Pre-Law Institute Syllabus

A pre-recorded orientation video with program coordinators will be made available via Blackboard in advance of the class. Students must review the video before the first session, as class will begin in earnest on the first day. Participants will be notified via email when the recording is available. Pertinent information, including the attendance policy and examination procedures, are included in this document, as well.

The schedule of classes is below. Students should log in to the class at least ten minutes prior to the start, have their microphones muted and their camera on. Attendance will be tracked through Zoom login. A login after the start of the class (9:00 a.m., New York time) will be counted as an absence unless you are excused in writing before the start of the class. It is expected that you will participate with your camera on; if you are unable to have your camera on, please use a photo as your avatar so that the professor can better identify you from the roster. Please also use your full (given and family) name as your Zoom name. Each professor will instruct students on how to best ask questions (e.g., through chat or by the raise hand feature).

There is no textbook for this class. Materials will be posted on Blackboard. Credentials to log in to Blackboard will be provided to registered students in advance of the start of the course.

Students should complete all readings for each session before the corresponding class.

By the end of the course, students should have the following competencies:

• Understand the basics of the U.S. legal system.
• Understand how to read and analyze case law.
• Understand how to frame and craft an argument.
• Understand the basics of case theory and storytelling; constitutional law; civil procedure; corporate law; criminal law; ESG; intellectual property and data privacy law; issues in equality; legal writing and research; legislation and regulation; and writing and rhetoric.
• Have an appreciation for different law practice contexts and fields.
• Be better prepared for applying to law school and beginning legal study.

Registered students will take a preliminary and final examination, both of which will consist of essay questions and will be open book (students may use their materials and notes during the exams). Students must attend at least 80% of the mandatory sessions to qualify to sit for the exams and receive credit.

Students will receive individual feedback for their preliminary exam, but not an official grade. The preliminary exam primarily serves to provide students with a meaningful checkpoint during the course to determine if they wish to remain enrolled to receive a final grade. (The deadline to withdraw from a course without receiving a WF, or to designate a course pass/fail, is July 24, 2024. More information is available on the Summer Session Calendar.)

Final grades will be posted to the Fordham student portal after the conclusion of the course. There is additional information about ordering a Fordham transcript on the Summer Session webpage.

Non-credit participants who attend at least 80% of the mandatory program sessions will receive a certificate of completion via email a few weeks after the conclusion of the course.

Non-credit participants are not eligible to sit for the final exam in any circumstances. Non-credit participants are not required to take the preliminary exam, but are strongly encouraged to do so.