First-Year Curriculum

During the first year each student takes a required curriculum of basic courses that examines fundamental legal institutions and addresses legal problems relevant to today's society and the modern practice of law.

In the fall semester:

1. Law, Language and Values (2 units) introduces students to foundational concepts in legal reasoning, including theories of interpretation, the rule of law, and normative reasoning.
2. Torts (4 units) explores the obligation to refrain from harming others and studies the bases for compensating persons who suffer injuries-either by holding responsible whomever is at fault for the harm, or by invoking other principles of liability, including the efficiency of resource allocation and the spreading of losses.
3. Procedure (4 units) introduces students to the issues of what constitutes fair, adequate and efficient procedures in resolving legal disputes.
4. Contracts (4 units) is a course on the law of consensual arrangements. It concerns such questions as what promises the state does and should enforce and what remedies are available when enforceable promises are breached.

In the spring semester:

1. Criminal Law (3 units) studies issues relating to the decision, by legislature or court, to designate behavior as a "crime." Significant attention is given to the moral, psychological and philosophical issues involved in ascribing criminal responsibility.
2. Constitutional Law (4 units) considers the delineation of spheres of responsibility between the judiciary and legislature, the nation and the state, and the government and the individual.
3. Property (4 units) analyzes the development of rules dealing with land, water, and other natural resources, frequently from historical and economic perspectives.
4. Legal Profession (3 units) considers the role of the lawyer in society, history, and organization of the legal profession, alternate career patterns, conflicting duties, the adversary system, equal access to justice, and other issues of ethics and professional responsibility.

To be effective, lawyers must incisively analyze legal principles and apply them to facts, and also communicate articulately--both in writing and orally.

In both the fall and spring semesters:

Legal Research, Writing and Advocacy (3 units each in the Fall, 2 units in the Spring) is a two-semester course which focuses on developing these analytic and communication skills.

• In the Fall semester, students start with short written exercises and progress to drafting legal office memoranda.
• In the Spring, students focus on advocacy writing through drafting legal briefs.
• Students, through participation in this course, will develop oral advocacy skills through oral argument as part of the first-year moot court program.
• Students also examine basic sources of law for federal and California jurisdictions utilizing a vast array of sources, from books to computer-assisted research systems. Students learn various research methodologies and techniques.

First-Year Grading

All first-year courses are graded numerically. Students may not take them under the CR/D/F grading option.

A student who does not satisfactorily complete a first-year course will receive a failing grade (1.9) or a grade of D (2.0, 2.1, 2.2 or 2.3), which is Passing but Unsatisfactory. A student who receives a failing grade for a first year course must re-enroll in the course and receive a passing grade.

A student who receives a grade of 2.3 (D) or lower in a first year course may be required to re-enroll in the course at the discretion of the instructor and the Associate Dean. If a student repeats a first-year course, both grades will factor into his or her grade point average.

A student who does not successfully complete the entire first-year curriculum will not be allowed to graduate.