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 |
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
- Video: Introduction
- Reading: Before You Begin
- 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
- Video: 2.1 Lecture
- Reading: 2.1 - Reading
- Video: 2.2 - Lecture
- Video: 2.3 - Lecture
- Reading: 2.3 - Reading
- Video: 2.4 - Lecture
- Reading: 2.4 - Reading
- Video: 2.5 - Lecture
- Video: 2.6 - Lecture
- Video: 2.7 - Lecture
- Reading: 2.7 - Reading
- Video: 2.8 - Lecture
- Reading: 2.8 - Reading
- Video: 2.9 - Lecture
- Reading: 2.9 - Reading
- Video: 2.10 - Lecture
- Reading: 2.10 - Reading
- Video: 2.11 - Lecture
- 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
- Video: 3.1 - Lecture
- Reading: 3.1 - Reading
- Video: 3.2 - Lecture
- Reading: 3.2 - Reading
- Video: 3.3 - Lecture
- Reading: 3.3 - Reading
- Video: 3.4 - Lecture
- Reading: 3.4 - Reading
- Video: 3.5 - Lecture
- Reading: 3.5 - Reading
- Video: 3.6 - Lecture
- Reading: 3.6 - Reading
- Video: 3.7 - Lecture
- Reading: 3.7 - Reading
- Video: 3.8 - Lecture
- Reading: 3.8 - Reading
- Video: 3.9 - Lecture
- Reading: 3.9 - Reading
- Video: 3.10 - Lecture
- Reading: 3.10 - Reading
Graded: Rawlsian Veil of Ignorance
Legal Structures
Fundamental frameworks of legal analysis and procedure.
4 videos, 4 readings
- Video: 4.1 - Lecture
- Reading: 4.1 - Reading
- Video: 4.2 - Lecture
- Reading: 4.2 - Reading
- Video: 4.3 - Lecture
- Reading: 4.3 - Reading
- Video: 4.4 - Lecture
- 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
- Video: 5.1 - Lecture
- Reading: 5.1 - Reading
- Video: 5.2 - Lecture
- Reading: 5.2 - Reading
Preparation Tools
The tools you need to get the most out of law school.
4 videos, 2 readings
- Video: 6.1 - Lecture
- Reading: 6.1 - Reading
- Video: 6.2 - Lecture
- Reading: 6.2 - Reading
- Video: 6.3 - Lecture
- Video: 6.4 - Lecture
Graded: Statutory Interpretation
Graded: Tools to Read a Statute
Postscript
2 videos, 1 reading
- Video: Postscript
- Reading: Reading
- Video: Hillel Investment Advice
FAQs
How It Works
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
Earn official recognition for your work, and share your success with friends, colleagues, and employers.
Creators
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.
Ratings and Reviews
Great course. Greetings from Egypt. ;)
Great guy
Well equipped and excellently talented professor, and assisting staff.
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HL
Most grateful to Professor Ayres and the team for a wonderful introductory course for prospective law students!