Law, Society, and Advocacy (LWSA)

LWSA 200. Introduction Law, Society and Advocacy. 1 Unit.

This class explores the nature and origins of our contemporary conception of law. In particular, we examine how the Enlightenment and the French Revolution shaped our understanding of law’s purpose as a means of ensuring mutual freedom and legal equality. This historical foundation informs further inquiry into the relationship between morality and law, as well as a related examination of the objectives of legal advocacy. Concepts developed throughout the course will provide students with a deeper understanding of the principles underlying our contemporary legal order and how those principles shape the practice of law.

LWSA 321. Law, Society, and Advocacy. 0.5 Units.

The Law Ready immersive requirement provides students with hands-on experience in the application of legal advocacy, bridging the theoretical inquiry of the Law, Society, and Advocacy (LWSA) minor with real-world practice. Through direct engagement in Mock Trial, Moot Court, legal internships, and other "law-adjacent" activities, students learn to analyze and argue within the confines of technical social knowledge.LWSA 321: This course provides a credit-bearing mechanism (0.5 units) for law-adjacent immersives that do not otherwise carry academic credit, such as Mock Trial, Moot Court, Model UN, Model Senate (for those students not participating in the context of a class), or a non-credit bearing legal internship.Defining "Law-Adjacent" Immersive: To qualify, an activity must engage participants in structured reasoning and advocacy within a codified social or discursive framework (reflecting Max Weber’s notion of "intellectual rationalization"). Whether through law firm internships or competitive debate, the activity must require the analysis of rules and the practice of persuasive advocacy under institutional constraints.