American Legal Profession – 6614

Fall 2013
James Alt

This course is designed to introduce non-American students to the American legal profession and legal practice in the United States. It covers the development of the profession, the current structure of the profession, the range of types of practice American lawyers engage in, and several specific issues (e.g., special issues confronted by women and minorities, and regulation and discipline).

The course meets for one two-hour session each week. Sessions will be heavily lecture-oriented, but the lectures are interruptible so that students may at any time interpose questions, insights from their home countries, or raise issues for discussion by the class.

On several occasions during the semester, guests will join the class to talk about their own practice experience in one of the settings we will be discussing.