A Law Student's Toolkit

About this course: Whether you are an advanced law student looking to review the basics, or an aspiring law student looking for head start, this course will help you build the foundation you will need to succeed in law school and beyond. This course will introduce you to terminology, concepts, and tools lawyers and legal academics use to make their arguments. It will help you follow these arguments—and make arguments of your own. This course consists of a series of short lectures and assignments. A reading list complements each lesson, providing you with a roadmap to help you explore the subject matter more deeply on your own. Although the lessons may cross-reference each other, they are modular in nature: you should feel free to approach them in whatever order fits your schedule, interests, and needs.

Created by:  Yale University

• Taught by:  Ian Ayres, William K. Townsend Professor

  Yale Law School

Commitment 3 weeks of study, 5-7 hours/week Language English How To Pass Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. User Ratings 4.7 stars Average User Rating 4.7See what learners said Coursework

Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.

Help from your peers

Connect with thousands of other learners and debate ideas, discuss course material, and get help mastering concepts.

Certificates

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Yale University For more than 300 years, Yale University has inspired the minds that inspire the world. Based in New Haven, Connecticut, Yale brings people and ideas together for positive impact around the globe. A research university that focuses on students and encourages learning as an essential way of life, Yale is a place for connection, creativity, and innovation among cultures and across disciplines.

Syllabus


WEEK 1


Introduction
An overview of what you will learn, how it will help you, and how to get the most from it.


1 video, 2 readings expand

1. Video: Introduction
2. Reading: Before You Begin
3. Reading: Reading - Basic Legal Terms

Categories and Distinctions
Dichotomies and oppositions that will help you categorize legal rules and frame policy questions.


11 videos, 8 readings expand

1. Video: 2.1 Lecture
2. Reading: 2.1 - Reading
3. Video: 2.2 - Lecture
4. Video: 2.3 - Lecture
5. Reading: 2.3 - Reading
6. Video: 2.4 - Lecture
7. Reading: 2.4 - Reading
8. Video: 2.5 - Lecture
9. Video: 2.6 - Lecture
10. Video: 2.7 - Lecture
11. Reading: 2.7 - Reading
12. Video: 2.8 - Lecture
13. Reading: 2.8 - Reading
14. Video: 2.9 - Lecture
15. Reading: 2.9 - Reading
16. Video: 2.10 - Lecture
17. Reading: 2.10 - Reading
18. Video: 2.11 - Lecture
19. Reading: 2.11 - Reading

Graded: Normative vs. Positive
Graded: Applying the Box
Graded: Paternalism vs. Externalities
Graded: Substance vs. Procedure

WEEK 2


Law and . . .
Interactions between the law and academic disciplines such as economics, philosophy, and psychology.


10 videos, 10 readings expand

1. Video: 3.1 - Lecture
2. Reading: 3.1 - Reading
3. Video: 3.2 - Lecture
4. Reading: 3.2 - Reading
5. Video: 3.3 - Lecture
6. Reading: 3.3 - Reading
7. Video: 3.4 - Lecture
8. Reading: 3.4 - Reading
9. Video: 3.5 - Lecture
10. Reading: 3.5 - Reading
11. Video: 3.6 - Lecture
12. Reading: 3.6 - Reading
13. Video: 3.7 - Lecture
14. Reading: 3.7 - Reading
15. Video: 3.8 - Lecture
16. Reading: 3.8 - Reading
17. Video: 3.9 - Lecture
18. Reading: 3.9 - Reading
19. Video: 3.10 - Lecture
20. Reading: 3.10 - Reading

Graded: Rawlsian Veil of Ignorance

Legal Structures
Fundamental frameworks of legal analysis and procedure.


4 videos, 4 readings expand

1. Video: 4.1 - Lecture
2. Reading: 4.1 - Reading
3. Video: 4.2 - Lecture
4. Reading: 4.2 - Reading
5. Video: 4.3 - Lecture
6. Reading: 4.3 - Reading
7. Video: 4.4 - Lecture
8. Reading: 4.4 - Reading

Graded: Enforcing Money Judgments and Security Interests

WEEK 3


Evidentiary Tools
Concepts from the law of evidence that can help you respond to questions and make compelling arguments


2 videos, 2 readings expand

1. Video: 5.1 - Lecture
2. Reading: 5.1 - Reading
3. Video: 5.2 - Lecture
4. Reading: 5.2 - Reading

Preparation Tools
The tools you need to get the most out of law school.


4 videos, 2 readings expand

1. Video: 6.1 - Lecture
2. Reading: 6.1 - Reading
3. Video: 6.2 - Lecture
4. Reading: 6.2 - Reading
5. Video: 6.3 - Lecture
6. Video: 6.4 - Lecture

Graded: Statutory Interpretation
Graded: Tools to Read a Statute

Postscript



2 videos, 1 reading expand

1. Video: Postscript
2. Reading: Reading
3. Video: Hillel Investment Advice