Law School 101 - Surviving Your First Year

For many students, the first year of law school is the most difficult. After completing this course, you will have developed a rudimentary understanding of contracts, criminal law, and the law of torts. After the first year, you will have become adept at being a law student, and you will have a much more thorough understanding of the type of studying required. You'll also find yourself thinking more like a lawyer than a trivia contestant on a game show, as you will come to realize a system that ties it all together.

You will come to understand that a contract is formed when the parties to the agreement can contract, an offer is made, and that offer is certain, definite, unambiguous, and demonstrates to a reasonable person that an offer is being made.

That offer must be accepted in a timely and authorized manner. An acceptance must be unequivocal and mirror back the same terms.

There must also be a meeting of the minds, a mutuality of accent. Each party must have the same understanding of the terms of the contract.

There must also be a quid pro quo – something for something of value bargained for and given in exchange. This is known as consideration.

After that, it’s a matter of understanding any remedies that may be available in the event of a breach of the contract.

Criminal Law involves the evolution of major felonies, such as the seven enumerated felonies at common law and their progression to definitions laid out in the Model Penal Code. Criminal Law involves memorizing definitions of crimes, including the elements that must be met for a conviction. Conversely, you will also become familiar with common criminal defenses to crimes.

In Torts law, you will become familiar with intentional torts and their relationship to criminal and wrongful acts and the remedies thereof. You will also learn about negligence and the elements of negligence, eg, the breach of a duty not to expose others to an unreasonable risk of harm, and that the actions were both the direct and proximate cause resulting in ascertainable damages.

A textbook covering all of the first-year courses is available online at Barnes and Noble. Enter my name, Shane Irvine, as the publisher, and you can find The Executive Juris Doctor  - ISBN#  979-8-891-45669-3.