LAW-2177 Fundamentals of Law
Description: The primary purpose of this course is to prepare students for the both the MBE and essay portions of the bar examination. More specifically, the course would have a three-fold focus. First, on a substantive level, the course will expose students to the essential, frequently-tested principles and concepts in each of the subjects on both the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE) multiple choice and essay portions of the bar exam. The MBE is a two hundred question multiple choice test that encompasses the following seven subjects: (1) Civil Procedure; (2) Constitutional Law; (3) Contracts (including article 2 (Sales) of the Uniform Commercial Code); (4) Criminal Law and Procedure; (5) Evidence; (6) Real Property; and (7) Torts. The essay portion of most state bar exams encompass the seven MBE subjects as well as approximately a dozen other subjects (e.g., Agency, Business Associations, Domestic Relations, Federal Jurisdiction, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Professional Responsibility, Trusts, Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices (Chapter 93A), UCC. art. 3 (Commercial Paper), UCC art. 9 (Secured Transactions) and Wills). Second, on a skills level, the course will provide students with techniques and approaches necessary to properly answer bar exam multiple choice questions and to draft organized, well-written bar essay responses. Students will receive weekly assignments requiring them to answer multiple choice questions and draft answers to essay questions, and the instructor will provide frequent feedback to students on their performance. In addition to the classroom instruction during the semester, students will have several opportunities to meet individually with the instructor to review their progress. Third, on a practical level, the course will expose students, through both assignments and in-class exercises, to the typical fact patterns and scenarios that frequently appear both on the multiple choice and essay portions of the exam. For the MBE, the course will use multiple choice questions that have actually appeared on past bar exams and that the National Conference of Bar Examiners has released. For the essay portion of the exam, the course will use questions that have appeared on essay portion of bar exams in the past.