The first-year program at Wisconsin is designed to teach the fundamentals of legal analysis and reasoning in a supportive setting. Our small-section program is the cornerstone of the first-year curriculum.The students from your small section will be with you in your other classes, making it easy to form study groups and, perhaps more importantly, to form friendships.
In the first semester, two of your classes will be small sections -- a substantive law class and your legal research & writing class. You'll have a small section of a substantive law class (torts, contracts, civil procedure, or criminal) with approximately 24 students, which will give you the opportunity to receive one-to-one feedback on your legal analysis; and you'll have an even smaller research and writing class -- 15 students or less -- to ensure one-to-one feedback on your writing.
First Semester
- Contracts I (4 cr.)
- Introduction to Substantive Criminal Law (4 cr.)
- Civil Procedure I (4 cr.)
- Torts (4 cr.)
- Legal Research and Writing (1 cr.)
Second Semester
- Property (5 cr.)
- Introduction to Criminal Procedure (3 cr.)
- Legal Research and Writing (2 cr.)
And, one elective (3 cr.) from the following:
- Contracts II
- Civil Procedure II
- Legal Process
- Constitutional Law I
Second- and Third-Year Programs
In your second and third years of law school you will have time both to explore the curriculum to determine where your interests lie and to develop the lawyering skills you will need when you graduate. You will be able to choose your courses from an extraordinary breadth and depth of offerings, affording you the opportunity to explore cutting-edge legal issues in the classroom and to apply your knowledge in one of our many clinical programs.
The University of Wisconsin Law School is a national law school that prepares students to practice wherever they choose, and our graduates have an excellent record for passing state bar exams across the country. Moreover, graduates who complete specific course requirements and meet character standards are admitted to practice in Wisconsin without a bar examination, also qualifying to practice before the federal courts.