Courses
1st Year Program
The first year introduces students to legal institutions, legal reasoning, and case analysis, emphasizing the close analysis of judicial decisions.
The autumn term consists of five required courses, one of which is taught in a small section of about 30 people. In the winter, students take three required courses plus 0 - 4 units of electives designed to broaden their view of the law and to lay the foundations for the advanced curriculum. In the spring, students take one required course plus up to 12 units of elective coursework
Autumn
Winter
- Constitutional Law
- Property
- Federal Litigation
- Electives (0 to 4 units)
Spring
- Federal Litigation
- Electives (7 to 12 units)
In Legal Research and Writing, students work under the close supervision of a legal research and writing instructor and a law librarian, learning the essential skills of legal library research, writing legal memoranda, and drafting documents. In Federal Litgation, students represent parties in a simulated public interest case set in a federal district court that raises complex issues of federal civil procedure, privacy, and first amendment law. Students will plan litigation strategy, draft pleadings, conduct discovery, write short briefs, and orally argue major motions for dismissal, class action certification, and preliminary injunctive relief.