Exercise 1

First year required courses. To answer the following questions review the material of certain previous units.

Why is Constitutional Law a required course for the first year?

What is the course of Constitutional Law focused on?

What do the students study during this course?

What is the course Torts focused on?

What matters does it cover?

What is the course Civil Procedure concern?

Do the students learn the US court structure while covering the Civil Procedure course?

Exercise 2

Compose a letter of a 1^st year American student who tells the parents about the courses they study at a law school.

Stanford Law School

The first year introduces students to legal institutions, legal reasoning, and case analysis, emphasizing the close analysis of judicial decisions.

The autumn term consists of five required courses, one of which is taught in a small section of about 30 people. In the spring term students take three required courses plus two to four electives designed to broaden their view of the law and to lay the foundations for the advanced curriculum.

First-year requirements are as follows:

Autumn:	Spring:
Civil Procedure	Constitutional Law I
Contracts	Property
Criminal Law	Legal Research and Writing
Torts	Electives (2 to 4 courses)
Legal Research and Writing

In Legal Research and Writing, a year-long course, students work under the close supervision of a legal research and writing instructor and a law librarian, learning the essential skills of legal library research, writing legal memoranda, drafting documents, preparing a persuasive brief, and arguing orally in a moot court in the context of trying to solve a client's legal problem.

Exercise 3

The Law School offers more courses in the advanced curriculum than any student could take during law school. Below is an abstract from the list of some of the elective courses that have been offered at the Stanford Law School during the last several years.

Business and Commercial Law	Accounting Antitrust Bankruptcy Business Reorganizations Corporations Partnership Taxation Private Firms Civil Procedure and Litigation
Criminal Law and Procedure	International Criminal Law White Collar Crime
Dispute Resolution, Mediation, and Negotiation	Problem Solving, Decision Making, and Professional Judgment
Constitutional Law and Theory	Advanced Supreme Court Litigation Clinic Constitutional Law Constitutional Law: Freedom of Speech
International and Comparative Law	European Community Law International Taxation International Trade Law
Intellectual Property	Intellectual Property and Antitrust Law Intellectual Property: Copyright Intellectual Property: Patents Intellectual Property: Trademarks
Taxation Law	Corporate Income Taxation Income Taxation International Taxation

The students have to complete a certain number of courses over three years. So, they opt for those courses that match the specialization they’ve chosen.

Law school graduates receive the degree of juris doctor (J.D.) as the first professional degree. Advanced law degrees may be desirable for those planning to specialize, research, or teach. Some law students pursue joint degree programs, which usually require an additional semester or year of study. Joint degree programs are offered in a number of areas, including law and business administration or public administration.

A student is going to specialize in Business law. What offerings will he/she opt for?

What knowledge does each of these courses provide?

What would be your choice if you happened to study at an American law school?

Why is clinical semester included into the optional curriculum?

Compare the curriculum with the one that your educational institution offers / offered.