1st Year Courses
Legislation, Administrative Power and Procedure
Legal Analysis, Research & Communications
First-Year Required Courses
First-year law students at Baylor Law School must complete eight required courses during their first three quarters in law school. These courses provide instruction in basic legal doctrine and training in basic legal skills. These courses are similar to first-year courses at almost all law schools in the United States.
Civil Procedure (1 quarter, 4 quarter hours)
Primary instructor: Associate Professor Jeremy Counseller
An introduction to our judicial process as a method of dispute resolution. The focus of this course is on the choices open to litigants and how the rules of procedure facilitate or prevent the attainment of those objectives. Major areas of concentration include our system of pleading, jurisdiction, federalism, preclusion, and the rules that regulate the joinder of parties and claims.
Contracts (2 quarters, 8 quarter hours)
Primary instructor: Professor Larry Bates
A comprehensive survey of the law contracts both at common law and under Uniform Commercial Code. This course examines the legal and equitable remedies for enforcing contracts, the creation of promissory liability, contract interpretation, performance and excuse, standards of fairness and restrictions on the bargaining process, express and implied conditions and the rights of third parties.
Criminal Law (1 quarter, 3 quarter hours)
Primary instructor: Professor Brian Serr
A study of the concepts basic to criminal law, including voluntary acts and omissions, states of mind, strict liability, murder and manslaughter, causation, accomplice liability, inchoate liability (attempt, conspiracy, and solicitation) and defenses (mistake, necessity, duress, self-defense, insanity).
Criminal Procedure (1 quarter, 3 quarter hours)
Primary instructor: Professor Brian Serr
A study of constitutional limitations on policy investigation of crime, including search and seizure, interrogations, lineups, and undercover activity.
Legislation, Administrative Power and Procedure (LAPP) (1 quarter, 3 quarter hours)
Primary instructor: Professor Ron Beal
A study through the use of statutes, of the processes by which legislative and administrative policy is translated into law and applied by the politically responsible agencies. Areas included are separation of powers, delegation, statutory construction, rule making, and adjudication.
Legal Analysis, Research and Communications (LARC) (3 quarters, 4 quarter hours)
LARC I (1 quarter hour)
Primary instructors: Professor Larry Bates,
Assistant Professor Rory RyanAn introduction to the legal system and the study of law which focuses primarily on teaching first-year students how to analyze legal issues and reason persuasively on paper.
LARC II (1 quarter hour)
Primary instructors: Professor Brandon Quarles and Professor Matt Cordon
An introduction to legal research that provides an overview of the various sources that are available for legal research and teaches students basic research strategies.
LARC III (2 quarter hours)
Primary instructors: Professor Larry Bates
An introduction to appellate advocacy in which students research and write an appellate brief and participate in a required oral advocacy exercise.
Property (2 quarters, 8 quarter hours)
Primary instructor: Professor Patricia Wilson
A study of the interests which may be created in real property, the rights and obligations which exist by virtue of ownership of such interests, and the transactions by which such interests are created or affected. Topics considered include: rights of good faith purchasers, estates in land, the contract of sale, conveyances, priorities, covenants for title, real covenants and restrictive covenants, landlord and tenant, Texas homestead and adverse possession.
Torts (2 quarters, 8 quarter hours)
Primary instructor: Assistant Professor Jim Underwood
A study of the standards and principles governing compensation at law for private wrongs, including the basic principles of intentional wrongs, negligence, strict liability, and the defenses thereto.