Cameron Miranda
The first year of law school is a foundational year, where students learn the basics of legal analysis, reasoning, and writing. While the exact curriculum varies between schools, there are core subjects taught at nearly every law school. These include Civil Procedure, Contracts, Torts, Criminal Law, Legal Research and Writing, Property, and Constitutional Law. Students will also learn about the American legal system and its processes, as well as the ethical responsibilities of lawyers. The first year of law school is considered challenging, with complex material that must be learned rapidly. Students are encouraged to prepare for exams by creating and studying outlines of the course material.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Curriculum | Civil Procedure, Contracts, Torts, Criminal Law, Legal Research and Writing, Property, Constitutional Law, Legal Ethics, Criminal Procedure, Civil Litigation, Commercial Law, Corporations, Evidence, Family Law, Taxation, Wills and Trusts, Administrative Law, International Law, Environmental Law, Conflict of Laws, Labor Law, Jurisprudence, and Clinical Courses |
| Teaching Methods | Socratic Method, Case Method |
| Learning Outcomes | Critical thinking, analytical skills, legal writing, legal research, understanding of legal principles and procedures |
| Student Experience | Intense and competitive, bonding experience, challenging work, preparation for exams through outlines and memorization, participation in extracurriculars and student organizations, opportunity to work in legal clinics |
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What You'll Learn
Criminal Law
The Socratic Method is a common teaching style in law schools, where professors ask questions of students and call on them to answer. This method is often unnerving for first-year students, who may struggle to assess their progress. However, study groups are encouraged to help students understand complicated concepts and case distinctions.
In addition to learning the substantive law, first-year law students will also develop their legal research and writing skills. They will learn how to research legal issues and write effective legal documents, such as memoranda dealing with various legal problems.
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Legal Writing
Students will learn how to use legal research tools such as Westlaw and LexisNexis, how to read and analyse legal sources, and how to write persuasive legal documents such as briefs and memos. They will also learn about citation literacy, research skills, and the writing process.
In addition to the standard first-year legal writing curriculum, some law schools offer advanced legal writing courses for upper-level students. These courses provide an opportunity to further hone legal writing skills and may include substantial feedback on written products. They may also involve continued instruction in legal research and cover a variety of writing experiences, such as opinion and demand letters, pleadings, motions, and trial briefs.
Outside of the classroom, students can join student organizations dedicated to specific legal fields, such as environmental or international law, to further supplement their learning.
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Property Law
Lessons in Property Law
- The distinction between real property and personal property, including the historic origins of this distinction, the consequences of attaching things to land, and examples of intangible property classified as real or personal property.
- The various types of deeds and covenants of title in deeds.
- The law of bailments, which controls the rights and duties of a possessor of tangible personal property who is not the owner.
- Inter vivos gifts of property, focusing on personal property and, to a lesser extent, inter vivos gifts of land.
- Transfers at death or in anticipation of death, including testamentary gifts, causa mortis gifts, and gifts of future interests.
- Rights of finders of personal property, including situations where the property is lost, mislaid, or abandoned due to the owner being unknown.
- Basic future interests, including the various types of covenants of title in deeds and the different types of deeds arising from these covenants.
- Adverse possession, including the "hostile/under claim of right" requirement, the significance of "permission to occupy land," and the "open and notorious" element.
- Landlord-tenant law, rights in personal property, estates and future interests, marital property, land sale transactions, servitudes, nuisance, zoning, takings, and other land use issues.
- Property rights in human bodies, personal names and likenesses, and other cutting-edge topics.
Study Tools and Resources
First-year law students have access to a variety of study tools and resources to aid their understanding of Property Law, including:
- Emanuel® Law Outlines (ELOs), which help students understand concepts and prepare for exams.
- Examples & Explanations (E&Es), which provide hypothetical questions and detailed explanations to test knowledge and compare analyses.
- Textbooks such as 'Inside Property Law: What Matters and Why', which offers an informal and approachable style, pedagogical devices, charts, visual aids, and key terms.
- Online resources like CALI, which provide lessons on various Property Law topics.
- Hornbooks, which are condensed versions of longer scholarly works, geared specifically towards law students.
- Treatises, which are often multi-volume scholarly works with the author's name in the title.
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Torts
The first year of law school is a foundational period during which students learn the fundamental principles of legal analysis, reasoning, and writing. While the exact curriculum can vary between law schools, there are certain core subjects that are taught at nearly every law school during the first year. Torts are one of these core subjects.
The torts component of the first-year curriculum typically covers intentional torts and negligence. Intentional torts refer to situations where an individual commits a harmful act with specific purpose or knowledge of the potential consequences. Negligence, on the other hand, focuses on an objective standard, considering what a reasonable person would do in a given situation.
Students will delve into various types of intentional torts, including battery, assault, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and trespass. They will also explore the four elements of negligence: duty, breach, causation, and damages.
The study of torts in the first year of law school provides a foundation for understanding the rationale behind judgments in civil cases and the resolutions available under the law. It is a challenging subject, but with hard work and additional resources, students can grasp the concepts and apply them to diverse scenarios.
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Civil Procedure
In addition to learning the rules, students also learn about the practical impact of the rules and case law. They may also be required to participate in a moot court exercise, where they argue a hypothetical court case.
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Frequently asked questions
The first year of law school is considered foundational, where students learn the fundamental principles of legal analysis, reasoning, and writing. The material is more complex than what students are used to, and it must be learned rapidly. The way students are taught and tested is very different from high school or undergrad.
The exact curriculum varies between law schools, but there are certain core subjects that are taught at nearly every law school during the first year. These include Civil Procedure, Contracts, Torts, Criminal Law, Legal Research and Writing, Property, and Constitutional Law.
One common teaching tactic is the Socratic method, where professors ask a series of rapid-fire questions intended to expose contradictions and flaws in students' thought processes and guide them toward more solid conclusions. Critical thinking and analytical skills are valued over memorization, as laws continually change and evolve.
