Insights: U.S. Legal System Certificate Program
Insights programs are in-depth professional development programs for international and U.S. students, legal educators, and legal professionals.
Join expert Boston College Law School faculty for this popular five-day introduction to the U.S. legal system – now offered online!
Participants will learn about:
- The system of justice and legal problem-solving in the U.S.
- The facilitative role lawyers play in business transactions
- The role of the lawyer in the U.S.
- How criminal cases are handled in the U.S.
- How lawyers prepare for a trial
- How to introduce evidence in a case
- Human rights standards and applications to business law
- Intellectual property law in the U.S.
- Environmental law and lessons for the future
- The role of constitutional courts
Each of the five days will offer a two-hour, live synchronous session and a two-hour, recorded asynchronous session. The live sessions offered via Zoom will be interactive; participants may attend recorded sessions at a time that is convenient. Live Q&A sessions with instructors will follow the recorded sessions.
Total program hours: 25
Insights: U.S. Legal System - Online
August 12-16, 2024
Registration Deadline: August 5, 2024
Program Fee: $300 USD
Please note that online participants are required to have a computer with video and audio capability.
Participants must also create a Zoom account in advance according to Boston College security requirements.
This program has a maximum capacity to allow for participant engagement and ensure the best possible experience. Register early to avoid disappointment!
9:00 AM to 11:00 AM ET (Synchronous)
Session 1 • Introduction to the U.S. Legal System and Legal Problem-Solving
Instructor: Joan Blum
This session introduces the fundamentals of the U.S. legal system. Topics include an overview of the U.S. Constitution focusing on federalism, the structure and function of courts, sources of legal authority, and common-law method.
2 Hours (Asynchronous)
Session 2 • Introduction to Transactional Law Practice
Instructor: Paul Tremblay
Most lawyers in the United States engage in transactional practice. Unlike litigators who represent clients in court or administrative hearings, lawyers work with individuals or businesses to arrange their affairs, establish legal and organizational structures, and advise about compliance. This introduction will focus on one increasingly relevant aspect of that work—representing startups. The session will outline the typical steps in organizing a new business, including choosing an appropriate entity, arranging the relationships among the founders and any new investors or workers, protecting the enterprise’s intellectual property, and addressing any ethical issues that arise.
9:00 AM to 10:00 AM ET (Synchronous)
Session 2 • Q&A
Instructor: Paul Tremblay
Live discussion for Session 2 with the instructor.
10:00 AM to 12:00 PM ET (Synchronous)
Session 3 • Professional Responsibility and the Role of the Lawyer
Instructor: Judith A. McMorrow
This session on professional responsibility and legal ethics will explore the significant responsibility lawyers have to shape law in a common law system, and their responsibility to advocate for clients in the adversary system. The session will also explore how professional responsibility norms differ slightly around the world, reflecting the varying visions of independence and the balance of client-centered lawyering and social responsibility.
2 Hours (Asynchronous)
Session 4 • Introduction to Criminal Law
Instructor: Hon. Christine McEvoy (Ret.)
This session will provide an overview of Criminal Law and Procedure as well as the fundamentals of the criminal justice system in the United States. Relevant topics include: crime types, statutory and common law, and federal and state systems. The session will also explore roles of the police, prosecutors, defense attorneys, the grand jury, and judges. We will also provide an overview of pre-trial due process motions, including discovery issues, constitutional suppression motions, and motions to exclude prejudicial evidence. Finally, we will review jury trials, sentencing, and appellate issues.
9:00 AM to 10:00 AM ET (Synchronous)
Session 4 • Q&A
Moderator: Hon. Christine McEvoy (Ret.)
Live Discussion for Session 4 with the instructor.
10:00 AM to 12:00 PM ET (Synchronous)
Session 5 • Introduction to Civil Litigation: Pre-Trial Practice
Instructor: Alan Minuskin
This practice-focused, interactive session provides an overview of the development of a civil case from client interview through conclusion of a matter. Stages and skills covered include client interviewing, case planning and pleading, fact investigation (including discovery), client counseling, and negotiation. The session also highlights how a civil litigator's often competing ethical responsibilities (to the client, to the court, to the legal system, to the opposing side, and others) naturally lead to challenges in making strategic decisions.
2 Hours (Asynchronous)
Session 6 • Introduction to Evidence
Instructor: Jeffrey Cohen
U.S. judges use rules of evidence to control the flow of information that a jury is allowed to hear. Evidentiary rules seek to balance access to relevant information with a desire to avoid evidence that is unreliable, inflammatory, or repetitive. This session will explore the reasons for Rules of Evidence and cover some of the major topics, including relevance and hearsay.
9:00 AM-10:00 AM ET (Synchronous)
Session 6 • Q&A
Instructor: Jeffrey Cohen
Live Discussion for Session 6 with the instructor.
10:00 AM to 12:00 PM ET (Synchronous)
Session 7 • Human Rights & Business Law
Instructor: Daniela Urosa
States must guarantee protection against human rights abuses within their jurisdiction by third parties, including corporations. In addition, beyond the right to economic development and private initiative, companies must respect the principles of corporate responsibility, due diligence, cooperation, and accountability. They must respect the centrality of human rights and human dignity, even extraterritorially within the framework of global business.
This session introduces the fundamental International Human Rights Law standards on business and human rights, the scope of the State's human rights obligations in the context of corporate activities, and the disparate impacts on vulnerable populations. In particular, this session will focus on the current challenges of labor rights, environmental rights and climate change, corporate tax practices, and information and communication technologies.
2 Hours (Asynchronous)
Session 8 • Intellectual Property Law
Instructor: Joseph Liu
This session provides a general overview of the major areas of U.S. intellectual property law: copyright, trademark, patent, and trade secret. It will provide students with a general introduction to the main doctrines and cases in each of these areas, and an understanding of how the individual subject areas compare.
2 Hours (Asynchronous)
Session 9 • Environmental Law and Its Lessons for Future Governance
Instructor: Zygmunt Plater
Environmental protection law is a relatively young sector of law in the U.S. and abroad; however, patterns and frameworks have evolved that illuminate major themes and necessities of long-term societal governance and sustainability. Environmental protection law is one of the only areas of the U.S. legal system that explicitly takes into account the needs of future generations in establishing its regulatory standards. In this session, we will explore some of the specific features of U.S. environmental law that have direct relevance in other national systems, as well as its general thematic features, which are relevant in virtually all modern national states.
9:00 AM to 10:00 AM ET (Synchronous)
Session 8 • Q&A
Moderator: Joseph Liu
Live Discussion for Session 8 with the moderator.
10:00 AM to 11:00 AM ET (Synchronous)
Session 9 • Q&A
Instructor: Zygmunt Plater
Live Discussion for Session 9 with the instructor.
11:00 AM to 1:00 PM ET (Synchronous)
Session 10 • The Role of Constitutional Courts in Democracies
Instructor: Pedro Lenza
Constitutional democracies around the world face a common issue in justifying and accepting judicial review. When a constitutional court strikes down legislative enactments passed by a body elected by the people, it raises a “counter-majoritarian legitimacy” issue. Why should unelected judges be able to overturn the legislatively determined will of the people? This session will analyze precedents to explore the roles played by the courts in constitutional democracies – counter-majoritarian, representative, and enlightened.
1:00 PM to 1:30 PM ET (Synchronous)
Closing Session
Facilitators: Judith McMorrow and Pedro Lenza
Insights: U.S. Legal System Program Testimonials,
August 2023 Program:
- “I really liked the course, it was a very useful and enriching week for those of us who intend to train in the United States legal system. I would like to continue to do so. Thank you for your time and dedication during this week.”
- “This program exceed[ed] my expectations. [It] offers a great perspective of the U.S. legal system, from a very practical and dynamic point of view. Thus, I am very grateful to have the chance to be part of it. Thank you very much to everyone that made it possible and that contributed to its success.”
- “The 2023 Insights: US Legal System course is an enriching and fascinating course that I would recommend to anyone, no matter their background or level of expertise.”
Insights: U.S. Legal System Instructors
Certificate Pricing
Insights: U.S. Legal System
The program fee for
Insights: U.S. Legal System
is $300 USD.
General Information:
You must be at least 18 years old to participate in the Insights U.S. Legal System program. All sales are final; we are not able to offer refunds. Registrations may not be transferred to another person or to another course, workshop, or program.
Online registration is required to participate in the program. Tuition for the week-long program is $300 to be paid by debit or credit card. Registrations will be processed upon receipt of payment. Payment is due in full in order to enroll.