S-Term 2023

Start Your Next Year at Stanford Law Inspired

September 11-21, 2023

Inspire. Innovate. Lead. That’s how SLS keeps legal education relevant and engaging. This September, 2L, 3L and JSD students can experience our latest innovation: the S-Term.

This fall, for nine days before the start of fall term, S-Term will offer a unique, immersive learning experience designed for students interested in exploring new fields.  Selecting from intriguing courses not offered during the regular SLS term, you can strengthen your knowledge base — and satisfy your curiosity — while studying with faculty leaders, renowned practitioners, judges, international academics, and an intimate cohort of peers. Best of all, you can start your next year at SLS inspired.

This September, let the world come to you when Very Important Practitioners and Visiting International Professors convene at Stanford Law for S-Term.

Registration opens April 11 – 25, 2023.

Info session

Dean Jenny Martinez describes this exciting new offering Learn more and meet the people teaching S-term courses.

S-Term 2023 1

Why S-Term? Explore the Benefits

This September, join the first cohort of 2Ls and 3Ls to experience this only-at-SLS experiment in inspirational learning. Sign up for an intensive, S-Term offering to:

  • Learn from visiting faculty and Very Important Practitioners not available during the regular school year, including: the former Chairman of the SEC, DC Circuit Judges, the former publisher/CEO of The Washington Post, former Secretary of State, and visiting international faculty.
  • Engage in-depth with one instructor and focus on a single subject
  • Balance your workload across three quarters
  • Get hands-on training through field study courses that take you off campus
  • With a small cohort on campus early, bond with SLS peers
  • Experience it all with no additional tuition
  • Join the experiment and shape opportunities for future 2Ls and 3Ls

Courses That Spark Curiosity and Expand Skills

VIP* Instructors

* Very Important Practitioners and Visiting International Professors

  • Former Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission

Jay Clayton served as the Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from May 2017 to December 2020. He is a Senior Policy Advisor and Of Counsel at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, advising companies on strategic, crisis management and corporate governance matters.

  • Judge (retired), DC Circuit

Thomas B. Griffith was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the D. C. Circuit by President George W. Bush in 2005. He retired from the D. C. Circuit in 2020 and is currently Special Counsel at the law firm of Hunton Andrews Kurth.

  • Senior Projects Director, Inter Mediate

Ameya Kilara is a lawyer and award winning peace mediation expert. She is currently a senior projects director at Inter Mediate, London, an organisation that provides confidential strategic advice and negotiation support to Heads of State and leaders of opposition groups attempting to reach political settlements.

  • JD 1996, Managing Partner, Andreessen Horowitz

Scott Kupor is the managing partner at Andreessen Horowitz, perhaps the largest venture capital firm in the world. He helped found the firm and has overseen its rapid growth, from three employees to 150+ and from $300 million in assets under management to more than $35 billion. He manages the firm's investor relations team, and is responsible for the firm's growth initiatives.

  • Partner, Sullivan and Cromwell

Recognized by Euromoney Legal Media Group as a “Rising Star in Finance” in 2018, Sarah Payne is managing partner of Sullivan & Cromwell’s Palo Alto office and is co-head of the Capital Markets Group and Technology M&A and Finance Group. Sarah has a broad-based corporate practice advising clients on a wide range of transactions, focusing on public and private securities offerings and public and private company mergers and acquisitions.

  • JD ‘01, General Counsel, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

Mr. Strauss has extensive commercial and development market experience. He began his career in 2001 in the London and Paris offices of the New York law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP. After five years, he joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as Legal Counsel. From the IMF, he went on to serve at World Bank Group’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency as Senior Counsel.

  • JD 1992, Former CEO and Publisher The Washington Post

Katharine Weymouth is former CEO and publisher of The Washington Post and its affiliated publishing businesses, a position she held from 2008 until 2014. Weymouth joined the newspaper in 1996 as assistant counsel. After two years, she moved to Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive (WPNI), then the online publishing subsidiary of the Company, as associate counsel.

Slated for 2024

Future S-Terms are in the works. So far, S-term 2024 includes:

  • Leading M&A lawyer and chairman, Pershing Square

Corporate Control Fights, Mergers and Shareholder Activists

FAQs

What is S-Term?

S-Term is a special session of Stanford Law courses offered to 2L, 3L and JSD students during the nine days just before fall term begins. Students have the opportunity to dive deep with a small cohort of peers into subjects not explored during the regular SLS school year. Instructors are judges and VIPs (Very Important Practitioners and Visiting International Professors) who bring unique perspective and expertise to this intensive learning experience, and who are not available during the regular school year.

S-Term is also an ideal time for field study courses that combine on-campus learning with trips to visit important institutions and meet with other academics, regulators, and policy-makers. For instance, we plan a Civil Rights field study trip for S-Term 2024 (lead by Rick Banks).

When is it?
S-Term begins on September 11 and concludes on September 21. Course dates and times vary, but are within that window.
How many courses can I take?
You may take one S-Term course.
How do I enroll?
Enrollment will be limited for some courses, so you will be asked to rank three choices during registration. Students who register by the April 25 deadline will have the best chance of being enrolled in their first choice. Registration opens April 11 and closes April 25. After that, late registration will be available for some classes.
How many units will I earn?
Courses are generally 2 units, but units vary by course. Field study courses offer more credits.
How will courses be graded?
Because S-Term emphasizes experience and experimentation, courses this year are offered as a Mandatory Pass.
Will S-term be offered beyond 2023?
Yes! Future S-Terms are in the works. Condaleeza Rice, former Secretary of State and director of the Hoover Institution, will teach a 2024 S-Term course on national security. Rick Banks will lead a field study course on Civil Rights, with plans to visit Birmingham, Alabama, locations and institutions important to the civil rights movement.
Are classes open enrollment?
Some classes are open enrollment, others are lottery or consent of the instructor.
Are there tuition charges for S-Term courses?
S-Term courses are part of your regular quarterly tuition charges for the Autumn Quarter you plan to enroll.
How do I enroll in an S-Term course in Axess?
You may add an S-Term course to your study list when Axess opens for Autumn Quarter course enrollment. Students accepted in a limited enrollment S-Term course will receive a permission number to enroll.
Do S-Term course units count toward the minimum and maximum number of quarter units for the Autumn Quarter?
Successfully completed S-Term course units may count toward the minimum number of quarter units required for Law students in Autumn Quarter. S-Term course units do not count toward the maximum number of units allowed for Law students in the regular Autumn Quarter. See “Minimum and Maximum Number of Quarter Units” in the SLS Student Handbook.
Can students enroll in S-Term and a full-time SLS clinic (with approval) in Autumn Quarter?
Yes
How can I find housing?
If you plan to live on campus, you will be able to move in before the start of S-term. You may apply for the first round of the housing Lottery on Axess between Wednesday, April 5, 2023, and Wednesday, May 3, 2023. You will be able to request an early arrival date on your fall application. More information about the 2023-24 Lottery will be posted at thelottery.stanford.edu by the end of March 2023. If you have questions or need assistance, contact R&DE Student Housing Assignments via Services and Support.
When will I learn more?
There will be an information session, and an opportunity to hear from instructors, when registration opens in April. Stay tuned for more.

Stanford Law School reserves the right to change any part of the schedule at any time including (1) add or delete courses from its offerings; (2) change times, days, or locations of courses; (3) cancel for insufficient registration or academic/administrative decision without notice.