Legal Methods
Course Information
- Course Number
- L6113
- Curriculum Level
- Foundation
- Type
- Lecture
Section 002 Information
Instructor
Richard Briffault
Joseph P. Chamberlain Professor of Legislation
Section Description
This course is closed to LL.M.s.
Legal Methods provides entering 1Ls with an introduction to the American legal system â the institutions and procedures by which law is made and applied; basic legal terminology; and the modes of analysis used by lawyers, judges, and legislators in addressing legal issues. As the title of the course indicates, its focus is on the methods of answering legal questions, not with the answers. In particular, the course looks at how courts address a new problem for which there is no clear answer in the legal system; the role of precedent; how legal doctrines evolve; how courts interpret statutes; and how legal actors grapple with legal uncertainty. Cutting across all the topics will be questions concerning the interplay of law, justice, and political, social, and economic values.
The goal of the course is to get entering 1Ls comfortable with legal analysis and the legal system in preparation for the courses that follow in the fall semester and after.
- School Year & Semester
- Fall 2023
- Dates
- August 24 - September 1
- Location
- JGH 101
- Schedule
-
Class meets on
- Monday
- Tuesday
- Wednesday
- Thursday
- Friday
- Dates
- August 24 - September 1
- Location
- JGH 101
- Schedule
-
Class meets on
- Monday
- Tuesday
- Wednesday
- Thursday
- Friday
- Points
- 1
- Method of Evaluation
- Other
- J.D Writing Credit?
- No
Learning Outcomes
- Primary
-
- 1. At the end of the course, students will have acquired understanding of and/or facility in doctrinal analysis, including close reading of cases and precedents, and application to facts
- At the end of the course, students will have acquired understanding of and/or facility in judicial, legislative and/or administrative processes
- At the end of the course, students will have acquired understanding of and/or facility in values-based considerations in law-making
Course Limitations
- Instructor Pre-requisites
- None
- Instructor Co-Requisites
- None
- Recommended Courses
- None
- Other Limitations
- None
Additional Section for Legal Methods
School Year & Semester
Fall 2023
Instructor
Points
1School Year & Semester
Fall 2023
Instructor
Points
1School Year & Semester
Fall 2023
Instructor
Points
1School Year & Semester
Fall 2023
Instructor
Points
1