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AUWCL Orientation 2023

Welcome to AUWCL! All orientation information is available on this site.

The US Legal System

By the end of this session, students should be able to understand the tripartite design of the U.S. legal system, the nature of common law, define the three branches of government, the basics of federal vs. state jurisdiction, and identify the types of authority that each branch of government produces.

View the recording here: https://media.wcl.american.edu/Mediasite/Play/2c814937dcce47b3b728a2010df00d7d1d

Types of Legal Authority

By the end of this session, students will understand the types of published and unpublished sources of law and how they are used as the basis for legal decisions and black letter law. They will be able to distinguish between primary and secondary sources of law, identify which sources are mandatory primary authority versus persuasive primary authority, and identify when and why lawyers use secondary sources.

View the recording here: https://media.wcl.american.edu/Mediasite/Play/49ee31993b6a40a29af7737746da27431d