Introductory Legal Courses

Boston College Continuing Education offers a series of pre-recorded courses online in various aspects of legal education. Courses are taught by expert Boston College Law School professors and include lectures with visual materials, handouts, readings, and quizzes.

The Introductory Legal Courses are targeted toward international law students and lawyers, those interested in the legal profession, and lawyers as a refresher.


Courses

Course Details

Introduction to Transactional Law Practice

Instructor: Paul R. Tremblay, Clinical Professor of Law, Boston College Law School

Course Fee: $50

Course Description:

Most lawyers in the United States engage in transactional practice. Unlike litigators who represent clients in court or administrative hearings, lawyers work with individuals or businesses to arrange their affairs, establish legal and organizational structures, and advise about compliance. This introduction will focus on one increasingly relevant aspect of that work—representing startups. The course will outline the typical steps in organizing a new business, including choosing an appropriate entity, arranging the relationships among the founders and any new investors or workers, protecting the enterprise’s intellectual property, and addressing any ethical issues that arise.

Estimated time to complete: 2 hours

Introduction to Evidence

Instructor: Jeffrey Cohen, Associate Professor of the Practice, Boston College Law School

Course Fee: $50

Course Description:

U.S. judges use rules of evidence to control the flow of information that a jury is allowed to hear. Evidentiary rules seek to balance access to relevant information with a desire to avoid evidence that is unreliable, inflammatory, or repetitive. This course will explore the reasons for Rules of Evidence and cover some of the major topics, including relevance and hearsay.

Estimated time to complete: 2 hours

Introduction to Appellate Litigation

Instructor: Thomas Barnico, Adjunct Professor, Boston College Law School

Course Fee: $50

Course Description:

This course will introduce the student to appellate litigation in the United States. We will cover the organization and jurisdiction of the United States Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court, including the considerations that inform Supreme Court review of lower federal and state court decisions. The course will next cover the key elements of appellate litigation: the decision to appeal, preparation of the briefs and record, and oral argument. Finally, we will study a case argued by the instructor and decided in the United States Supreme Court, Crosby v. National Foreign Trade Council, 530 U.S. 363 (2000) (striking down Massachusetts law restricting state entities from buying goods or services from companies doing business with Myanmar (Burma)).

Estimated time to complete: 2 hours

Environmental Law and Its Lessons for Future Governance

Instructor: Zygmunt Plater, Professor, Boston College Law School

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Course Fee: $50

Course Description:

Environmental protection law is a relatively young sector of law in the U.S. and abroad; however, patterns and frameworks have evolved that illuminate major themes and necessities of long-term societal governance and sustainability. Environmental protection law is one of the only areas of the U.S. legal system that explicitly takes into account the needs of future generations in establishing its regulatory standards. In this course, we will explore some of the specific features of U.S. environmental law that have direct relevance in other national systems, as well as its general thematic features, which are relevant in virtually all modern national states.

Estimated time to complete: 2 hours

A Mindfulness Break for Lawyers

Instructor:ÌýFilippa Anzalone, Professor and Associate Dean for Library and Technology Services, Boston College Law School

No Fee

Course Description:

Lawyers are busy people and the practice of law is a deadline-driven profession that requires critical thinking and emotional intelligence. Because of the profession’s demands, attorneys are often driven to perfectionism and judgmental habits of mind. One of the side effects of being in a stressful legal job is that practitioners often experience higher levels of depression than the general population. The National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being’s 2017 report,ÌýThe Path to Lawyer Well-Being: Practical Recommendations for Positive Change, called on the legal profession and academy to do more to alleviate the alarming levels of substance abuse, addiction, and mental-health issues among attorneys.

This short course on mindfulness will introduce you to the concept of mindfulness, which is intentionally staying in the present moment without judgment. The time you spend on the course will help you to explore ways that mindfulness can help you to be a healthier and more successful lawyer. This course is the first step toward breaking the dysfunctional stress/reactor loop to which lawyers so often fall prey.

Estimated time to complete: 45 minutes



Course Pricing


General Admission

General Admission for each online course is as follows:

Introductory Legal Courses: $50

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General Information:

You must be at least 18 years old to participate in the Introductory Legal Education courses. All sales are final; we are not able to offer refunds. Registrations may not be transferred to another person or to another course, workshop, or program.

Online registration is required to participate in a course. Tuition for each course is to be paid by debit or credit card. Registrations will be processed upon receipt of payment. Payment is due in full in order to enroll.