1L Curriculum
First-year students (1Ls) complete a required foundational curriculum designed to build core legal skills and establish the essential framework for subsequent legal study.
Introduction to Law
This course, held during the first week of law school, constitutes a basic introduction to the concepts of the law, the historical roots of common law and equity, the precedent system in its practical operation, the modes of reasoning used by courts and attorneys, and the fundamentals of statutory interpretation.
Civil Procedure
This course examines civil litigation processes, focusing on the methods used by federal and state courts to resolve civil disputes.
Constitutional Law I
This course explores the principles, doctrines, and controversies relating to the structure of the U.S. government and the division of powers.
Contracts
This course analyzes the formation and enforcement of promises, as well as the legal protections afforded to promissory obligations in both commercial and noncommercial transactions.
Criminal Law
This course examines the bases and limits of criminal liability. It covers the constitutional, statutory and case law rules that define, limit and provide defenses to individual liability for the major criminal offenses.
Lawyering Skills
This year-long course introduces students to core lawyering skills through a holistic, practice-oriented approach that mirrors the real-world progression of legal work. Students begin with a simulated first client meeting and learn how to conduct intake interviews, identify relevant facts and client objectives, and use that information to perform legal research. The course then builds toward legal analysis and problem-solving in the context of client counseling simulations and objective legal writing, such as client letters and office memoranda, before progressing to persuasive writing, such as a pretrial motion, and a negotiation simulation. The course is supplemented by lab sessions taught by currently practicing legal professionals, providing students with practical insight and feedback on their interpersonal lawyering skills. Information about the lab sessions.
Property
This course surveys the doctrines and principles of property law, with an emphasis on real property. Course topics include the estates in land system, the landlord-tenant relationship, conveyancing and private and public land use control.
Torts
This course introduces the legal principles governing liability for personal injury, property damage, and harm to intangible interests.