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Delaware Law School Learning Outcomes

The Learning Outcomes and Performance Criteria shown below have been adopted by the Delaware Law School Faculty.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By graduation a Delaware Law student will have competency in the following:

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA

Knowledge and understanding of substantive and procedural law

  • Identifying, describing and interpreting the fundamental terms, rules, and principles (including variations) in given subject area
  • Comparing and contrasting principles, cases, or arguments
  • Demonstrating ability to identify and employ the processes through which legal disputes are resolved and legal rights and duties are established and enforced.

Legal reasoning and analysis

  • Identifying legal issues raised by a particular set of facts
  • Selecting and articulating the appropriate doctrinal or procedural framework/s to address legal issues
  • Effectively applying the relevant doctrinal or procedural framework to facts
  • Demonstrating ability to identify legal problems as they arise in a variety of factual contexts.

Legal research

  • Mastering fundamental research tools
  • Effectively and efficiently researching legal issues to find relevant primary and secondary authority
  • Critically reading primary and secondary authority to ascertain and explain its relevance, meaning and weight

Written and oral communication in the legal context.

  • Listening actively to determine audience needs and the appropriate response (audience may be client, court, opposing counsel, witness, etc.)
  • Employing appropriate methods of communication to the different stakeholders in the legal system.
  • Speaking in a clear, concise, thoughtful, well-organized and professional manner appropriate to the audience and context
  • Preparing legal documents such as letters, motions, and memoranda of law in a clear, concise, thoughtful, well-organized and professional manner appropriate to the audience and context
  • Using standard legal citation format

Problem-solving

  • Identifying all legal issues raised by a particular set of facts
  • Applying principles of law to sets of facts
  • Generating alternative solutions and strategies
  • Developing a plan of action
  • Considering practical implications, ethical issues, or other non-legal issues relevant to the problem
  • Demonstrating self-learning skills

Exercise of proper professional and ethical responsibilities to clients and civility in the legal profession.

  • Identifying ethical problems
  • Knowing the appropriate and relevant ethical standards raised in a problem
  • Articulating potential solutions to the problem
  • Demonstrating ability to organize and manage time and meet professional deadlines.
  • Demonstrating ability to work cooperatively with others in a professional setting.
  • Utilizing self-regulated learning principles to develop an appropriate understanding of new areas of law.

Lawyering skills including fact development, client counseling, drafting and analysis of common legal documents, and ability to work collaboratively with others.

  • Gathering facts relevant to legal issues
  • Drafting legal documents that are clear, concise, and appropriate to the audience and context
  • Practicing active and empathetic listening with clients
  • Conducting effective negotiation, counseling, or court hearing
  • Working effectively with colleagues on a legal matter
  • Using effective briefing, note-taking, and drafting techniques
  • Managing time
  • Strategic planning to accomplish a goal
  • Understanding the relationship between effective work habits and meeting professional responsibilities
  • Engaging in self-reflection about the student’s own learning process
  • Learning from experience through self-critique
  • Understanding the relationship between ongoing acquisition of information and skills and meeting professional responsibilities
  • Taking practical considerations into account such as time and financial constraints