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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. May be repeated once.
