The law curriculum at Iowa is designed with the goal of seeing students develop fundamental lawyer's skills and an appreciation of the roles of law and lawyers in society. First-year students take a defined curriculum selected to provide them with a solid foundation in the fundamental workings of the law and legal principles. Their schedules are augmented by participation in the small section program. In the second and third years, students are exposed to a broad array of substantive areas of the law, with focus on fact-gathering, interviewing, counseling, drafting, transaction planning, negotiation, and litigation. They also concentrate course work or writing and research opportunities in particular areas of interest.

Very few common requirements exist in the second and third years. All students must take Constitutional Law II and Professional Responsibility before graduating. Overall, students must complete 84 academic credits and four upper class writing units to be awarded their Juris Doctor.