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First-year law school curriculum at New England Law | Boston
“The availability and willingness of the faculty to engage with students is just wonderful. That really helps you in your first year, because it’s challenging and busy.” —Jillian Carson 17

During your first year at New England Law | Boston, you will build a strong foundation in class and begin to accumulate practical skills and experience as quickly as possible.

Build Your Foundation

Orientation: Introduction to Law Program

Held at the start of classes, the Introduction to Law Program introduces you to the fundamentals of law and orients you to life in law school. Classes cover legal materials and practices, briefing cases, and research, including computer-assisted legal research.

Courses for First-Year Students

We require the following basic courses, taken in the first year and part of the second year: Civil Procedure I and II; Constitutional Law; Contracts I and II; Criminal Law; Criminal Procedure I; Evidence; Law and Ethics of Lawyering; Legal Research and Writing I, II, and III; Property I and II; and Torts. In these classes, our faculty members will encourage you to push yourself, and gain the knowledge you will need for your career.

Academic Excellence Program

The weekly Academic Excellence Program class, open to all first-year students, teaches learning methods that will help you become the best possible law student. A vast majority of first-year students report that it significantly enhances their academic performance.

Check Out the Academic Excellence Program

The Lawyering Experience

The Lawyering Experience, an innovative first-year program, exposes you to a variety of legal fields and helps you identify those that suit your interests and career goals. Through discussions with practicing attorneys, faculty, and the staff at the Career Services Office, this program spotlights diverse career tracks, offers career guidance, and teaches you valuable job search skills.

Start Planning for Your Career

Career Services for First-Year Students

New England Law encourages first-year students to start career planning early. Your first stop should be the Career Services Office, where you will meet with our experienced staff to plan an individualized strategy for your career. You also can enhance your career prospects through our career service programs, workshops, résumé reviews, and mock interviews.

Alumni Career Forum

Begin building your network by attending events and programs offered by the Career Services Office. For example, the annual Alumni Career Forum introduces you to successful New England Law graduates who are working in dozens of practice areas or pursuing nontraditional legal careers as consultants, financial advisers, and recruiters.

Beyond the Campus

Pro Bono Opportunities

Pro bono work is one of the best ways to gain hands-on experience, and as a first-year student, you can get involved right away. Our three academic centers—the Center for Business Law, the Center for Law and Social Responsibility, and the Center for International Law and Policy—sponsor pro bono projects, and several of our student organizations also provide opportunities to put your legal skills to work helping others. You may earn formal recognition for this work on your New England Law transcript.

Learn About Our Pro Bono Opportunities

Summer Fellowship Program

Through the Summer Fellowship Program, you can work with practicing attorneys, law offices, corporations, or government agencies. Open to students who have finished their first year (second year for part-time students), the program offers a $3,500 school-paid stipend plus valuable work experience and connections.

Explore Our Summer Fellowship Program Options

Study Abroad

Any one of our seven study-abroad programs can expand your perspective on the American legal system by teaching you about international or comparative law. We offer summer programs in Galway, Ireland; London, England; Msida, Malta; Prague, the Czech Republic; and Santiago, Chile, along with semester-long programs in Denmark, and the Netherlands.

See What It’s Like to Study Abroad