Learning Outcome 1: Graduates will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the law and the American legal system.
Graduates will demonstrate achievement of this learning outcome by:
- Identifying and explaining the basic sources of American law, including common law and statutory law.
- Describing the organization, hierarchy, and relationships of American legal systems, including the federal and state legal systems.
- Identifying, defining, and explaining the fundamental terms, rules, principles, and policies of two of the following areas of law: civil procedure, constitutional law, contracts, criminal law, criminal procedure, evidence, real property, or torts.
Learning Outcome 2: Graduates will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of legal analysis and legal reasoning.
Graduates will demonstrate achievement of this learning outcome by:
- Accurately explaining the various components of a judicial opinion, including the legally relevant facts, the procedural history, the holding, the court’s reasoning, and dicta.
- Applying fundamental principles of statutory construction to legislation.
- Applying governing legal principles to new factual situations to formulate effective legal arguments and conclusions.
- Synthesizing relevant rules of law into a logical framework for analysis, including harmonizing apparently conflicting authorities and recognizing genuinely conflicting authorities.
Learning Outcome 3: Graduates will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of legal research methods.
Graduates will demonstrate achievement of this learning outcome by:
- Developing an effective research strategy.
- Explaining the differences between primary sources of law and secondary sources.
- Explaining the differences between binding authority and persuasive authority.
- Identifying legal authorities that provide the governing legal principles for a factual situation.
Learning Outcome 4: Graduates will communicate effectively about legal issues.
Graduates will demonstrate achievement of this learning outcome by:
- Writing an effective predictive legal memorandum.
- Verbally communicating the findings and reasoning of an effective predictive legal memorandum.
- Employing effective interpersonal communication skills to engage in respectful dialogue about legal issues.
- Completing a rigorous, extended piece of legal writing that demonstrates substantive knowledge of a particular legal or policy issue and effective research, analytical, organizational, and other writing skills.
Adopted: February 14, 2022
