1L Advantage Law School Prep Course
Our Professors provide an extensive overview of your 1L core-curriculum courses, and walk you through the basics of how to study the law effectively, and how to ace your all-important law school exams.
The 1L Advantage Law School Prep Course consists of the following twelve lessons, available to you any time, on demand, during your course enrollment period, plus the 1LA companion PDF document.
Lesson One: What to Expect During Your First Year
Law School Basics: The Socratic Method, hypotheticals, case briefing, first-year and upper-level courses, common questions among 1Ls; how to be sure you're prepared.
Professor: Ursula Furri-Perry
Dean, Becker College
Lecture Duration: 2:01:26
Lesson Two: IRAC and How to Think Like a Lawyer
A return to logical reasoning: the application of the Rule of Law to specific sets of facts; "Issue Spotting" with IRAC analysis (Issue; Rule; Analysis; Conclusion).
Professor: Ursula Furri-Perry
Dean, Becker College
Lecture Duration: 0:52:17
Lesson Three: Contract Law
Valid contract formation: offer and acceptance; mutual assent; consideration (and substitutes thereof); contract interpretation, rights, and obligations; breach; and remedies.
Professor: Joseph Devlin
Professor of Law, Massachusetts School of Law at Andover
Lecture Duration: 4:54:57
Lesson Four: Tort Law
The different types of civil, or private, offenses: intentional torts; negligent torts and comparative vs. contributory negligence; strict liability and associated defenses.
Professor: Catherine Sharkey
Crystal Eastman Professor of Law at NYU School of Law
Lecture Duration: 2:58:45
Lesson Five: First-Year Study Skills: Outlining and Organizing
Various methods of study; writing solid course outlines; creating and maintaining an effective 1L schedule and study plan.
Professor: Ursula Furri-Perry
Dean, Becker College
Lecture Duration: 0:52:42
Lesson Six: Legal Research and Writing
Researching primary and secondary sources; validation of current legal authority; standard 1L writing tasks, and sample student assignments.
Professor: Susan Provenzano
William Trumbull Professor of Practice at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
Lecture Duration: 2:50:21
Lesson Seven: Civil Procedure
Procedural rules of the court system; different sources of jurisdiction (subject matter, personal, and venue jurisdiction); parties, pleadings; discovery; trial; resolution.
Professor: Vikram Amar
Dean, Illinois College of Law, and Iwan Foundation Professor of Law
Lecture Duration: 2:41:19
Lesson Eight: Criminal Law and Procedure
Crimes against persons; crimes against property; the element of criminal intent (mens rea); liability, defenses; search and seizure; right to counsel and other rights during trial.
Professor: Byron Warnken
Retired Professor of Law, Emeritus at the University of Baltimore School of Law
Lecture Duration: 3:36:05
Lesson Nine: Evidence
What evidence can be introduced in court; the Federal Rules of Evidence; relevance; competency; foundation; public policy considerations; hearsay and its exceptions.
Professor: Michael L. Coyne
Dean of the Massachusetts School of Law
Lecture Duration: 2:49:36
Lesson Ten: Property Law
Personal property and real property; trespass; adverse possession; present estates and future estates; conveyances of real property; deeds, recording, and marketable title.
Professor: Peter M. Malaguti
Professor of Law at Massachusetts School of Law
Lecture Duration: 4:52:18
Lesson Eleven: Constitutional Law
Organization of the branches of government; powers of the Congress and the President; individual rights including Due Process, Equal Protection, and the right to privacy.
Professor: David Cole
National Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union, previously Hon. George J. Mitchell Professor in Law and Public Policy at the Georgetown University Law Center
Lecture Duration: 2:54:31
Lesson Twelve: Crushing Your Law School Exams
Knowing the top-tested cases and concepts from each class; understanding the laws and their application to specific facts; organizing and writing your law school essays to relay your idea and analysis efficiently and effectively.
Professor: Ursula Furri-Perry
Dean, Becker College
Lecture Duration: 1:42:00