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First-Year Curriculum

Academics

Areas of Study Programs

First-Year Curriculum
Upper-Level Curriculum
JD x Certificates
Dual Degrees
Degree Requirements

Interdisciplinary Advantage Learning Outcomes Centers, Institutes and Programs Journals Academic Resources

Academics Areas of Study Programs

First-Year Curriculum
Upper-Level Curriculum
JD x Certificates
Dual Degrees
Degree Requirements

Interdisciplinary Advantage Learning Outcomes Centers, Institutes and Programs Journals Academic Resources

First-Year Curriculum

The first year of law school will launch your legal career. You’ll take series of required courses — often referred to as podium courses — and you will begin to think and write like a lawyer. As you delve into legal cases and explore precedents, you will develop critical analytical skills and when you start saying, “I have three points to make,” you’ll know you have found your niche as a future lawyer and changemaker.

Apply Now Areas of Study Course Catalog

First-Year Courses

Please note that students take LAW6160 and LAW6165 in the fall and spring terms for a combined total of 8 credits.

(LAW 6100) Civil Procedure

5 Credits

Civil Procedure

Introduces students to the procedural rules that courts in the United States use to handle noncriminal disputes. Designed to provide a working knowledge of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and typical state rules, along with an introduction to federalism, statutory analysis, advocacy, and methods of dispute resolution. Examines procedure within its historical context.

(LAW 6101) Constitutional Law

4 Credits

Constitutional Law

Studies the techniques of constitutional interpretation and some of the principal themes of constitutional law: federalism, separation of powers, public vs. private spheres, equality theory and rights analysis. The first part of the course is about the powers of government. The second part is an in-depth analysis of the 14th Amendment. Attribute(s): NUpath Societies/Institutions

(LAW 6102) Contracts

5 Credits

Contracts

This course examines the legal concepts governing consensual and promissory relationships, with emphasis on the historical development and institutional implementation of contract theory, its relationship and continuing adaptation to the needs and practice of commerce, and its serviceability in a variety of non-commercial contexts. Topics covered include contract formation, the doctrine of consideration, remedies for breach of contracts, modification of contract rights resulting from such factors as fraud, mistake and unforeseen circumstances, and the modern adaptation of contract law to consumer problems. This course also introduces students to the analysis of a complex statute: the Uniform Commercial Code.

(LAW 6103) Criminal Justice

4 Credits

Criminal Justice

In this course, students are introduced to the fundamental principles that guide the development, interpretation and analysis of the law of crimes. They are also exposed to the statutory texts—primarily the Model Penal Code, but also state statutes. In addition, students are introduced to the rules and principles used to apportion blame and responsibility in the criminal justice system. Finally, students examine the limits and potential of law as an instrument of social control.

(LAW 6105) Property

4 Credits

Property

This course covers the major doctrines in American property law, including trespass, servitudes, estates in land and future interests, landlord-tenant relationships, nuisance, and takings. Students are introduced to rules, policies, and current controversies.

(LAW 6106) Torts

4 Credits

Torts

This course introduces students to theories of liability and the primary doctrines limiting liability, which are studied both doctrinally and in historical and social context. The course includes a brief consideration of civil remedies for intentional harms, but mainly focuses on the problem of accidental injury to persons and property. It also provides an introductory look at alternative systems for controlling risk and allocating the cost of accidents in advanced industrial societies.

(LAW 6160) Legal Skills in Social Context

2 Credits

Legal Skills in Social Context

The LSSC Social Justice component immediately applies students’ legal research and writing skills in using law as a tool for social change. LSSC links students’ pre-law school thinking with the new legal culture in which they find themselves. In the first semester, they begin by forging their own team lawyering dynamic in discussing assigned readings and in preparing, and presenting, several advocacy exercises and written assignments. In the second semester, students apply and consolidate their new legal research and writing skills in addressing an intensive real-life social justice project for a selected client organization. LSSC student teams develop their legal and cooperative problem-solving skills and knowledge while producing real client work of a quality that far exceeds the ordinary expectations of first-year law students. May be repeated once.

(LAW 6165) LSSC: Legal Research and Writing Component

2 Credits

LSSC: Legal Research and Writing Component

Competent and effective legal research and writing skills are the foundation for students’ success in law school and in their legal careers. In LSSC’s Legal Analysis, Research and Writing component, students learn about the organization of the American legal system, the sources and construction of laws, and how the application of laws may vary with the specific factual situation. Students learn how to research the law to find applicable legal rules, how to analyze and apply those rules to a factual situation, and how to communicate their legal analysis clearly and concisely to different audiences.

(LAW 6301) Intensive Introduction to American Law and Legal Institutions

2 Credits

Intensive Introduction to American Law and Legal Institutions

This course is a general introduction to the American legal system for graduates of law programs outside the United States. The focus will be on the distinctive features of the American system, including how the U.S. common-law system differs from the civil-law system in place in most other countries. The three branches of government, federalism, the federal-state relationship, the constitutional protection of individual rights, civil and criminal procedure, and statutory and regulatory law will all be discussed.

(LAW 6302) Intensive Introduction to Legal Research and Writing for LLM Students

2 Credits

Intensive Introduction to Legal Research and Writing for LLM Students

This course introduces graduates of law programs outside the United States to the principles of U.S. legal discourse and to the basics of manual and electronic U.S. legal research. Students will have an opportunity to practice researching complex questions of U.S. law and writing memoranda based on their research.

(LAW 6313) Introduction to the Law of Contracts

3 Credits

Introduction to the Law of Contracts

This course is designed to provide international LLM students with an introduction to U.S. contract law, with a special focus upon contracts for the sale of goods. Topics may include formation of contracts, contract interpretation, performance, and breach, remedies, and Articles 1 and 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code. This course is especially recommended for LLM students who wish to take a U.S. bar exam. This course is not open to JD students.

(LAW 6314) Introduction to U.S. Constitutional Law

3 Credits

Introduction to U.S. Constitutional Law

Provides international LLM students with an introduction to U.S. constitutional law. The course is especially recommended for LLM students who wish to take a U.S. bar exam. Topics may include judicial review, separation of powers, federalism, equal protection, state action, due process and fundamental rights, and the First Amendment.

(LAW 6315) Legal Research and Writing for LLM Students: Preparing for Co-op

2 Credits

Legal Research and Writing for LLM Students: Preparing for Co-op

Introduces graduates of law programs outside the United States to the practical application of U.S. legal discourse and legal research in the workplace. Offers students an opportunity to apply what they have learned about U.S. legal writing and research to the types of tasks that they will be called upon to complete during their co-op internship work experience. Prerequisite(s): LAW 6302 with a minimum grade of MP

(LAW 6316) Introduction to Civil Procedure

3 Credits

Introduction to Civil Procedure

This course is designed to provide international LLM students with an overall introduction to U.S. civil procedure. Topics will include personal and subject-matter jurisdiction, pleadings, discovery, choice of law (the Erie Doctrine), finality and preclusion, and class actions. The course is designed to emphasize the practical application of civil procedure law, and is especially recommended for LLM students who wish to take a U.S. bar exam. Not open to JD students.

(LAW 6400) Introduction to U.S. Law and Legal System

3 Credits

Introduction to U.S. Law and Legal System

Introduces principles and structures of the legal system in the United States. Covers the U.S. system of government, the U.S. judicial systems at the federal and state levels, U.S. sources of law, common law methodology, and the roles of legal professionals. Designed to familiarize the student with the relevant and governing legal principles that are used in American jurisprudence, including substantive and procedural law. Emphasizes legal terminology in our contemporary legal system.

(LAW 6401) Contracts

3 Credits

Contracts

Surveys the application of contract law in various contexts with case law, relevant portions of the Uniform Commercial Code, the Restatements, and treatises. Introduces students to practical issues in contract law theories and doctrines. Explores the bases of contract law, creation and termination rights, problems in contract formation, contract interpretation theories, and damages.

(LAW 6402) Torts

3 Credits

Torts

Offers students an opportunity to obtain a thorough working knowledge of the key concepts of tort law in the United States. Covers issues related to intentional torts and negligence and the defenses that relate to tort claims.

(LAW 6403) Constitutional Law

3 Credits

Constitutional Law

Offers a broad overview of constitutional law. Emphasizes the subjects of federalism, judicial review, due process, and individual rights.

(LAW 6404) Civil Procedure

3 Credits

Civil Procedure

Examines the procedural aspects of civil disputes in the United States under both state and federal systems, as well as the court systems and processes of bringing and defending cases. Studies the unique U.S. process of the discovery of evidence, including depositions and document production.

(LAW 6405) California Professional Responsibility

3 Credits

California Professional Responsibility

Examines the rules that regulate the legal profession including the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct; the ABA Model Code of Judicial Conduct; the California Rules of Professional Conduct; relevant sections of the California Business and Professions Code; and leading case law, both federal and state, on the subject. Offers students an opportunity to gain a thorough understanding of the topics covered on the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination and the California Bar Examination, including lawyer advertising; solicitation of clients; specialization; conflicts of interest; competence; legal malpractice; fees; confidentiality; and obligations to clients, the court, and society. Students apply applicable ethics rules to identify and resolve ethical problems within the practice of law.

(LAW 6406) Criminal Law

3 Credits

Criminal Law

Covers both federal and state criminal law in the United States. Reviews the entire time frame of a crime, from commission through prosecution and possible imprisonment. Examines multiple types of crime, including white-collar crime, as well as procedural rules of criminal cases. Covers provisions of the Bill of Rights that regulate the government’s pursuit, prosecution, and punishment of criminal defendants, with emphasis on the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

(LAW 6962) Elective

1-4 Credits

Elective

Offers elective credit for courses taken at other academic institutions. May be repeated without limit.

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