or other financial resources aside from financial aid for most of their living expenses. Our Office of Financial Planning is available to assist with your financial planning and financial aid package.
Estimated Additional Expenses – August Term 2024
Housing and Meals: $1,900
Books: $150
Transportation: $100
Personal/Miscellaneous: $200
Total Additional Estimated Expenses for August Term: $2,350*
Estimated Additional Expenses – Each Trimester 2024-25
Housing and Meals: $5,727
Books: $300
Transportation: $450
Personal/Miscellaneous: $700
Total Additional Estimated Expenses Each Trimester: $7,177*
*Tuition for each term will be added to the estimated additional expenses each term/trimester to arrive at the total estimated cost of attendance per term.
Scholarships and Financial Aid
Some scholarship assistance is available. Scholarships are awarded based on academic abilities, potential for the study of law and other considerations.
Scholarships are awarded to accepted applicants after a review of their admission files. All accepted applicants are considered for scholarships. No separate application form is necessary to be considered for a merit-based or endowed scholarship.
The law school is often contacted by other institutions making scholarships available to prospective and current law students, and this list includes some of those external scholarship opportunities. Access Lex Institute also maintains a comprehensive scholarship database.
Many students borrow funds to finance their legal education. To be eligible for Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans, applicants must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Elon’s federal school code is 002927. Law students may be eligible to borrow additional funds through the Federal Grad Plus loan program. Applicants should complete the FAFSA as soon as possible after the form is made available by the federal Department of Education each year. The FAFSA may be obtained online at www.studentaid.gov. This form is used to calculate a student aid index (SAI). The Financial Aid office will determine a student’s financial need based on the cost of attendance (tuition and living allowance) and the SAI. For more information, please contact the university’s Financial Aid office at (800) 334-8448 or (336) 278-7640. The fax number is (336) 278-7639.
The Elon University Office of Financial Aid has indicated that a student must be enrolled in at least 5 credit hours during a trimester to be eligible for the federal loans discussed above. For summer school, students must enroll in at least 2 credit hours in a session to be eligible for federal loans for the session. For August Term, a student must enroll in at least 2 credit hours to be eligible for federal loans for the term.
Events for the Elon Law Flex Program in Charlotte
There are no events scheduled at this time. Please check back for future online and in-person events.
*Virtual chat session access will be sent via email the day of the event and will be available on the virtual chat sessions page. If you haven’t already done so, please fill out the “Request for Updates” form at the bottom of this page to ensure you get an email invitation for these events!
Future in-person events for the Elon Law Flex Program will resume in Fall 2024 due to facility renovations that will serve an inaugural class scheduled to start in August.
How to Apply
Elon University School of Law is now accepting applications for its Flex Program for the start term of Fall 2024. Applications are also open for our full-time program in Greensboro. Applications are reviewed and admissions offers extended on a rolling basis throughout the admissions cycle. The application for Elon Law is free of charge.
Elon Law only accepts applications submitted through the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). Applicants must complete the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), register with LSAC’s Credential Assembly Service, and provide two letters of recommendation to be forwarded to LSAC’s Credential Assembly Service. Please review the application instructions as you are completing your application.
Questions? Email us at lawadmissions@elon.edu or call (888) ELON-LAW or (336) 279-9229. We look forward to helping you achieve your dream of becoming a lawyer. We frequently offer virtual chat sessions and we invite you to join with a chat link sent to your email.