Upon completing 43 credit hours (one half of the credits required to graduate), a JD student may obtain an Illinois Supreme Court Rule 711 License to practice law under the terms and conditions set forth in the Rule. Licenses are available only for students who perform legal services for government agencies or not-for-profit organizations.
A student may apply for the license at the end of the semester in which they complete the requisite number of hours; however, the license cannot be processed until grades for those hours have been submitted, which occurs either in late January (Autumn semester), late June (Spring semester), or mid August (Summer semester). The link to the application form is on the law school website on the Student Resources page. Completed applications (including the supervising adviser’s signature and the required photograph) should be turned in to the Office of Student Affairs. The application will be forwarded to the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, which issues the license and mails it to the student. Processing time is three to six weeks.