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Law School for Everyone

Series: Great Courses
4.8
(101)
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Episodes
48
Rating
TVPG
Year
2017
Language
English
Publisher
The Great Courses

About

Get the same foundational knowledge as lawyers - without law school. In the 48 lectures of Law School for Everyone, four exceptional law professors recreate key parts of the first-year law student experience, introducing you to the areas of law most every beginning student studies: litigation and legal practice, criminal law and procedure, civil procedure, and torts.

Related Subjects

Episodes

1 to 3 of 48

1. Litigation and the American Legal System

30m

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In this lecture, use a 1963 Supreme Court case, Gideon v. Wainwright, as a window into the relationship between litigation and the American legal system. You'll explore why we adopted this particular system, how it works, and why we teach law in America the way we do.

2. Thinking like a Lawyer

30m

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To think like a lawyer, you have to approach legal doctrine actively and critically. Here, Professor Shadel teaches you how to read cases with an eye for particular concepts every good lawyer must keep in mind, including the role of precedent, inductive and deductive reasoning skills, and the use of analogies.

3. Representing Your Client

30m

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All lawyers have responsibilities to their clients and to the integrity of the justice system. But what are the bounds of a lawyer's responsibility in representing a client? What's confidential and what's not? For answers to these and other questions, consider challenges arising in the State of Florida v. George Zimmerman.

4. Trial Strategy behind the Scenes

30m

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Continuing with the case of George Zimmerman, explore the intricate nature of trial strategy that takes place away from the jury's eyes. Learn how lawyers operate before a trial, and how a jury is selected. Also, examine how media coverage impacts what happens inside (and outside) the courtroom.

5. Opening Statements

30m

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A powerful opening statement requires many things: credibility, persuasion, logic. Using the George Zimmerman and O.J. Simpson trials as case studies, go inside the (sometimes tricky) art of crafting palpable opening statements that grab the jury's attention and leave it eager to hear the testimony to come.

6. Direct Examination

30m

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Direct examination has been popularized by countless TV crime dramas. But how does it work in a real courtroom? In this lecture, learn how lawyers figure out whom to put on the witness stand, what questions they should ask, and how to prepare witnesses for their day in court.

Extended Details

  • Closed CaptionsEnglish

Artists

Molly Bishop Shadelwriter
Molly Bishop Shadelactor
Joseph L. Hoffmannactor
Peter J. Smithactor
Edward K. Chengactor