Categories: Legal Writing

Instructor(s)

Baumgartner, Margaret

Course Data

Room 2225
TR 4:15pm-5:35pm

Pass/Fail: No

Course Description

Legal Sources is a specialized course for master's students in the Legal Institutions program who already have a basic law degree. The course focuses on the United States court system and sources of law, case and statutory analysis, and basic legal research. The course also covers the conventions for communicating a predictive legal analysis in writing, and students submit several short written assignments.

Learning outcomes: the goals of the class are for you to

• understand the sources of law in the United States legal system and how they are organized;
• understand the structure and relationship between state and federal court systems;
• know how to use standard research tools to find primary and secondary legal authorities and how to evaluate the weight of these authorities;
• know how to analyze cases and statutes and how to apply them to resolve legal issues;
• know when and how to cite legal authorities;
• know how to write a predictive analysis in memorandum format regarding the research and resolution of legal issues.

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