Legal English Program Overview

As a law student, you will be expected to participate actively in the classroom, both voluntarily and when called on, by discussing your understanding of the material and presenting arguments based on that understanding. In this class, you will learn and practice these skills, as well as active listening and note-taking skills that will help prepare you for the material you will encounter in your first-year law courses. Additionally you will learn how to demonstrate your understanding of that material through various types of classroom activities including interaction with your instructor and whole-group and small-group discussion.

1.5 credits

This course introduces the forms and patterns of legal writing and conventions for professional or academic purposes in the U.S. The course will begin with an overview of legal writing characteristics including audience, purpose, organization, style, flow, and presentation. You will practice several important writing patterns and genres, primarily focusing on the types of tasks you will typically encounter on law school exams and in your courses.  Specifically, the course will help to increase your ability to summarize and paraphrase case elements, and improve your clarity, correctness, and conciseness in legal exercises and exam writing. 

1.5 credits

The purpose of this course is to prepare you to read and analyze legal texts for academic and professional purposes, including graduate-level research.  This course will offer strategies and skills for reading large volumes of legal material such as cases and regulations/statutes as well as how to read, analyze, and brief cases. Additionally, this course will introduce you to the principles and best practices for conducting legal research in the U.S.  Specifically, you will be introduced to in-person and digital library resources, how to gather sources from an academic library or legal database, and how to understand and use standard legal citation conventions. 

1.5 credits

This course introduces international students to the common law system and to U.S. legal institutions, including federal and state courts, and the executive and legislative branches of government. Their constitutional position and the role of constitutional law in the U.S. system is emphasized. The course introduces both civil and criminal procedure and gives students practice in legal analysis using both caselaw and statutory sources. Credit for this course cannot be applied toward the J.D. degree.

1 credit