Sample Syllabus and Exam Schedule

Recommended Course of Study from State of Vermont Judiciary for Vermont’s Four Year Law Office Study Program

Three-Year Course of Study required by Virginia Board of Bar Examiners as part of Virginia’s Law Reader Program (scroll down to Regulation 6)

Below are two Microsoft Word documents that provide a sample syllabus and exam schedule to be used by supervising attorneys and their apprentices to help prepare for the First Year Law School Exam (FYLSE). We are very grateful to the author(s), who have requested to remain anonymous. Thank you for all your amazing and tireless efforts to build a more just society.

Apprenticeship Outline of Study Template

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Black Letter Law tests First Year Template
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Sample Curriculum for FYSLE Prep*

*This is a weekly schedule that the legal apprentices from SELC and the Homeless Action Center created to prepare for the First Year Law Students Exam. We will be amending the curriculum as we move forward based off of advice from former legal apprentices who are now attorneys and recently licensed lawyers from their experience taking the Bar exam. Please check back for more updates.

The books that we are using (but not endorsing, nor receiving any compensation from) are:

• Examples and Explanations: Criminal Law
• Examples and Explanations: Contracts
• Examples and Explanations: The Law of Torts
• Crunchtime Criminal Law
• Crunchtime Torts
• Crunchtime Contracts
• Barbri Multistate Outline

Weekly Schedule

TORTS WEEK 1Reading: Examples and Explanations: The Law of Torts: Ch. 1 – 6Friday Co-learning Activity: Multichoice Barbri Torts Exam and Discussion

TORTS WEEK 2Reading: Examples and Explanations: The Law of Torts: Ch. 7 – 9 & Ch. 27 – 29Friday Co-learning Activity: CA State Bar Essay Exam- June 2013 Question 2 “Abe v. Tree”

TORTS WEEK 3Reading: Examples and Explanations: The Law of Torts: Ch. 10 – 15Friday Co-learning Activity: Paula, Black Mountain, and the Telephone Co.

TORTS WEEK 4Reading: Examples and Explanations: The Law of Torts: Ch. 16 – 19Friday Co-learning Activity: Jeopardy CANCELED (SELC Retreat)

TORTS WEEK 5Reading: Examples and Explanations: The Law of Torts: Ch. 20 – 22Friday Co-learning Activity: Multichoice Barbri Torts Exam and Discussion

TORTS WEEK 6Reading: Examples and Explanations: The Law of Torts: Ch. 23 – 26Friday Co-learning Activity: Kaplan Essay (TBD)

CONTRACTS WEEK 1Reading: Examples and Explanations: Contracts: Ch. 1 – 5Friday Co-learning Activity: Multichoice Barbri Torts Exam and Discussion

CONTRACTS WEEK 2Reading: Examples and Explanations: Contracts: Ch. 6 – 9Friday Co-learning Activity: Crunchtime Essay Exam – Question 1 “David Do Lee”

CONTRACTS WEEK 3Reading: Examples and Explanations: Contracts: Ch. 10 – 11Friday Co-learning Activity: Jeopardy – THEA FACILITATING!

CONTRACTS WEEK 4Reading: Examples and Explanations: Contracts: Ch. 12 – 14Friday Co-learning Activity: CA State Bar Essay Exam- June 2012 Question 1 “Chip Inc.”

CONTRACTS WEEK 5Reading: Examples and Explanations: Contracts: Ch. 15 – 17Friday Co-learning Activity: Multichoice Barbri Torts Exam and Discussion

CONTRACTS WEEK 6Reading: Examples and Explanations: Contracts: Ch. 18 – 19Friday Co-learning Activity: CA State Bar Essay Exam – June 2013 Question 3 “ Sally and the Antique Doll”

CRIM LAW WEEK 1Reading: Examples and Explanations: Criminal Law: Ch. 1 -4Friday Co-learning Activity: Multichoice Barbri Torts Exam and Discussion

CRIM LAW WEEK 2Reading: Examples and Explanations: Criminal Law: Ch. 5 -7Friday Co-learning Activity: Crunchtime Essay Exam – Question 1 (p. 279) “ Sapo and Crapaud”

CRIM LAW WEEK 3Reading: Examples and Explanations: Criminal Law: Ch. 8 – 10Friday Co-learning Activity: Jeopardy – YASSI FACILITATING!

CRIM LAW WEEK 4Reading: Examples and Explanations: Criminal Law: Ch. 12 -14Friday Co-learning Activity: Crunchtime Essay Exam – Question 2 (P. 282) “Revolutionary kidnapping of bourgeois heiress”

CRIM LAW WEEK 5Reading: Examples and Explanations: Criminal Law: Ch. 15 – 17Friday Co-learning Activity: Multichoice Barbri Torts Exam and Discussion

CRIM LAW WEEK 6Reading: Examples and Explanations: Criminal Law: Ch. 18 – 19Friday Co-learning Activity: CA State Bar Essay Exam – June 2013 Question 4 “Cookie Bandit”

TORTS WEEK 7Reading: Crunchtime Torts: p. 65 – 186 (Capsule Summary)Friday Co-learning Activity: CA State Bar Essay Exam – Oct. 2012 Question 4 “Cathy the Cat Lady”

CONTRACTS WEEK 7Reading: Crunchtime Contracts: p. 45 – 142 (Capsule Summary) Friday Co-learning Activity: CA State Bar Essay Exam – Oct. 2012 Question 3 “Sam and Betty”

CRIM LAW WEEK 7Reading: Crunchtime Criminal Law: p. 47 – 156 (Capsule Summary)Friday Co-learning Activity: CA State Bar Essay Exam – Oct 2012 Question 2 “Victor and Ann”

REVIEW WEEK 1Reading: Review for FYLSE with Barbri TORTS section (p. 1 -100)Friday Co-learning Activity: Review TBD

REVIEW WEEK 2Reading: Review for FYLSE with Barbri CONTRACTS section (p. 1 – 127)Friday Co-learning Activity: Review TBD

REVIEW WEEK 3Reading: Review for FYLSE with Barbri CRIM LAW section (p. 1 – 77)Friday Co-learning Activity: Review TBD

More resources coming soon!  Email Janelle [at] theselc.org if you have suggested resources we could upload or link to here. Thank you!!

Bar Exam Study Materials:

Online Resources and Curriculum

Open Courseware Consortium: The OCW is a collaboration of higher education institutions and associated organizations from around the world creating a broad and deep body of open educational content using a shared model. Search the courses page to find recorded teachings on the American legal system and specific legal issues.

Tort Bunnies! A webcomic by Andrew Fong that was discontinued in 2012 but contains hilarious ways to remember torts. Enjoy!

Applied Business Law Course: A recorded course by Melissa Brown on Applied Business Law.

The Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI): a non-profit consortium of mostly US law schools that conducts applied research and development in the area of computer-mediated legal education. Click here for CALI’s YouTube uploads. 

Blenderlaw – Blog and course materials (including exams and Contract Law materials) by law professor Caroline Bradley. In particular the blog focuses on the blending of financial and corporate law. “The term blenderlaw is also a critical term, reflecting some scepticism about the value of legal harmonisation projects.”

The Illustrated Guide to Law: This comic is written with a high-school student in mind. But it’s meant for anyone who wants to know more about American law and how it really works and is a good intro into what law is. Mostly focuses on criminal law.

Open Law Lab (Illustrated Law & Visualizations): Even though I (Ricardo) disagree with their assessment of whether a burrito is a sandwich (see below), the Open Law Lab begins with the idea that law can be more engaging, more usable, and more useful.

Outlines from our friends

Brendan Conley’s free bar exam study materials

Linda Barrera’s Tort Law Outline

Linda Barrera’s Contract Essay outline

Self-directed learning resources

The Open Masters Program – a global community of small groups for self-directed learners, offering each other the structure, accountability, relationships, and sense of forward direction that are often hard to find outside formal programs and institutions.