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Why Study Law: Answers for Career Reasons and Essay Structure

Home » Application Questions and Answers » Why Study Law: Answers for Career Reasons and Essay Structure

• “Why study law?” essay question;
• “What is your motivation to study law?” job application question;
• “Why study law?” personal statement question;
• “Why study law?” interview question;
• “Why is law interesting?” law school application question;
• “Why study law in the UK?” question for international students; or
• “Why law?” application question.

8 Answers to Why Study Law

• Intellectually Challenging
• Allows You to Make a Difference
• Develop Multipurpose Skills
• Previous Learning Experience
• Passionate About Legally Connected Issues
• Personal Experience as a Reason to Why Study Law
• Interest in an Area of Law
• Lifelong Learning and Adaptability

1 – Intellectually Challenging

2 – allows you to make a difference, 3 – develop multipurpose skills.

• Business development;
• Drafting; and

4 – Previous Learning Experience

5 – you are passionate about legally connected issues.

• government policy;
• legislative processes;
• political developments; and
• international relations.

6 – Personal Experience as a Reason to Why Study Law

7 – interest in an area of law, 8 – lifelong learning and adaptability, why i chose to study law essay structure.

• Introduction: Start with a compelling hook, briefly introducing your motivation for studying law.
• Personal Journey: Share personal experiences or encounters that sparked your interest in law.
• Academic and Professional Goals: Explain how a law degree aligns with your academic aspirations and career objectives.
• Specialization Interests: If you have specific areas of law you are interested in, mention how they relate to your overall goals.
• Conclusion: Tie your personal, academic, and professional reasons together, reflecting on how a law degree will help you achieve your life objectives.

3 Tips on How to Excel in Your Answer

1 – Create a Structure

2 – show evidence, 3 – tailor towards the reader, 4 – bonus tip: why commercial law.

• “Why have you chosen a career in commercial law? Explain what motivates you”

Example Answers to Why Study Law

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How to write a 'why this law school' essay with examples.

Reviewed by:

David Merson

Former Head of Pre-Law Office, Northeastern University, & Admissions Officer, Brown University

Reviewed: 2/6/24

Entering law school? Knowing how to approach the “why law” school essay is vital—it's your tool to articulate why their institution is the ideal match for your legal goals. Let's get straight to it.

Getting into law school involves more than just grades—it's about convincing the admissions team why their school is the perfect fit for you. 

In this guide, we'll walk you through the process of crafting a strong "Why This Law School" essay, using clear examples and practical advice to help your application stand out in the competitive pool of applicants. So, let's get down to the essentials that will make your essay a key asset in securing your spot at the law school of your choice.

Writing the "Why This Law School" Essay

When writing your "Why This Law School" essay, it's important to thoughtfully consider key elements to express your connection with clarity and purpose. So, let’s take a look at how to write a “why law” school essay.

Generating Ideas for Impactful Content

When you're getting ready to write your “why law” school essay, start by doing some research. Dig into the school's culture, mission, faculty, and special projects. Learn about their history and what campus life is like.

Next, think about what genuinely interests you about the school. It could be their commitment to diversity, a specific course they offer, or interesting internship opportunities . Write down these things that catch your attention.

Now, connect your own experiences, events, and skills with the things you found interesting about the school. If they're big on diversity, share your own experiences supporting inclusivity. 

If there's a specific course you like, talk about how your past courses and work experiences make you a great fit. Basically, show them why you're not just any applicant but someone who can really add to what makes the school unique.

Stating Academic and Career Goals

A concise statement sets the stage, pinpointing what draws you to the school. Perhaps it's the renowned faculty or the emphasis on practical skills. Illustrate with a personal example—maybe a transformative moment during an internship or a class—that aligns with the school's values. Showcase your connection.

Highlight how your future aspirations intertwine with the school's strengths. Whether it's honing specific legal skills or contributing to a particular aspect of the academic community, paint a vivid picture of what you aim to achieve. Keep it focused, emphasizing the tapestry of alignment between your goals and the school's offerings.

Exploring Unique Opportunities Related to Your Interests

When explaining why a specific law school captures your attention, it's crucial to move beyond generic features and explore the distinctive opportunities the institution offers. For instance, consider the case of the UC Berkeley School of Law .

Dive into specific clinics like the Environmental Law Clinic, renowned professors such as Professor Abhay Aneja , or cutting-edge research projects like the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology. By delving into these unique aspects, you showcase genuine interest in what sets Berkeley Law apart.

Establishing a personal connection to these opportunities is key. It's not just about what Berkeley Law provides; it's about how programs like these align with your personal and professional goals. 

This connection adds depth to your application, demonstrating how you'll not only benefit from these opportunities but also contribute positively to the overall Berkeley Law community. Effectively communicating this alignment enhances your case for being an ideal fit for the institution.

Adding Top Academic and Extracurricular/Social Reasons for Application

Crafting a compelling application involves presenting a balanced approach that seamlessly integrates both academic and extracurricular or social reasons for your choice. Showcase a comprehensive understanding of the law school's offerings, not only in terms of curriculum but also in the broader context of the overall student experience.

To demonstrate fit, articulate how your academic pursuits align harmoniously with the school's curriculum. Illustrate how the courses, faculty expertise, and academic environment resonate with your educational goals. Simultaneously, emphasize how your extracurricular interests contribute meaningfully to the broader community. 

Whether it's involvement in student organizations, community service, or social initiatives, conveying a holistic engagement paints a picture of a candidate who will not only excel academically but also enrich the social fabric of the law school.

Knowing the Right Essay Length

If there are no guidelines, aim for around one double-spaced page, roughly 250–350 words. Format your essay like your personal statement, using "Interest in School X" in the header unless the application specifies otherwise (e.g., "Supplemental Essay One"). This ensures a smooth and organized flow of your thoughts throughout your application.

Thinking about length isn't just a detail; it's a sign of respecting the application process and the committee's time. This consideration makes your response more impactful and shows you get the importance of being concise without losing depth.

Seeking Professional Assistance

Starting your law school journey involves complexities, from crafting a strong application to excelling in standardized tests like the LSAT , GRE, Bar Exam, or MPRE. At Juris Education, our experienced admissions counselors are here to guide you through every step.

Navigating the details of expressing your achievements and overcoming setbacks can be challenging. Our team offers personalized guidance to help you strategically present your unique strengths, ensuring they connect with admissions committees.

Our consulting services are more than just advice; they make a real difference. Specifically designed for applicants dealing with challenges like low GPAs or LSAT scores, we specialize in turning setbacks into strengths, significantly improving your chances of acceptance.

We work closely with you to identify and highlight your standout qualities, tailoring your application to showcase what makes you exceptional. This personal touch sets you apart and boosts your appeal to admissions committees.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in Your “Why This Law School” Essay

Avoiding common pitfalls in your "Why This Law School" essay is crucial for clarity:

1. Vague Statements

When writing your essay, steer clear of vague language that could apply to any law school. Instead, focus on specific elements that make the institution unique, such as distinctive programs, esteemed faculty, or unparalleled opportunities. 

Get into the details when discussing academic offerings—highlight faculty members aligned with your interests and pinpoint programs resonating with your academic goals. This specificity not only reveals your research depth but also establishes a thoughtful connection to the school.

2. Overemphasis on Reputation

While acknowledging a law school's prestige is vital, avoid fixating solely on reputation without linking it to your personal and professional goals. Admission committees want to understand how the school's reputation aligns with your aspirations and why it's the ideal place for your legal education. 

Connect the school's reputation to your objectives to provide a nuanced perspective. For instance, if a law school is renowned for environmental law , emphasize this alignment if you're passionate about environmental advocacy.

3. Ignoring Extracurricular/Social Aspects

Don't overlook the significance of social and extracurricular factors in your decision-making process. Law school extends beyond academics; it's a comprehensive experience involving a community, networking opportunities, and extracurricular activities . Integrate both academic and extracurricular aspects into your essay. 

Discuss how the law school's social environment, student organizations, and community engagement contribute to a holistic educational experience. This showcases a well-rounded understanding of the institution and its role in your overall legal education.

Structuring Your "Why This Law School?" Essay Effectively

Let's dive into how to make your "Why This Law School?" essay stand out by structuring it effectively.

Outlining Key Points and Themes

Making your "Why This Law School?" essay easy to understand involves a strategic approach:

1. Identify School-Specific Elements

Begin by pinpointing specific aspects of the law school that catch your interest—unique programs, esteemed faculty, or notable achievements. This lays the groundwork for a focused and impactful essay.

For instance, if the law school is known for its environmental law program and you're passionate about sustainability, highlight this in your essay. Show a deep understanding of the school's offerings and how they align with your personal and professional goals.

2. Prioritize Impactful Points

Once you've figured out what matters to you, rank them based on how much they affect your decision. What stands out the most to you? What fits well with your career goals? Putting the most impactful points first helps keep your essay clear and persuasive.

For instance, if the law school has a special program where you can work directly with clients, and this lines up with your goal of getting hands-on legal experience, make sure to highlight this. The goal is to show a sincere and careful tie to the institution.

3. Create a Logical Flow

Plan your essay with a clear order, starting with the most important points. Transition smoothly between your academic, extracurricular, and personal experiences to create a cohesive story that highlights your deep understanding of the law school and why it suits you.

For example, if your interest in environmental law relates to your commitment to community service, make sure to emphasize this connection. A well-structured and logically flowing essay enhances readability and strengthens your overall argument for why the law school is an ideal match for you.

Combining Academic and Extracurricular/Social Reasons

Ensuring balance is key when shaping your "Why This Law School?" essay. It's not just about academics; it's about capturing the broader law school experience. Avoid going all-in on one side; try to reflect your appreciation for academic offerings and your potential impact on the law school community.

Discuss how your academic path blends seamlessly with the social dynamics of law school. Share how your classes and extracurricular interests harmonize, illustrating how your involvement in student organizations weaves effortlessly into your coursework.

For instance, if the law school's clinical programs align with your academic groove, delve into how it extends beyond conventional study methods. Emphasize the practical, real-world learning experiences it offers. 

By showcasing this interconnected approach, you demonstrate a well-thought-out perspective on your entire law school journey, adding an authentic and profound dimension to your essay.

Using Feedback and Editing Wisely

As you fine-tune your "Why This Law School" essay, let's talk about using feedback and editing in a smart and effective way.

1. Reach Out for Help

Before finishing your essay, get input from people you trust. Share your essay with mentors, peers, or advisors to get helpful feedback. Others can offer insights and spot areas for improvement that you might miss.

Choose people who know about the law school application process and can give constructive feedback on what you've written. Their input is essential for polishing both the content and presentation of your essay.

2. Revision Time

Revise your essay based on feedback, focusing on clarity, coherence, and strengthening your argument. Make sure to pay attention to suggestions that take your narrative to the next level. If feedback aligns with your goals, try to incorporate it. But, most importantly, trust your judgment and maintain the integrity of your narrative if a suggestion doesn't make sense with your vision.

3. Final Polishing

Before you submit your essay, focus on a last edit for grammar, style, and overall coherence. Make sure it fits the word or character limit and stays well-organized. Check how ideas flow, transitions between paragraphs, and the general readability.

A refined essay shows your dedication to a thoughtful application. Spend a moment on this final review to catch any remaining errors and guarantee your essay leaves the intended impression.

3 Examples of Successful “Why This Law School” Essays

Explore three successful examples of "Why This Law School" essays to gain practical insights into crafting compelling narratives and building strategic connections. Each “why law” school essay example has something to offer. Let’s get into them.

1. "Why Northwestern" Essay Example

Prompt : While other parts of your application give us a sense of who you are, we are also excited to hear more about how you see yourself engaging with the larger Northwestern community. In 300 words or less, help us understand how you might engage specific resources, opportunities, and/or communities here. We are curious about what these specifics are, as well as how they may enrich your time at Northwestern and beyond. (300 words max)

Essay Example

“I love Northwestern’s academic flexibility, including the freedom of the curriculum to explore a variety of fields and the emphasis on cross-department study. Also, the quarter system provides a faster pace of learning and the opportunity to take more classes than a semester school.

Specifically, I am excited by the Spanish and Portuguese departments and the classes on Hispanic and Lusophone culture, literature, and phonetics. 

For example, the accelerated Portuguese program is a perfect way to pick up the language at a faster pace using my prior knowledge of Spanish. I intend to supplement my language acquisition through the study abroad programs offered at the Fundação Getúlio Vargas in Rio de Janeiro or an affiliate program in Santiago, Chile. 

Additionally, the GESI program in Costa Rica is another intriguing opportunity through its intersectionality. It will allow me to combine a practical application of my language skills with studies in environmental conservation that I find a pressing and interesting issue. As an open-minded learner keen to forge links between academic fields of study, I believe I would be an excellent fit for the program.

I am also interested in Linguistics and pursuing undergraduate research or possibly undertaking the coterminal BA/MA program. The opportunity to link my research to a modern language of choice and investigate, for example, regional variation in Latin American Spanish or how Portuguese loanwords have infiltrated native Amazonian languages sounds fascinating and exciting.

Finally, the unique sense of community at Northwestern captivated me when I visited campus. The residential college system, the school spirit at Wildcat games, and the friendliness of the students I met, one of whom described the school as “the most welcoming place ever”, were all emblematic of this atmosphere for me. I think I will thrive in such a dynamic and inquisitive place.”

Why This Essay Works

This essay does a great job answering the prompt. It's clear and to the point. The applicant talks about why they're excited about Northwestern, like the flexibility of the curriculum and the quarter system. 

They also get specific about their interests, like the Portuguese program and study abroad opportunities. Plus, they mention their enthusiasm for the community at Northwestern, which is a nice touch.

2. "Why Tufts?" Essay Example

Prompt : Which aspects of the Tufts undergraduate experience prompt your application? In short, "Why Tufts?" (150 words max)

“The cross-curricular focus and freedom of study at Tufts would allow me to pursue an interdisciplinary major and draw together my love for Spanish, Portuguese, Linguistics, and the natural sciences. This unique ability to design my own major by combining elements from a variety of academic fields definitely excites me. To support this, I intend to participate in the study abroad program in Chile or a civic semester in Urubamba, Peru that will allow me to practice my language skills while also benefitting the local community and gaining an invaluable cultural understanding through intimate homestay experience. Other than the academics, the vibrant community at Tufts also attracts me, with the warm and compassionate students acting as flattering adverts for the school. One student I spoke with described the average Jumbo as “goofy and loving” which I feel accurately matches my own character and outlook.

(144/150 words)”

This essay works because it clearly shows how Tufts University's cross-curricular approach aligns with the applicant's academic interests in Spanish, Portuguese, Linguistics, and the natural sciences. 

It also conveys the applicant's intention to craft a unique major and engage in enriching experiences like studying abroad and contributing to local communities. Additionally, it portrays Tufts as a welcoming and compassionate community through the description provided by a current student, making a strong case for why the applicant is interested in the university.

3. "Why Tulane?" Essay Example

Prompt : Please describe why you are interested in attending Tulane University (optional). (50-800 words)

“Tulane University has a unique history, deeply established in the city it calls home, New Orleans. After transitioning from a medical school to a full college in in 1847, then undergoing a name change from the University of Louisiana to Tulane in 1884, as the city changed, Tulane changed with it. Tulane is the crossroad of two distinctly different ideals: being rooted in tradition and adapting to the needs of modern society.

When the city was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Tulanians answered the call to serve. Scott S. Cowen, then-President of Tulane, refused to let the hurricane ruin Tulane and the CIty. Tulanians were part of rescue and clean-up teams, devoting time and resources to rebuilding their school and the city it calls home. What was most impressive, however, was their resilience.

It would’ve been easy for the student body and staff to not come back. Being as smart and service-oriented as they are, the students and faculty could’ve found another place to live and learn easily. Yet, they returned. Tulanians have a certain sense of pride and commitment to the school that I admire. 

They could’ve stayed home and not gone back, but they wanted to pick up the pieces of the school they love. It’s clear that Tulanians take ownership in their education. I want to go to a school that my peers want to go to; I want to be immersed in a community as excited about being in it as I am. That’s Tulane.

I could go on and on about Tulane’s teacher education program. I could write about how Tulane-educated teachers are leaders in their fields because they have both a degree in their area of study as well as certification to teach. Maybe I could mention the service learning requirements necessary to graduate and enter the teacher certification program, ensuring that the teachers are prepared to instill morals in the students that walk through their classroom door.

Truthfully, I could go almost anywhere to become a teacher, but only schools like Tulane that synthesize in- and out-of-classroom learning produce great ones. Tulane, like I said before, houses a resilient and altruistic student body. They served New Orleans specifically in 2005, but Tulanians serve their community every single day. Newsweek ranked Tulane 19th for service-minded schools. Likewise, the U.S. News & World Report placed Tulane in the top 25 schools for service learning. It is one of the top schools for producing Peace Corps volunteers, a program that interested me for post-graduate work.

Whether it is through Outreach Tulane, CACTUS, Wave of Green, or another similar program, I will be immersed in service work throughout my four years. Tulane stands alone in its commitment to community. Classroom education is married with service learning, producing empathetic, worldly leaders ready to set the world on fire. In my case, that will be through educating the next generation.

I need a meaningful education to be a meaningful educator. Tulane is unparalleled in its dedication to development of the students, on a personal and intellectual level. From when I touch the Victory Bell after Convocation all the way to when I say farewell at the Wave Goodbye Party at Commencement, I’ll have changed and grown, both in my mind and in my heart.

The Tulane study body is diverse and well-rounded; finding people and groups with shared interests is inevitable. I could see myself writing for the Hullabaloo or being a tutor in the After-School Newcomb Tutoring (which will bridge my learning and my intended career and give practical application to my education classes). But more so, I can just envision myself at Tulane, as a Tulanian. The willowing oak, myrtle, and cypress trees, the world-renowned research facilities, the dedicated faculty, the motivated and inspired student body, and the timeless school spirit all lend itself to a picture I can see myself in.”

This essay does a great job of showing why the applicant wants to attend Tulane University. It talks about the university's history, how it responded to Hurricane Katrina, and why the applicant is interested in their teacher education program. 

It also mentions the strong commitment to service and personal growth at Tulane. Overall, it makes a strong case for why the applicant is excited about being a part of the Tulane community.

To sum it up, writing your “why law” school essay is all about storytelling. From understanding the unique aspects of law school to combining academic and extracurricular reasons, your essay is a chance to show why you're a perfect fit. 

Explore the unique opportunities the school provides, creating a personal connection that enhances your application. Keep it simple: Steer clear of common mistakes, and make sure your essay is well-structured. And don't forget, the right essay length is more than a detail—it shows respect for the application process.

If you find it helpful, consider getting expert advice for a well-guided path to law school. Take inspiration from successful examples as you start your writing journey, creating a narrative that sets you apart in the competitive realm of law school applications.

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A less obvious, more common mistake is to write about how you want to help people. The fact is that most law school graduates, especially from the top schools, go on to work in the private sector. Law school admissions officers are not out to judge the moral value of your career intentions, particularly because they know that people often change their minds. They're well aware that most of their graduates will go on to seek financially rewarding careers. Therefore, applicants who mention clichis about wanting to "improve society" usually sound disingenuous.

Focusing on Specific Legal Areas

If you have a specific goal, such as working for a particular disadvantaged group that lacks advocates, then the situation is different: It's always good to showcase a unique, focused commitment. Even better would be if you had a track record of community service to back up your objectives. For example, you may have worked with handicapped people for several years, and this exposed you to certain injustices that you want to correct. The same approach would work for topics that are not about public service. For example, this applicant describes his background in science and connects this to his current interests in intellectual property law. He recognizes that his unusual background is a strength rather than a liability. His unique reasons for attending law school are clearly grounded in relevant experience and thoughtful consideration.

Personal Interests

Discussing specific areas of law is a surefire way to demonstrate a mature commitment to the study of law. However, admissions officers certainly do not expect this level of decisiveness. Another way to show your reasons for pursuing law is to tie your interest to personal qualities or skills. This applicant shows that her interest in law is grounded in her willingness to seek "justice at any cost." What's important is not that she be the only person with this conviction, because that would not be possible. Instead, the uniqueness comes through her personal details, the evidence that she provides to back up her principled nature.

Brushes With the Law

Some people will discover their interest in law through an unplanned encounter. This applicant describes her involvement in an Equal Employment Opportunity suit, then ties this in with her interest in environmental law. The result is an essay that provides two specific details: first, a concrete event that demonstrates her exposure to law, and second, a distinct field of law for which she has special qualifications to pursue.

This essay focuses even more explicitly on the role that law and lawyers have played in the applicant's life. Though the details of the essay still center on the applicant's background, he uses past encounters with the law to define his current objectives.

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What is a Law?

“don’t run with scissors in your hand”, “don’t drive your car on the sidewalk”, “do not steal your neighbor’s property”.

How many times a day does someone tell you what to do? How often do you have to stop yourself from doing what you want, because you know that this action is prohibited or wrong?

In the United States, it seems like we have laws, rules, and regulations to oversee just about everything. We don’t always like these rules, since they often mean that someone is telling us what to do, or keeping us from doing what we want. Yet to live in a civil society, we must have some rules to follow.

Who gets to make these rules? Where do they come from? What happens when we break them? These are the questions this page will seek to answer for you.

aws are rules that bind all people living in a community. Laws protect our general safety, and ensure our rights as citizens against abuses by other people, by organizations, and by the government itself.  We have laws to help provide for our general safety.  These exist at the local, state and national levels, and include things like:

• Laws about food safety.  At the state and local level, health departments have guidelines that restaurants follow for how to store and prepare food in a healthy manner, so that diners won’t get sick. At the national level, the Department of Agriculture and other federal agencies inspect food production plants to be sure that the food that shows up in your supermarket is safe to eat.
• Speed limits and traffic laws exist so that we drive in a safe manner.
• Licensing for doctors and nurses ensures proper training of the people who look after us, and who often have our lives in their hands.

We also have laws that protect our rights as citizens, and which include things like:

• Laws that come from the Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution, that guarantee our basic freedoms like freedom of speech, religion, and the press.
• Laws that protect us from discrimination because of our race, gender, age, or because of a disability.

Where do Laws come from?

• Statutory Law

This law comes from the judicial branch. Though the courts do not pass laws, they do interpret them. This means that the judiciary bases their legal decisions on what is written in the Constitution, and on previous court rulings in similar cases. This is a process called stare decisis which in Latin means “let the decision stand.”

Statutes are laws created by the legislative branch through the lawmaking process. Statutes are written, discussed, argued and voted on in Congress or in the legislature of a state. The courts then apply and interpret these statutes on a case by case basis.

Laws Over Time

The thing about living in a democracy is that the laws change over time. The laws needed in 1789 when the Constitution was born, and in 1890, 1950, or 1990, are different from the laws needed today. The legislative branch of government must seek to update laws as needed, and the judicial branch has to interpret the laws so that they apply fairly to society at the time.

• For example, laws about bullying or stalking have had to be updated to consider social networking sites, cyber bullying and cyber stalking. The original laws didn’t take the internet into consideration.

More About Laws

The laws of our nation generally arise out of our shared values and morals. In our nation we have laws at both the national and state levels. As citizens, we tend to be most familiar with state and local laws, since these are the laws we encounter most in our daily lives. These laws protect us against crimes like murder, robbery, rape, and assault. They also insure that we don’t drive too fast, that we mow our lawns and keep our dogs on leashes. In the United States, we also have a national government which makes laws. On the national level, we have laws about internet crime, narcotics, treason, as well as things like copyright and patents. Laws are sometimes controversial, and citizens do not always agree on what should be illegal. Though laws tend to come out of our shared values as a society, not everything that is immoral is illegal. For example:

• Foul Language may be offensive to some people, but it isn’t illegal.
• Narcotics are illegal in most cases, yet some people would like them to be legal for everyone, while others find them to be a threat to public safety and support current laws.

Recently we have seen state and local governments making some laws that may cause us to question the limits of government’s power. For example:

• Should a state be able to limit the sale of large, 40 ounce sodas in the name of supporting good health?
• Should teachers be able to use Facebook? Can they “friend” their students?
• Should a city be able to limit the number of fast food restaurants in a neighborhood, to try to make residents make healthier food choices?
• Should a municipality be able to tell you how “low” to wear your pants?

The Rule of Law

President Theodore Roosevelt once said, " Ours is a government of liberty, by, through and under the law. No man is above it, and no man is below it. "

Rule of Law 1

The American commitment to the rule of law means that every citizen is governed by the same laws, applied through a fair and equal judicial process to resolve disputes peacefully.

Rule of Law 2

Faithfulness to the rule of law allows us to live in a civil society in which everyone’s rights are respected; where each of us is guaranteed liberty and equality of opportunity.

Rule of Law 3

As citizens we respect the laws because they are clearly communicated and fairly enforced. Everyone is held accountable to the same laws, and those laws protect our fundamental rights. This is the foundation of the rule of law in the United States.

Rule of Law 4

The words “Equal Justice Under Law” are engraved on the front of the United States Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C… These words embody the ideal of the RULE OF LAW, which is at the heart of our American democracy.

Rule of Law 5

In the United States, we have written laws in place to help us settle disagreements peacefully through a fair system of justice. It is the job of the courts to interpret the laws. It is up to judges and juries to decide if we have indeed broken the law.

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What is the Rule of Law?

• by Lawprof Team

Essay Outline

3 conceptions of the rule of law, the bare bones conception.

When investigating what the Rule of Law consists of, Elliot’s tripartite distinction extends the traditional dualist debate between the formal and substantive conceptions one layer further. We thus begin with this extension – a barebone principle of legality. This is related to HLA Hart’s rule of recognition – if something is to be regarded a law, it must follow the appropriate procedure recognized by the legal system and constitution at large. In the context of the UK Parliament, this ordinarily requires approval by both Houses of Parliament, as well as royal assent from the Queen – in the circumstances proscribed under the Parliament Acts 1911/49, the consent of the Lords is not required. There are two things to note at this point. Firstly, this barebone principle of legality is morally neutral – to lend Sir Leslie Stephen’s overused example – the Blue Eyed Babies Genocidal Act 2020 would be valid provided it was enacted in the appropriate institutional context. Yet moral neturality does not strip the concept of normative value – to lend an example, Lord Camden’s famous judicial dicta in Entick v Carrington: “ if it is law, it will be found in our books. If it is not to be found there, it is not law.” This strong statement was accompanied with a declaration that then Secretary of State’s Lord Halifax’s order to search Entick’s home was unlawful. We thus already see normative value in this bare bone conception in preventing unfettered executive discretion – If Lord Halifax wished to conduct such search, he would have to either rely on statute or established precedent with regard to the prerogative.

The Formal Conception and the Prevailing Position in the United Kingdom

Many academics however, argue that the rule of law properly understood requires us to go further – beyond respect for the rule of recognition as one precondition for valid law, the rule of law is thought to impose further requirements. This is where the traditional debate between formal and substantive requirements is located. We speak of the former first. With regards to the formal conception of the Rule of law, there are multiple definitions. The high juristic authority of Joseph Raz is chosen here for its brevity and accuracy, as well as contemporaneous context(in comparison with Dicey). According to Raz, the 3 key requirements that the law must conform to are that laws:

• Should be publicly and clearly stated
• Should not have retroactive effect
• Should be stable

These principles manifest themselves in judicial dicta which provide strong evidence that the UK constitution adheres to such a formal conception. Two cases are particularly helpful in this regard. Firstly, Lord Steyn’s invocation of the rule of law in Anufrijeva , where the entitlement to benefits of an asylum seeker was upheld is particularly instructive in demonstrating the application of legal certainty where it was thought that a constitutional state “must accord to individuals the right to know of a decision before their rights can be adversely affected”, with the Kafka-esque antithesis being described as a state where the rights of individuals could be eroded by “knocks on doors in the early hours”. Secondly, the idea that laws should not be retroactive is illustrated by Pierson , where it was held that the home secretary’s retroactive extension of a prisoner’s sentence from 15 to 20 years detention was unlawful on the basis that “a sentence lawfully passed should not retrospectively be increased”.

Further, Raz speaks of practical institutional arrangements which must be secured in order to conform with these 3 requirements – that people must have access to courts, further, their independence and expertise must be secured in order to allow them resolve disputes objectively in accordance with legal principle. Finally, in terms of the practical institutional requirement of access to courts which Raz argues is important – the Witham case involved the declaration that a substantial increase in fees to be paid to initiate litigation under … was held to be ultra vires as it would inhibit people on low incomes from making legal claims. Similar facts, relating to employment tribunals this time may be found in Unison .

At this point, it is clear that the formal conception provides more exacting conditions on our law as compared to the bare bones principle of legality – as it demands a legal framework that constrains in particular, the discretion of the executive, beyond the fact that laws must be passed through a process compatible with the prevailing rule of recognition. Expressed by Hayek, the normative appeal of the formal conception is clear and justifies its existence – legal certainty should be facilitated in order for individuals to be able to plan their behaviour as an individual autonomous agent. The eager constitutionalist is then confronted with a curious question – in pursuit of a more optimum normative state, why stop at the formal conception? Should further rights form the basis of a more onerous rule of recognition in pursuit of moral and normative truth? This is the controversy over the formal conception, which we now consider.

The Substantive Conception of the Rule of Law

The substantive conception of the rule of law, as well as the controversy surrounding it can be explicated paradoxically, by Raz’s argument against it- Citing a 1959 report of the International Committee of Jurists, who adopted the view that the rule of law encompassed values such as “civil and political rights” as well as “social educational and cultural conditions”, rejecting this view, Raz retorts “If the rule of law is the rule of the good law then to explain its nature is to propound a complete social philosophy”. Unpacking this dissent, we are firstly directed towards what the substantive conception entails – whereas the requirements of the formal conception, as explicated earlier are comparatively modest based on the foundational principle of respect for individual autonomy(as Elliot and Hart argue), the substantive conception claims for it what political constitutionalists such as Griffith would argue are simply contested political claims. Before examining Raz’s dissent, it is worth considering how, if at all, the substantive conception of the rule of law applies in the context of the UK’s constitution. “Law and Democracy” and “The Rule of Law” by the late and eminent Laws LJ and Lord Bingham respectively show the existence of a substantive conception, at least in the mind of judicial actors.

The position in case law is more controversial. While the formal and substantive conceptions are not entirely discrete, and debate abounds about at what point certain foundational principles turn into common political claims, there are two cases which arguably demonstrate the existence of such a conception. In Daly , a government policy was held to be unlawful because it conflicted with the right to attorney privilege. Emphasising that the decision was reached through “orthodox applications of common law principles” as opposed to convention rights, Lords Bingham and Cooke affirmed the view that “some rights [were] inherent and fundamental to democratic civilised society.” and that constitutions responded by recognising rather than creating these prior rights. Similarly, the right to equality was underlined by Re M , where a Minister was held in contempt of court for refusing to comply with a court order to stay his hand from deporting an asylum seeker. To hold otherwise according to Lord Templeman would “establish the proposition that the executive obey the law as a matter of grace and not as a matter of necessity, a proposition which would reverse the result of the Civil War”.

Attorney privilege and the right to equality appear to be good to uphold, wherein lies the controversy with the substantive conception? Fundamentally, the argument boils down to the usual concern raised by Griffith and hardline political constitutionalists in general that greater influence on the constitution by the judges will lead to a rise of machiavellian philosopher kings who rule without democratic mandate and cloak their politics in the false neutrality of a substantive conception. Raz thus distinguishes his formal conception as one which is morally neutral. Two points must be raised here, firstly in rebuttal of Raz  And secondly in rebuttal of the political constitutionalist argument against the rule of law.

Raz’s Mistake and a rebuttal against Political Constitutionalism

Firstly, the formal conception cannot be said to be morally neutral – it is premised on the basic respect for the functioning of an individual as an autonomous being. This dispels any illusions of a bright line between formal and substantive forms of the rule of law – individual autonomy is potentially as contestable a right as attorney privilege in Daly , or the equality of individuals in Re M . The real distinction is that the formal conception is reliant on a foundationalist view of justification, where individual autonomy serves as the foundation on which all else rests. On the other hand, the substantive conception is reliant on a non foundationalist view, inasmuch as no single principle is taken to be the foundation on which all else depends; rather each belief mutually supports and is supported by the others, and is in that sense justified.

Secondly, deconstructing Griffith’s argument and using the foundational value of  individual autonomy as an example, it is essentially the view that a lack of consensus precludes the existence of the virtue of individual autonomy from being objectively true, yet this objection doesn’t count snakes, tigers, and polar bears amongst those whose judgments (about the goodness of autonomy) are to be ascertained, but it is about as indiscriminating in its allowing virtually any member of the human species to count. Demonstrably, the volitionary and fetishistic slave may lack an appreciation of individual autonomy, while some might simply lack the capacity to come to a judgement on the matter. But why should the judgments of such individuals deflect those coming from the majority who have a deep capacity and self-evident certainty that individual autonomy is good? Or in fact, equality or attorney privilege for that matter? Few would dissent the normative value of these concepts. Further, our argument here does not simply rest on the support of the majority(which is assumed here admittedly). As Aquinas noted long ago, while certain propositions “are universally self-evident to all .. . [others] are self-evident only to the wise . . . If any propositions of law is self-evident, surely they are in the latter category, and to be adjudged by a class of individuals selected meritocratically from amongst the foremost institutions of legal practice – the judiciary.

Conclusions

The rule of law in our constitution.

No further justification will be given for the preceding arguments: the reader will either be convinced by the analysis, or will believe I am terribly wrong. Conveniently, there is only time to assume the former here. Proceeding on such a charitable assumption, we might draw two conclusions that illuminates the nature of the rule of law in our constitution. Firstly, that the rule of law is an important part of our constitutional arrangements – not only paid lip service to by the Constitutional Reform Act 2015, but also applied through the common law of the court in constitutional cases of recent memory, for what is hoped are obvious normative reasons, largely premised on a respect for the individual as an autonomous functioning being capable of making individual choices, as Hart puts it. This essay has argued for the existence of all 3 progressive forms of the rule of law within our constitutional framework – but it is conceded that only the bare bones and formal conception exist without dispute. The next conclusion addresses a potential unifying conception of a single rule of law.

A Unifying Conception of the Rule of Law

Regarding the debate between formal and substantive conceptions, this commentator controversially argues that there are no clearly demarcated boundaries – the distinction lies within the choice of epistemic justification proffered – Raz prefers a foundational theory, while late eminent jurists such as Sir John Laws and Lord Bingham of Cornhill  for instance would support a non foundational justificatory framework. It is suggested however that we should not further create a false and unnecessary division of a constitutional principle as nebulous as the rule of law on the vagaries of epistemic justification – this is a distinction which outside a highly specialised or philosophical academic setting has little practical importance. Foundational or non foundational, the rule of law simply demands that its constituent principles have some grounds of (surprise) justification. Such justification may exist even though rights are contestable, because it is posited that widespread emotional response and consensus to values such as equality and the value of individual autonomy might serve as grounds of validating the truth of these assertions. It is conceded however, that this is a controversial view.

Allan’s Constitution of Reason

Crucially however, it is not argued that the judiciary employ the Rule of Law as a legal rule to  usurp the power of the state on the grounds of intellectual or moral superiority – instead, this commentator believes that we must recognise that while contestable rights may have objective normative value, the more contestable or “substantive” the right, the greater the probability that this is an area where Parliament has better institutional legitimacy and design to tackle. There is thus a need for the courts to respect the constitutional position of the legislature and draw the boundaries accordingly in enforcing the rule of law. While law students certainly crave for bright lines, the constitution of reason is far more nuanced than we would have hoped.

Now out: model 1st class 🏆 examination answers from Oxford

Why Study Law?

Studying law offers the opportunity to develop a range of skills and explore many aspects of human life. It gives you the chance to sharpen your mind, strengthen your understanding and deepen your experience across the full range of humanities and social sciences. You acquire both breadth of understanding and depth in the areas that interest you most.

Law should therefore appeal to those who want to develop both abstract thinking and practical problem-solving. It’s easy to see why you don’t have to become a lawyer just because you’ve done a law degree; many choose other paths. A law degree can give you the skills to be a successful lawyer but also a successful producer, politician, manager, journalist, diplomat or police officer; a law degree equips you for almost any profession that requires intellectual strength combined with a practical approach to the world.

So, why bother doing a (demanding) three-year law degree when you could do a (less intense) degree for three years and then do an (intense) one-year law conversion course or spend (an equally  intense) five- to six-month period studying for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE), to end up seeking the same jobs as those who did a law degree? When couched in these terms, the answer may seem a no-brainer: do the less intense course. We disagree. A law degree may come at the price of fewer lie-ins and mid-morning coffees but most law students combine an active social life and extra-curricular activities with the demands of the course. Most importantly, we think they come out much the better for it. Here are just five advantages of reading law at university:

1. Law students acquire both breadth and depth of legal knowledge

Those reading law typically cover 14 subjects in their degree, whereas students taking a law conversion course normally study only seven core subjects, and those preparing for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination will focus on preparing only ‘functional legal knowledge’ relevant to client-based scenarios. Students who have an undergraduate law degree have the opportunity both to pursue specialised areas of particular interest beyond the core and also to appreciate the bigger picture: how the law fits together and how the law relates to other subjects, such as politics, economics, history, criminology and philosophy. We are often asked what makes a successful lawyer. We offer a variety of answers: the ones you would expect — intelligence, determination, drive, hard work; and one you might not — imagination. Creative arguments are derived from thinking laterally around a problem, and the ability to do that is often related to breadth of legal knowledge. A particular line of reasoning in a case involving commercial contracts might be inspired by something you learned in a labour law seminar 20 years earlier.

“In my view, pupils who have done an undergraduate Law degree start with a very considerable advantage over those who have tried to cram in everything in less than a year. A Law degree allows a student to gain a broader and more mature understanding of the subject.” – Jonathan Hirst QC, former Chairman of the Bar of England and Wales

2. Law is as complex and multi-faceted as the scope of human endeavour, intellect and emotion

Yes, the conversion course or SQE preparation course lets you glimpse the delights of the window-climbing burglar dressed only in his socks and the snail in a ginger beer bottle. However, if you only did a conversion course or SQE preparation course you would miss out on learning what Bernard Manning did at a Roundtable dinner and what the supermarket chain Safeways did to the pony-tail wearing Mr Smith. The law reaches into every aspect of human life and a three-year degree plainly offers much a greater opportunity to sample the rich variety of problems and possibilities with which the law engages.

3. Law is more than cramming cases and statutes

Acquiring the skills of thinking like a lawyer comes with practice – lots of practice. Children take years to acquire the skills of communicating, learning from their parents and others not just the vocabulary but also the grammar, intonation, subtleties and structures of the language. The same is true for learning law. Law is the language society uses to define relationships, to explain rights and obligations and to regulate interaction between individuals and society as a whole. Robots can be taught the basics but law students develop an affinity for the subject by being exposed to different writers and arguments, and by exploring the social phenomena and other intellectual disciplines that are implicated in legal problems. In a law degree, you learn to read and interpret the primary sources, put them in context, evaluate them, and make up your own mind. Developing these critical skills and this contextual understanding takes time – more time, we suggest, than is realistically available in a one-year conversion course.

4. A law degree trains students to talk about Law simply and effectively, without the stereotypes of legal language

Just as law involves distinctive ways of thinking, it also involves a distinctive vocabulary – a new language. Students learn this language alongside their peers, who are also struggling with its forms and subtleties. They also learn from their teachers, who often use simple vocabulary to explain difficult concepts, preparing law students them to advise clients who will usually not be legally trained. The same goes for writing about law. Writing verbose and unnecessarily complex opinions or other documents might make lawyers feel good about themselves but are of little use to clients; statutes and contracts drafted in such language can create enormous problems. Again, acquiring these skills takes time and exposure to a wide range of speakers and writers – for which a three-year law degree plainly offers much greater scope than a conversion course or SQE preparation course.

5. Law students acquire skills, not just knowledge

Many law students participate, for example, in mooting competitions, where they develop skills of oral advocacy, or pro bono societies, where they can give legal advice and support to real people with real problems. Such skills prepare students not only for careers as lawyers but also for diverse careers in policy-related fields, such as government, international organisations, the voluntary sector and business.

During my A-level history studies, I became fascinated by how the law reflects societal development. I enjoyed both history and English literature at A level and had considered studying these subjects at university. However, when reading ‘What about Law?’, I became interested in the issues that arise in the course of an undergraduate law degree, and the type of analysis involved. Ultimately, this led me to study law rather than any other subject. – Danielle What excites me most about the study and practice of law is the marriage of theoretical concept and practical application. Engaging with the messiness and complexity of legal doctrines and rules, whilst trying to come up with a workable solution, is intellectually challenging, and rewarding. – Joshua

Other views

Consistently with what we say above about studying law, we encourage you, of course, to listen to competing views and to make up your own mind. If you have time, you might be interested to watch a debate held in Cambridge in 2013 on the topic, “Those who wish to practise law should not study law at university”. The speakers were The Rt Hon. Lord Sumption, a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom who read history and became an academic before becoming a leading barrister and judge, and Professor Graham Virgo, Professor of English Private Law and Pro-Vice Chancellor for Education in the University.

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Why study law: Top 10 benefits of becoming a lawyer

What are the advantages of studying a law degree? We uncover what it means to study an llb at degree level and where this could take you.

What do Margaret Thatcher, Benazir Bhutto, Barack Obama and Mahatma Gandhi have in common? Interestingly, they are world leaders who studied law. One of the oldest academic fields in the world, a law degree is a highly regarded qualification and promises great career opportunities.

For some, to study law is to uphold justice, a noble call that is most commendable (and the world needs more of them); nevertheless, law is not just for lawyers or in the courtroom as it affects all aspects of society; from the protection of life and liberty to corporate or international relations, law graduates are capable of doing many important roles in various professions.

A quick look at the benefits of studying law brings to light why it remains one of the most wanted degrees for students from all around the world.

Top 10 Benefits:

1. strong foundation for further/combined academic studies, 2. multitudes of career options, 3. financial stability, 4. master critical thinking, strong reasoning and analytical skills, 5. the power to make a difference through law  .

6. Respect and prestige 

7. awareness of rights and responsibilities.

8. Development of self-confidence

9. better communication skills and high adaptability towards various career transitions , 10. an intellectual challenge , have a look....

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122 Yale L.J. 2176 (2013). A low income person is more likely to be prosecuted and imprisoned post- Gideon than pre- Gideon . Poor people lose in American criminal justice not because they have ineffective lawyers but because they are selectively targeted by police, prosecutors, and law makers. The crit…

Celebrating the “Null” Finding: Evidence-Based Strategies for Improving Access to Legal Services

122 Yale L.J. 2206 (2013). Recent empirical studies tested whether litigants with access to lawyers fared better than litigants with access only to advice or limited assistance. Two of the three studies produced null findings—the litigants with access to lawyers, the treatment group, fared no better …

Race and the Disappointing Right to Counsel

122 Yale L.J. 2236 (2013). Critics of the criminal justice system observe that the promise of Gideon v. Wainwright remains unfulfilled. They decry both the inadequate quality of representation available to indigent defendants and the racially disproportionate outcome of the criminal process. Some hop…

Participation, Equality, and the Civil Right to Counsel: Lessons from Domestic and International Law

122 Yale L.J. 2260 (2013). Domestic efforts to establish a right to civil counsel by drawing narrow analogies to Gideon v. Wainwright have met with limited success. In contrast, two principles drawn from international jurisprudence—the human right to “civic participation” and the concept of “equality…

Gideon’s Migration

122 Yale L.J. 2282 (2013). For the past fifty years, immigration law has resisted integration of Gideon v. Wainwright ’s legacy of appointed counsel for the poor. Today, however, this resistance has given way to Gideon ’s migration. At the level of everyday practice, criminal defense attorneys appointe…

Searching for Solutions to the Indigent Defense Crisis in the Broader Criminal Justice Reform Agenda

122 Yale L.J. 2316 (2013). As we mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Gideon v. Wainwright decision, the nearly universal assessment is that our indigent defense system remains too under-resourced and overwhelmed to fulfill the promise of the landmark decision, and needs to be reformed. At the same t…

Gideon’s Amici: Why Do Prosecutors So Rarely Defend the Rights of the Accused?

122 Yale L.J. 2336 (2013). In Gideon v. Wainwright , twenty-three state attorneys general, led by Walter F. Mondale and Edward McCormack, joined an amicus brief on the side of the criminal accused, urging the Supreme Court to recognize indigent defendants’ Sixth Amendment right to appointed counsel in…

Valuing Gideon’s Gold: How Much Justice Can We Afford?

122 Yale L.J. 2358 (2013). In this Essay, we explore Gideon ’s impact in our community, El Paso, Texas, which has the will to try to meet Gideon ’s challenge, but lacks the resources to deliver fully Gideon ’s promise. We look at the origins of our community’s indigent defense reform and examine our off…

Investigating Gideon’s Legacy in the U.S. Courts of Appeals

122 Yale L.J. 2376 (2013). This Essay investigates the legacy of Gideon by examining the de facto courts of last resort for convicted offenders: the federal courts of appeals. Part I focuses on the U.S. courts of appeals’ judges and caseloads, revealing that very few federal appellate judges have pri…

An Immigration Gideon for Lawful Permanent Residents

122 Yale L.J. 2394 (2013). In evaluating the legacy of Gideon v. Wainwright , it is critical to remember that the Supreme Court’s decision rested on the Sixth Amendment right to counsel for the accused in criminal cases. American law sharply demarcates between the many rights available to criminal def…

Gideon at Guantánamo

122 Yale L.J. 2416 (2013). The right to counsel maintains an uneasy relationship with the demands of trials for war crimes. Drawing on the author’s personal experiences from defending a Guantánamo detainee, the Author explains how Gideon set a baseline for the right to counsel at Guantánamo. Whether …

Enforcing Effective Assistance After Martinez

122 Yale L.J. 2428 (2013). This Essay argues that the Court’s effort to expand habeas review of ineffective assistance of counsel claims in Martinez v. Ryan will make little difference in either the enforcement of the right to the effective assistance of counsel or the provision of competent represen…

Gideon’s Law-Protective Function

122 Yale L.J. 2460 (2013). Gideon v. Wainwright dramatically affects the rights of indigent defendants by entitling them to representation. But Gideon has another systemic consequence as well. In addition to protecting the rights of individual defendants in particular trials, Gideon also protects the…

Gideon’s Shadow

122 Yale L.J. 2482 (2013). The right to counsel is regarded as a right without peer, even in a field of litigation saturated with constitutional protections. But from this elevated, elite-right status, the right to counsel casts a shadow over the other, less prominent criminal procedure rights. Elabo…

Gideon at Guantánamo: Democratic and Despotic Detention

122 Yale L.J. 2504 (2013). One measure of Gideon v. Wainwright is that it made the U.S. government’s efforts to isolate 9/11 detainees from all outsiders at Guantánamo Bay conceptually and legally unsustainable. Gideon , along with Miranda v. Arizona , is part of a democratic narrative shaped over dec…

Fear of Adversariness: Using Gideon To Restrict Defendants’ Invocation of Adversary Procedures

122 Yale L.J. 2550 (2013). Fifty years ago Gideon promised that an attorney would vindicate the constitutional rights of any accused too poor to afford an attorney. But Gideon also promised more. Writ small, Gideon promised to protect individual defendants; writ large, Gideon promised to protect our …

Federal Public Defense in an Age of Inquisition

122 Yale L.J. 2578 (2013). This Essay asks whether federal criminal defendants receive fairer process today than they did in 1963, when Gideon v. Wainwright was decided. It concludes that in many situations they do not; indeed, they often receive far worse. Although Gideon and the Criminal Justice Ac…

Effective Trial Counsel After Martinez v. Ryan: Focusing on the Adequacy of State Procedures

122 Yale L.J. 2604 (2013). Everyone knows that excessive caseloads, poor funding, and a lack of training plague indigent defense delivery systems throughout the states, such that the promise of Gideon v. Wainwright is largely unfulfilled. Commentators have disagreed about how best to breathe life int…

Implicit Racial Bias in Public Defender Triage

122 Yale L.J. 2626 (2013). Despite the promise of Gideon , providing “the guiding hand of counsel” to indigent defendants remains unmanageable, largely because the nation’s public defender offices are overworked and underfunded. Faced with overwhelming caseloads and inadequate resources, public defend…

Effective Plea Bargaining Counsel

122 Yale L.J. 2650 (2013). Fifty years ago, Clarence Earl Gideon needed an effective trial attorney. The Supreme Court agreed with Gideon that the Sixth Amendment guaranteed him the right to counsel at trial. Recently, Galin Frye and Anthony Cooper also needed effective representation. These two men,…

The Continuum of Excludability and the Limits of Patents

122 Yale L.J. 1900 (2013). In IP scholarship, patents are commonly understood as more efficient than other approaches to innovation policy. Their primary ostensible advantage is allocative: as a form of property rights, patents act as a conduit between market signals and potential innovators, ostensi…

Spite and Extortion: A Jurisdictional Principle of Abuse of Property Right

122 Yale L.J. 1444 (2013). This Essay puts forward the conceptual and normative underpinnings of a principle of abuse of property right. Owners abuse their right, I argue, when their decisions about a thing are designed just to produce harm. This is so whether that harm is an end in itself (spite) or…

Reconceptualizing the Burden of Proof

122 Yale L.J. 1254 (2013). The preponderance standard is conventionally described as an absolute probability threshold of 0.5. This Essay argues that this absolute characterization of the burden of proof is wrong. Rather than focusing on an absolute threshold, the Essay reconceptualizes the preponder…

Can the President Appoint Principal Executive Officers Without a Senate Confirmation Vote?

122 Yale L.J. 940 (2013). It is generally assumed that the Constitution requires the Senate to vote to confirm the President’s nominees to principal federal offices. This Essay argues, to the contrary, that when the President nominates an individual to a principal executive branch position, the Senat…

Asymmetries and Incentives in Plea Bargaining and Evidence Production

122 Yale L.J. 690 (2012). Legal rules severely restrict payments to fact witnesses, though the government can often offer plea bargains or other nonmonetary inducements to encourage testimony. This asymmetry is something of a puzzle, for most asymmetries in criminal law favor the defendant. The asymm…

Contra Nemo Iudex in Sua Causa: The Limits of Impartiality

122 Yale L.J. 384 (2012).

Regularly invoked by the Supreme Court in diverse contexts, the maxim nemo iudex in sua causa —no man should be judge in his own case—is widely thought to capture a bedrock principle of natural justice and constitutionalism. I will argue that the nemo iudex principle is a m…

Judicial Capacity and the Substance of Constitutional Law

122 Yale L.J. 422 (2012). Courts can decide only a small fraction of constitutional issues generated by the American government. This is widely acknowledged. But why do courts have such limited capacity? And how does this limitation affect the substance of constitutional law? This Essay advances a tw…

How Much Difference Does the Lawyer Make? The Effect of Defense Counsel on Murder Case Outcomes

122 Yale L.J. 154 (2012). One in five indigent murder defendants in Philadelphia is randomly assigned representation by public defenders while the remainder receive court-appointed private attorneys. We exploit this random assignment to measure how defense counsel affect murder case outcomes. Compare…

One in five indigent murder defendants in Philadelphia is randomly assigned representation by public defenders while the remainder receive court-appointed private attorneys. We exploit this random assignment to measure how defense counsel affect murder case outcomes. Comp…

The Antitrust/Consumer Protection Paradox: Two Policies at War with Each Other

121 Yale L.J. 2216 (2012) . The potential complementarities between antitrust and consumer protection law—collectively, “consumer law”—are well known. The rise of the newly established Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) portends a deep rift in the intellectual infrastructure of consumer law …

Due Process as Separation of Powers

121 Yale L.J. 1672 (2012) . From its conceptual origin in Magna Charta, due process of law has required that government can deprive persons of rights only pursuant to a coordinated effort of separate institutions that make, execute, and adjudicate claims under the law. Originalist debates about whether t…

Income Tax Discrimination: Still Stuck in the Labyrinth of Impossibility

121 Yale L.J. 1118 (2012).

In previous articles, we have argued that the European Court of Justice’s reliance on nondiscrimination as the basis for its decisions did not (and could not) satisfy commonly accepted tax policy norms, such as fairness, administrability, economic efficiency, production o…

Intrastatutory Federalism and Statutory Interpretation: State Implementation of Federal Law in Health Reform and Beyond

121 Yale L.J. 534 (2011).

State implementation of federal law is commonplace, but has been largely ignored by the interpretive doctrines of legislation and administrative law.  We have no Chevron , federalism canon, or anything else for state implementation, nor any doctrines that ask how Congress’s…

The Principle of Misalignment: Duty, Damages, and the Nature of Tort Liability

121 Yale L.J. 142 (2011). When a tort rule is fully aligned, harms are valued equally across the elements. Because the valuation of harm within duty equals the valuation within the damages remedy, a fully aligned rule gives dutyholders the option to fully comply with the duty with respect to any harm by…

Justifications, Power, and Authority

117 Yale L.J. 1070 (2008).

Criminal law theory made a significant advance roughly thirty years ago when George Fletcher popularized the important conceptual distinction between justifications and excuses. In the intervening years, however, very little progress has been made in exploring the structu…

Irreparable Benefits

116 Yale L.J. 1284 (2007)

The conventional approach to preliminary relief focuses on irreparable harm but entirely neglects irreparable benefits. That is hard to understand. Errant irreversible harms are important because they distort incentives and have lasting distributional consequences. But the…

The Efficient Performance Hypothesis

116 Yale L.J. 568 (2006) Notable American jurists and scholars have advanced an approach to contract enforcement that would render breach legally and morally uncontestable, assuming compensation follows. Much of the justification for this endeavor has rested upon claims of judicial and economic effic…

Executive Branch Usurpation of Power: Corporations and Capital Markets

115 Yale L.J. 2416 (2006) Agencies in the executive branch are better situated than other political institutions to take advantage of opportunities to expand their power base by responding quickly and decisively to real or imagined crises. The executive has structural advantages over the other branch…

Beyond Marbury: The Executive's Power To Say What the Law Is

115 Yale L.J. 2580 (2006) Under Marbury v. Madison , it is "emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is." But in the last quarter-century, the Supreme Court has legitimated the executive's power of interpretation, above all in Chevron, U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural R…

Can Strong Mayors Empower Weak Cities? On the Power of Local Executives in a Federal System

This Essay considers the historic weakness of the American mayoralty and recent reform efforts designed to strengthen it. I argue that the strong mayoralty is a potential instrument for democratic self-government to the extent that it is able to amass power on behalf of the city.

Rational War and Constitutional Design

115 Yale L.J. 2512 (2006) Contemporary accounts of the allocation of war powers authority often focus on textual or historical debates as to whether the President or Congress holds the power to initiate military hostilities. In this Essay, we move beyond such debates and instead pursue a comparative …

Break Up the Presidency? Governors, State Attorneys General, and Lessons from the Divided Executive

115 Yale L.J. 2446 (2006) Proponents of the unitary executive have contended that its adoption by the framers "swept plural executive forms into the ash bin of history." Virtually every state government, however, has a divided executive in which executive power is apportioned among different executiv…

Gubernatorial Foreign Policy

115 Yale L.J. 2380 (2006) In a variety of circumstances, state governors exercise independent decision-making power over matters affecting the foreign policy of the United States. This Essay describes and defends this emerging system of gubernatorial foreign policy on both legal and functional ground…

Setting the World Right

115 Yale L.J. 2350 (2006) Five years after September 11, 2001, America's response to that traumatic day has effectively turned the world of American public law upside down. Claiming that a global war on terror calls for an entirely new legal paradigm, the Bush Administration and its supporters have p…

The President's Completion Power

115 Yale L.J. 2280 (2006) This Essay identifies and analyzes the President's completion power: the President's authority to prescribe incidental details needed to carry into execution a legislative scheme, even in the absence of congressional authorization to complete that scheme. The Essay shows tha…

Quasipublic Executives

115 Yale L.J. 2254 (2006) In this Essay, we first observe the rise of what we call "quasipublic executives": both "nominally private executives," that is, private executives in charge of public functions such as corrections, education, and national defense; and "nominally public executives," that is,…

Why (and When) Cities Have a Stake in Enforcing the Constitution

115 Yale L.J. 2218 (2006) This Essay examines independent constitutional interpretation from the bottom up. It focuses on San Francisco's recent challenge to the California ban against same-sex marriage and the judicial response it provoked in Lockyer v. City & County of San Francisco . The Essay argu…

Inherent Executive Power: A Comparative Perspective

115 Yale L.J. 2480 (2006) In light of recent debates regarding the scope and basis of inherent executive power, particularly with regard to foreign affairs and national security, this Essay examines different conceptions of executive power in five modern democracies. The Essay's study of British and …

Internal Separation of Powers: Checking Today's Most Dangerous Branch from Within

115 Yale L.J. 2314 (2006) The standard conception of separation of powers presumes three branches with equivalent ambitions of maximizing their powers. Today, however, legislative abdication is the reigning modus operandi. Instead of bemoaning this state of affairs, this Essay asks how separation of …

Absolute Priority, Valuation Uncertainty, and the Reorganization Bargain

115 Yale L.J. 1930 (2006) In a Chapter 11 reorganization, senior creditors can insist on being paid in full before anyone junior to them receives anything. In practice, however, departures from "absolute priority" treatment are commonplace. Explaining these deviations has been a central preoccupation…

Evolution and Chaos in Property Rights Systems: The Third World Tragedy of Contested Access

115 Yale L.J. 996 (2006) According to conventional law-and-economics theory, private property rights tend to evolve as resource values rise. This optimistic assessment fails to explain the development of open access in many Third World property systems. Indeed, while the evolution of property has bee…

Of Property and Federalism

115 Yale L.J. 72 (2005) This Essay proposes a mechanism for expanding competition in state property law, while sketching out the limitations necessary to protect third parties. The fact that property law is produced by the states creates a unique opportunity for experimentation with such property and…

Democratic Disobedience

114 Yale L.J. 1897 (2005) Traditional justifications for civil disobedience emphasize the limits of legitimate political authority and defend civil disobedience as a just response when governments overstep these limits. Such liberal justifications are well suited to certain classes of civil disobedie…

To Insure Prejudice: Racial Disparities in Taxicab Tipping

114 Yale L.J. 1613 (2005) Many studies have documented seller discrimination against consumers, but this Essay tests and finds that consumers discriminate based on the seller's race. The authors collected data on more than 1000 taxicab rides in New Haven, Connecticut in 2001. After controlling for a …

Copy This Essay: How Fair Use Doctrine Harms Free Speech and How Copying Serves It

114 Yale L.J. 535 (2004) Recent cases and scholarship have debated whether copyright law is consistent with the First Amendment. Much of the discussion has centered on copyright law's ability to suppress transformative, creative reuses of copyrighted works and on copyright's fair use doctrine as a m…

Sharing Nicely: On Shareable Goods and the Emergence of Sharing as a Modality of Economic Production

114 Yale L.J. 273 (2004) This Essay offers a framework to explain large-scale effective practices of sharing private, excludable goods. It starts with case studies of carpooling and distributed computing as motivating problems. It then suggests a definition for shareable goods as goods that are "lump…

Integrating Remorse and Apology into Criminal Procedure

114 Yale L.J. 85 (2004) Criminal procedure largely ignores remorse and apology or, at most, uses them as proxies for an individual defendant's badness. The field is preoccupied with procedural values such as efficiency, accuracy, and procedural fairness, to the exclusion of the criminal law's substan…

The Priority of Morality: The Emergency Constitution's Blind Spot

113 Yale L.J. 1753 (2004) INTRODUCTION In the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced a campaign of aggressive preventive detention. Invoking Robert Kennedy, the Attorney General announced that just as Kennedy would arrest a mobster for "spitting on the…

Editor's Note: The Constitution in Times of Emergency

113 Yale L.J. 1751 (2004) Earlier in this Volume of The Yale Law Journal, Professor Bruce Ackerman published his essay The Emergency Constitution, in which he advocated a new constitutional regime to confront the potential for recurring terrorist attacks among modern nations--and the United States in…

The Anti-Emergency Constitution

113 Yale L.J. 1801 (2004) INTRODUCTION The season for talk of leaving the Constitution behind, while we grit our teeth and do what must be done in times of grave peril--the season for talk of saving the Constitution from the distortions wrought by sheer necessity, while we save ourselves from the d…

Adverse Selection in Insurance Markets: An Exaggerated Threat

113 Yale L.J. 1223 (2004) The phrase "adverse selection" was originally coined by insurers to describe the process by which insureds utilize private knowledge of their own riskiness when deciding to buy or forgo insurance. If A knows he will die tomorrow (but his insurer does not), life insurance th…

The Emergency Constitution

113 Yale L.J. 1029 (2004) Terrorist attacks will be a recurring part of our future. The balance of technology has shifted, making it possible for a small band of zealots to wreak devastation where we least expect it--not on a plane next time, but with poison gas in the subway or a biotoxin in the wat…

Juries and Race in the Nineteenth Century

113 Yale L.J. 895 (2004) The Supreme Court's jurisprudence on criminal juries has overlooked an important piece of history. This is most notable in the context of its jury discrimination jurisprudence over the past twenty years. In Batson v. Kentucky, the Court held that the Equal Protection Clause p…

Bargaining in the Shadow of Takeover Defenses

113 Yale L.J. 621 (2003) For decades, practitioners and academic commentators who believe that target boards should have broad discretion to resist hostile takeover attempts have put forward the "bargaining power hypothesis" to support their view. This hypothesis states that a target with strong tak…

Insider Abstention

113 Yale L.J. 455 (2003) Scholars writing on insider trading have long believed that insiders can beat the market simply by using nonpublic information to decide when not to trade. Using a simple model, this Essay has shown that the conventional wisdom is wrong. Insiders prevented from trading while …

Minorities, Shareholder and Otherwise

113 Yale L.J. 119 (2003) "[M]en are described as I think they are," Adolf Berle writes of his work, "rather than as they think they are." He continues: "Some will be shocked. The businessman will find that he is a politician and a commissar--perhaps even a revolutionary one. The liberal finds himsel…

Digital Architecture as Crime Control

112 Yale L.J. 2261 (2003) The first generation of cyberlaw was about what regulates cyberspace. Led by Larry Lessig's path-breaking scholarship isolating architecture as a constraint on behavior online, a wide body of work has flourished. In a recent article, I took those insights and reverse-engine…

How Much Redistribution Should There Be?

112 Yale L.J. 2291 (2003) Egalitarianism ties people's fortunes together. It takes the good and bad things in people's lives--their blessings and their afflictions--and shares them out, or redistributes them, among their fellows. Where egalitarianism operates, each person's fortunes and misfortunes c…

Eldred and Lochner: Copyright Term Extensionand Intellectual Property as Constitutional Property

112 Yale L.J. 2331 (2003) As intellectual property has become increasingly important to the national economy, a consensus has emerged among academics that courts should scrutinize congressional legislation closely under the Constitution's Copyright Clause. This Essay has challenged the academic conse…

Common Law, Common Ground, and Jefferson's Principle

112 Yale L.J. 1717 (2003) Why do we care about the Framers of the Constitution? After all, they lived long ago, in a world that was different in countless ways from ours. Why does it matter what their views were, for any reasons other than purely historical ones? And if we don't care about the Framer…

The Secret History of Race in the United States

112 Yale L.J. 1473 (2003) In the beginning, there was a man named Looney. George Looney's world was Buchanan County, Virginia, a pocket of Appalachian hills and hollows that juts into Kentucky and West Virginia. In 1911, his place in this world was secure. Where lumber was the only industry in town, …

Economic Analysis of Contract Law After Three Decades: Success or Failure?

112 Yale L.J. 829 (2003) Modern economic analysis of contract law began about thirty years ago and, many scholars would agree, has become the dominant academic style of contract theory. Traditional doctrinal analysis exerts less influence than it did prior to 1970 and enjoys little prestige. Philosop…

Vigorous Race or Leisurely Walk: Reconsidering the Competition over Corporate Charters

112 Yale L.J. 553 (2002) Does American corporate law work effectively to enhance shareholder value? The recent corporate governance crisis makes this time as good as any for reexamining the basic structure of this body of law. This Essay provides such a reconsideration of a defining feature of U.S. c…

100 Million Unnecessary Returns: A Fresh Start for the U.S. Tax System

112 Yale L.J. 261 (2002) We are now in a quiet interlude awaiting the next serious political debate over the nation's tax system. No fundamental tax policy concerns were at stake in the 2002 disputes over economic stimulus or the political huffing and puffing about postponing or accelerating the inco…

Probability Neglect: Emotions, Worst Cases, and Law

112 Yale L.J. 61 (2002) In this Essay, my central claim has been that the probability of harm is often neglected when people's emotions are activated, especially if people are thinking about the worst-case scenario. If that scenario is vivid and easy to visualize, large-scale changes in thought and b…

Local Policing After the Terror

111 Yale L.J. 2137 (2002) Crime waves always carry with them calls for more law enforcement authority. What happened on September 11, 2001 was, among other things, a crime wave--because of that one day, the number of homicides in America in 2001 will be twenty percent higher than the year before. It…

Legislative Entrenchment: A Reappraisal

111 Yale L.J. 1665 (2002) There is a principle of constitutional law holding that "one legislature may not bind the legislative authority of its successors." The Supreme Court recently discussed that principle at length in United States v. Winstar, and although the case was decided on other grounds,…

Judicial Review, the Congressional Process, and the Federalism Cases: An Interdisciplinary Critique

111 Yale L.J. 1707 (2002) Following the lead of Alexander Bickel's The Least Dangerous Branch: The Supreme Court at the Bar of Politics, legal scholars have been obsessed with the countermajoritarian aspects of judicial review. Much of the literature is normative--how can the dilemma of judicial re…

Stopping Above-Cost Predatory Pricing

111 Yale L.J. 941 (2002) This Essay has refocused the predatory pricing debate on ex ante incentives--i.e., the incentives for entry and limit pricing before the predatory period--instead of the traditional focus of high prices after the predatory period. Ideally, a monopoly incumbent should price re…

Categorical Federalism: Jurisdiction, Gender, and the Globe

111 Yale L.J. 619 (2001) An absence of bounded categories may be unsettling but, in lieu of (false) comfort, multi-faceted federalism offers something else, hopefully more useful if less supportive. Under the rubric of multi-faceted federalism, the deployment of categories is accompanied by a sense t…

Veil of Ignorance Rules in Constitutional Law

111 Yale L.J. 399 (2001) A veil of ignorance rule (more briefly a "veil rule") is a rule that suppresses self-interested behavior on the part of decisionmakers; it does so by subjecting the decisionmakers to uncertainty about the distribution of benefits and burdens that will result from a decision. …

What Happened to Property in Law and Economics?

111 Yale L.J. 357 (2001) Property has fallen out of fashion. Although people are as concerned as ever with acquiring and defending their material possessions, in the academic world there is little interest in understanding property. To some extent, this indifference reflects a more general skepticism…

Drug Designs are Different

111 Yale L.J. 151 (2001) In an essay published in this Journal entitled Is There a Design Defect in the Restatement (Third) of Torts: Products Liability?, George Conk criticizes the American Law Institute and the Reporters of the new Restatement for immunizing prescription drug manufacturers from lia…

Bush v. Gore and the Boundary Between Law and Politics

110 Yale L.J. 1407 (2001) Shortly after the Supreme Court's 5-4 decision in Bush v. Gore, one member of the majority, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, addressed a group of students in the Washington, D.C., area. He told them that he believed that the work of the Court was not in any way influenced…

Pennhurst, Chevron, and the Spending Power

110 Yale L.J. 1187 (2001) Narrowly construed, Pennhurst is a sensible (even if not necessary) process-based limitation on Congress's power to bind states to costly burdens. If read to mean that a state can never be bound by a grant condition when the statute itself does not unmistakably speak to a pa…

The Internet and the Dormant Commerce Clause

110 Yale L.J. 785 (2001)

Equal Protection by Law: Federal Antidiscrimination Legislation After Morrison and Kimel

110 Yale L.J. 441 (2000) Last Term, the Supreme Court sent ominous signals about the future of federal antidiscrimination law. The Court twice ruled that Congress lacked power under Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment to enact laws prohibiting discrimination. In Kimel v. Florida Board of Regents, …

Disaggregating Constitutional Torts

110 Yale L.J. 259 (2000) This Essay has attempted to clarify and reconceptualize constitutional tort law. Current doctrine severs remedies from rights and authorizes money damages on terms that apply indifferently to all constitutional violations. This remedial uniformity is faithful to the Monroe mo…

Deliberative Trouble? Why Groups Go to Extremes

110 Yale L.J. 71 (2000) In this Essay, I have discussed the phenomenon of group polarization and explored some of its implications for deliberation generally and deliberative democracy in particular. The central empirical finding is that group discussion is likely to shift judgments toward a more ext…

Volume 133’s Emerging Scholar of the Year: Robyn Powell

Announcing the eighth annual student essay competition, announcing the ylj academic summer grants program, featured content, lock them™ up: holding transnational corporate human-rights abusers accountable, administrative law at a turning point, law and movements: clinical perspectives.

Rule of Law

If there is no constraint on a ruler’s power, then he can make whatever rules he pleases and not obey the rules he makes. He can also change the rules whenever he wants. If he doesn’t like someone who owns a business, he can make that business illegal, or create a regulation that he knows will bankrupt it. If he doesn’t like what people say about him, he can make criticism of him illegal. He has total power to punish anyone he wants and to exempt his friends from laws that others must obey.

When government officials can make any laws they please—and hold themselves above the law—there is less economic growth, less creativity, and less happiness. Entrepreneurs will not be willing to risk time and money starting businesses. Writers and speakers will restrain their words. Everyone will worry that his freedoms can be destroyed at the whim of a powerful government agent.

A government with unpredictable and arbitrary laws, wrote Madison, “poisons the blessings of liberty itself” (James Madison, Federalist No. 62, 1788).

George Washington is depicted addressing the Constitutional Convention of 1787 in this painting by Junius Brutus Stearns.

The many benefits of freedom we take for granted in the United States—to speak our minds, to gather with whom we please, to practice our religions or refrain from practicing a religion, and to build businesses—are protected because we live under the rule of law. This means that we are governed not by officials who can make any rules they want, but by laws that are difficult to change (and therefore stable), limited in scope, and applied to every citizen—including the people who make them. The rule of law means, as John Adams explained in the Massachusetts Constitution, “a government of laws and not of men.”

Of course, Adams knew that laws are made by someone. His point was that they should be consistent, just, and applied to everyone equally. Instead of having a king pass down edicts, the American Founders established a system in which our elected representatives make laws within the boundaries laid down by the Constitution and designed to serve, as the preamble to the Constitution makes clear, “the general welfare” of society.

United States Supreme Court Building

While kings often made rules designed to tell people what to do, a rule of law is more about crafting clear, simple, fair rules, and giving citizens the maximum possible freedom to decide for themselves how to live their lives. The Founders understood that the pursuit of happiness was a path of discovery, invention, and hard work that cannot be followed when government is constantly telling us what we may or may not do.

The Founders also understood that the rule of law is essential to protecting minority rights. Remember that they feared not just cruel kings, but tyrannical majorities that might be convinced to take away the liberty of people they dislike because of their race or wealth or religion. The rule of law insures that laws are not designed to target certain groups. Even if the majority of voters decided, for example, to make Muslims pay higher taxes, the Constitution (and the principle of the rule of law that it reflects) forbids singling out a minority group in this way.

Not only did the Founders establish a rule of law by limiting the power of government to make laws and guaranteeing that our rights are protected when laws are written, they also insured that laws will be made in the open, according to clear rules.

In Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution, for example, they required that any federal tax law must be written in the House of Representatives, whose short terms of office make them especially accountable to voters.

The Founders also crafted rules designed to slow the production of laws. While modern-day critics sometimes complain that it takes our government too long to act, this is exactly what the Founders had in mind. They feared what would happen if government officials were too quick to respond to temporary passions or could change rules with great speed.

This is the Old Senate Chambers in the United States Capitol. It is now only used for tours and ceremonies.

“It will be of little avail to the people,” Madison argued, “that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood…or undergo such incessant changes, that no man who knows What the law is today, can guess what it will be tomorrow” (James Madison, Federalist No. 62, 1788).

As with every part of the Constitution, the Founders understood that words on paper only have so much power. They knew that ultimately the rule of law depends on people with the courage, self-reliance, and wisdom to make prudent decisions, and who have enough tolerance for others to let them live as they see fit.

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Study Today

Largest Compilation of Structured Essays and Exams

Essay on Importance of Law (986 Words)

February 19, 2018 by Study Mentor Leave a Comment

Society is a ‘web-relationship’ and social change clearly implies an adjustment in the arrangement of social relationship where a social relationship is comprehended regarding social procedures and social associations.

Along these lines, the term, ‘social change’ is utilized to show alluring varieties in social foundation, social procedures and social association.

It incorporates modifications in the structure and elements of the general public. Nearer examination of the part of law opposite social change drives us to recognize the direct and the roundabout parts of the part of law.

• a) Law assumes a vital roundabout part as to social change by forming an immediate effect on society. For instance: A law setting up a necessary instructive framework.
• b) Then again, law cooperates as a rule in a roundabout way with fundamental social foundations in a way constituting an immediate connection amongst law and social change. For instance, a law intended to forbid polygamy.

Table of Contents

Law as a medium for reforms

Law plays a specialist of modernization and social change. It is likewise a marker of the idea of societal many-sided quality and its specialist issues of combination.

Further, the fortification of our faith in the deep-rooted panchayat framework, the cancellation of the ab horrible practices of untouchability, kid marriage, sati, share and so forth are run of the mill representations of social change being achieved in the nation trough laws.

Law is a compelling medium or organization, instrumental in realizing social change in the nation or in any locale specifically. Along these lines, we revive our conviction that law has been significant in presenting changes in the societal structure and connections and keeps on being so.

Law positively has gone about as an impetus during the time spent social change of individuals wherein the weakening of station imbalances, defensive measures for the powerless and defenseless segments, accommodating the noble presence of those living under unwholesome conditions and so forth are the celebrated cases in such manner.

Social change includes an adjustment of society; its financial structure, qualities and convictions, and its monetary, political and social measurements additionally experience alteration. Notwithstanding, social change does not influence all parts of society in a similar way.

Social Change and Law

While a lot of social change is achieved by material changes, for example, innovation, new examples of creation, and so forth., different conditions are likewise vital.

For instance, as we have talked about it sometime recently, legitimate disallowance of untouchability in free India has not succeeded as a result of insufficient social help.

In any case, when law can’t achieve change without social help, despite everything it can make certain preconditions for social change.

Also, after freedom, the Constitution of India gave extensive rules to change. Its order guideline proposed a plan for another country.

The de-acknowledgment of the rank framework, correspondence under the watchful eye of the law and equivalent open doors for all in monetary, political and social circles were a portion of the high purposes of the Indian Constitution.

The law is imperative for a general public for it fills in as a standard of direct for subjects. It was additionally made to accommodate appropriate rules and request upon the conduct for all nationals and to manage the value on the three branches of the administration.

It keeps the general public running. Without law there would be disorder and it would be survival of the fittest and every man for himself. Not a perfect way of life for generally part.

The law is important because it acts as a guideline as to what is accepted in society. Without it there would be conflicts between social groups and communities.

It is pivotal that we follow them. The law allows for easy adoption to changes that occur in the society

Law as a system of structure

Law is an arrangement of standards and rules which are upheld through social foundations to represent conduct, wherever conceivable.

It shapes legislative issues, financial matters and society from multiple points of view and fills in as a social middle person of relations between individuals.

On the off chance that the mischief is criminalized in enactment, criminal law offers implies by which the state can indict the culprit.

Established law gives a structure to the making of law, the insurance of human rights and the decision of political delegates.

Authoritative law is utilized to audit the choices of government organizations, while universal law oversees issues between sovereign states in exercises extending from exchange to ecological direction or military activity.

The legitimate reaction to a given social or innovative issue is along these lines in itself a noteworthy social activity which may bother a given issue or ease and help to illuminate it.

Scholars have generally kept up that there are sure wide perspectives on the substantive criminal law. One arrangement of such imperatives concerns the sorts of conduct that may genuinely be disallowed.

Is it appropriate, for instance, to criminalize a specific sort of activity in light of the fact that a great many people in a single’s general public see it as shameless?

The other arrangement of limitations which concern what is required keeping in mind the end goal to build up criminal duty that is obligation, autonomously of the substance of the specific statute whose infringement is being referred to.

The Legal System

Legitimate framework mirrors all the vitality of life inside in any general public. Law has the unpredictable essentially of a living being. We can state that law is a sociology portrayed by development and adjustment.

Tenets are neither made nor connected in a vacuum, then again, they made and utilized on numerous occasions for a reason. Tenets are expected to move us in a specific course that we accept is great, or deny development in bearing that we accept is terrible.

The social tenets are made by the individuals from the general public. Insubordination of the social guidelines is trailed by discipline of social objection. There is no positive punishment related with the infringement of tenets aside from banning or shunning.

Then again, law is authorized by the state. The target of law is to get arrange the general public so the individuals from society can advance and create with a type of security in regards to what’s to come.

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The cost of law school

Potential career paths and salaries, personal factors to consider, is law school worth it an honest look at the pros and cons.

Affiliate links for the products on this page are from partners that compensate us (see our advertiser disclosure with our list of partners for more details). However, our opinions are our own. See how we rate student loans to write unbiased product reviews.

• Many law school students borrow heavily to cover high tuition and other education costs.
• For some, the cost may be worth it, though it depends on the school and the career pursued after.
• Potential post-law school earnings vary widely by specialty, firm size, location, and other factors.

It's no secret that law school can be pricey. But is that price tag worth it for the earning potential you could enjoy later on? That's a question many potential law school students have to ask themselves.

According to the Access Lex Institute and a US Department of Education study of 2008 graduates, only 48% say their degree was worth the cost. Are you considering a legal career? Here's how to determine if law school is worth it for you.

Tuition and fees

Average full-time tuition for law school depends on your residency status (whether you're attending an in-state school or out-of-state one), as well as the type of school you attend. 

According to data and analysis from the American Bar Association and Access Lex, the average full-time tuition is:

• $28,400 for residents at public law schools
• $40,860 for non-residents at public law schools 
• $50,770 for private law schools

That's just tuition, though.

Living expenses

There are other costs to consider, too, including housing and living expenses. These vary widely by location. From fall 2022 to spring 2023, they ranged from $12,600 to $46,233, depending on the school attended.

Opportunity cost

Opportunity cost is another consideration. Since law students must spend an additional three years in school, their earning potential during that period is much lower than their peers. The average starting salary in 2022 for a graduate with a bachelor's degree was $60,028, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers. That amounts to a three-year loss exceeding $180,000 for a law school student.

Loan repayment

With such high prices to deal with, law school students often graduate with large amounts of debt. According to an Access Lex analysis, law school graduates leave school with an average of $126,600 in debt.

The earning potential for a lawyer depends widely on what you do with your degree. For recent Juris Doctorate graduates, those going into private legal practice made the most, with a median salary of $131,500. Lawyers who went into academics made the least money. The median academic salary for someone with a Juris Doctorate is $38,000.

Salaries also vary by type of legal practice. See below for a list of common attorney specialties and their average salary ranges, according to job platform Indeed:

The amount of time you've been working and the size of your firm matter, too. Salaries tend to increase both with tenure and with firm size. For example, a first-year associate at a firm of 100 or fewer has a median salary of $155,000. For eight-year associates at firms of 1,000 or more, it's $395,000. 

"Big corporate law firms pay the most — well in the six digits, with excellent benefits," says Marina Shepelsky, founder of Shepelsky Law Group . "Working for a municipal legal aide organization or the district attorney's office may pay only in the five digits."

Alternative careers

Many lawyers don't go into legal practice at all. Recent data shows about a third of recent law school graduates went into business, academics, or government work.

Job market outlook

If you'll need student loans, calculating your potential salary-to-debt ratio can help you determine whether law school in general or, more specifically, a particular law school, is worth the cost of attendance. 

Salary-to-debt ratios indicate what percentage of your expected monthly earnings you'll owe each month in student loan payments. So, lower ratios are typically better, indicating you'll need to devote a smaller amount of your pay to student loans. Higher ratios mean the opposite.

According to an analysis by Law School Transparency, salary-to-debt ratios range from 0.76% to just over 4.95% for US law schools. The school with the highest salary-to-debt ratio is the Florida Coastal School of Law, while Brigham Young University claims the lowest.

The decision to attend law school shouldn't just be financially driven. You'll also want to consider the high dropout rates of law school, particularly among minorities. Overall, dropout rates are over 6% for first-year students. For American Indian, Hawaiian native, and Black students, the dropout rate is 11% to 13%. 

Burnout is also a potential problem when going into the legal industry. Some legal jobs come with long hours and stressful working conditions, which could lead to health issues. As Shepelsky notes about "big corporate" firms, "They provide no work-life balance, and you are expected to work 14 hours a day or more, work through holidays and evenings, and are under tremendous stress and huge competition to make partner."

According to the International Bar Association, lawyers have an average score of 51 on the World Health Organization's Wellbeing Index. Anyone with a score of 52 or under is encouraged to seek mental health help. 

The job market is competitive, but strong grades, networking, and specialized skills can help make the job search easier.

The average lawyer salary varies widely by location, firm size, and specialty. According to Indeed.com , the average salary for a lawyer in New York City is $132,066, while the average salary for a lawyer in Oklahoma City is $84,194.

The skills learned can be valuable in other careers. If you can afford it and have an interest in studying law, it could be worth it. 

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Avnet Law 2024 National Scholarship

Avnet law is proud to offer a $1,000 scholarship to students demonstrating community involvement. see below for eligibility and submission requirements..

Avnet Law knows how important education is in laying the foundation for a successful career – we also understand that it may not be financially feasible for students and their families.  For this reason, Avnet Law is proud to offer the annual $1,000.00 Avnet Law National Scholarship.

Avnet Law is dedicated improving and lifting up our community—and recognizing those who do the same.  Our goal is to help all people have equal access to education and civic involvement, especially those with a spirit of volunteerism and community service.    We believe that those who  demonstrate the commitment and spirit of community service, possess the characteristics of future leaders.  It is for this reason that we are pleased to announce our Avnet Law National Scholarship.  This $1,000 scholarship is offered to support a community-minded college or graduate student whose has demonstrated a history of community service and involvement.

The Avnet Law National Scholarship is a $1,000 grant to a single student. We look forward to making this investment in our shared future, and we encourage all eligible individuals to apply.

To Be Eligible, An Applicant Must:

In order to be eligible for the the avnet law 2024 national scholarship, applicants must:.

• Be a United States citizen or permanent resident.
• Be accepted to or currently enrolled in an accredited college, university, or graduate program within the United States.
• The Avnet Law National Scholarship is available for any current or soon-to-be undergrad or graduate student who demonstrates a spirit of volunteerism and/or community service.

To Apply, A Participant Must Submit:

In order to be apply for the the avnet law 2024 national scholarship, applicants must submit:.

• Contact Information:  Name, Address, Phone number, Email Address.  If you are under 18, contact information for your parents.
• A letter of recommendation from a teacher/faculty member referencing character and community service and the school you will be attending.
• Applicants must submit a 1,000 word-max typed essay on the benefits of community service.

Where to Submit:

Completed materials (scanned into .PDF format) can ONLY be submitted by the following method:

• Email:  [email protected].

Please NO phone calls . Direct all questions via email to  [email protected] .

• Applicants must provide materials no later than July 15, 2024 .
•  Once the application period has ended, we will review the essays and choose a winner by August 1, 2024.   The winner will be contacted via phone and/or email and must respond within five (5) days or a new winner will be chosen.
• A winner will be listed on this page by September 1, 2024.    
• Originality;
• Responsiveness to the question asked; and
• The substantive content of the response.

The scholarship must be applied to tuition and other education-related expenses. A check will be made payable to the scholarship recipient’s educational institution directly. Any scholarship winners are expected to submit any receipts to remain in compliance with the IRS.

Past Scholarship Recipients:

Congratulations to our 2019 recipient:  Kailen Flynn .

Congratulations to our 2020 recipient: Adrian Huq .

Congratulations to our 2021 recipient:  Anaili Garcia.

Congratulations to our 2022 recipient:  Cobi Wright.

Congratulations to our 2023 recipient:  Austin Hoang. 

About Avnet Law:

Avnet Law is a Noblesville, Indiana law firm that practices in the areas of personal injury law, criminal law , expungement , and family law . We understand the emotional and financial stress that a car accident or truck accident in the family can place on you and your loved ones.  If you or a loved one has been injured, please call  1-877-77-AVNET  for a free consultation with an Indiana truck accident attorney .

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What Sealed Trump’s Fate

I n H.G. Wells’ science-fiction classic The War of the Worlds , aliens from Mars invade Earth. The military resists, but human technology is no match for Martian tripods and death rays. Within weeks, the aliens have routed the defenders and seem poised to conquer the planet. And then, mysteriously, they die. It turns out they had no resistance to the ubiquitous bacteria of our world. They were slain, Wells writes, “after all man’s devices had failed, by the humblest things that God, in his wisdom, has put upon this earth.”

That’s what came to mind when I heard that a New York jury had convicted Donald Trump of 34 felonies. What seemed like an unstoppable force was brought low by the humblest of state laws. And while 34 felony convictions may in fact not stop Trump, the trial does tell us something important about the strengths and weaknesses of America’s constitutional structure.

Read More: Trump Is Now a Felon. What Voters Do With That Information Will Write This Era’s History

Back in 2016, some people hoped the Electoral College would stop Trump. Hamilton Electors , they were called. Didn’t happen. Then impeachment was going to do it, not once, but twice. Again, no dice. And finally, Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, written to protect us from oath-breaking insurrectionists, came riding to the rescue only to be rejected by a unanimous vote of the Supreme Court.

These attempts to stop Trump all had a couple of things in common. The first is that they used the tools that the Constitution gives us to prevent bad people from occupying the office of the President. These tools are the heavy artillery, the sophisticated devices painstakingly crafted to protect us from crooks, demagogues, and would-be tyrants. The second is that they all failed—ignominiously.

That’s not because they weren’t built correctly or designed for these circumstances. Historians and constitutional scholars who weighed in on Section 3 and the impeachment tended to agree that Trump presented exactly the threat they were to counter. (The Hamilton electors scheme was a bit more fringe, but some experts supported it too.) The problem is that safeguards built into the political system are only as good as the politicians who apply them. The Constitution is no better than the Court that interprets it. The black smoke of partisanship and self-interest (perhaps all too similar to Wells’ War of the Worlds ) only has to corrupt a few of the governing  elite for our constitutional defenses to fail.

Trump benefited from that failure, but he didn’t cause it. Our constitutional system did. The electoral college, gave us Trump as President even though nearly 3 million more Americans chose Hillary Clinton. The Senate didn’t just refuse to convict in the Trump impeachments; it blocked Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland and gave us the Trump supermajority Supreme Court. And if you think the Supreme Court is a defender of democracy, think again. Our noble Senate, our hallowed Supreme Court, our sacred Constitution—none of these things protected us from Trump. On the whole, they enabled him.

The reason Trump was finally held accountable was not that he ran afoul of the special rules that govern the highest reaches of our political system, the sorts of things that ordinary Americans are not subject to. (Ordinary citizens, for example, don’t have to worry about impeachment, or section three, or faithless electors.) It was not that the enlightened members of our government stood up against him. It was, however, that he couldn’t handle the obligations that law-abiding citizens shoulder as a matter of course in their day-to-day lives. It was that 12 ordinary Americans in an unglamorous trial courtroom ruled that he had broken the laws that everyone else has to follow.

We often think of our system of governance as defined by things the Constitution creates, structures like the Senate, the Supreme Court, or the electoral college, and processes like impeachment. But the negative space matters too—and that is the background of state law. State law, not federal law or the Constitution, is the primary regulator for most Americans. State law creates the environment in which we all live; it is, you could say, in the air we breathe.

When campaigning for the Republican nomination in 2016, Trump said that he could shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue and not lose any votes. Not for the shooting, maybe. But most people would go to jail for that, and it’s possible that 34 felony counts will drive home a point that some have missed. Most Americans are not involved in more than 4,000 lawsuits . They do not overstate their net worth, market questionable training programs as their own university , or run businesses that engage in tax fraud . That the most ordinary of laws finally caught up to Trump may drive home how distant the divide is between him and the regular Americans he claims to champion. State law that applies equally to all did what the special rules of the Constitution could not.

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Protecting the NRA’s Freedom of Speech Rights Protects Us All

It should be obvious that government officials can’t deploy their regulatory authority to punish an advocacy group because they disagree with its point of view. Yet that is exactly what Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) and his chief financial regulator, Maria Vullo, set out to do in 2018.

They favored gun control, and therefore disfavored the National Rifle Association. Cuomo and Vullo were of course free to criticize the NRA. But rather than just rely on the persuasive force of their ideas, they deployed the coercive power of their offices to pressure banks and insurance companies to cut ties with the NRA, as alleged.

On May 30, the US Supreme Court in effect confirmed what should have been obvious, unanimously ruling that Vullo’s and Cuomo’s alleged words and actions stated a claim under the First Amendment. In doing so, the court overturned a unanimous decision from the Second Circuit against the NRA. The decision makes no new law, but reaffirms what’s been established since the Supreme Court announced, 60 years ago, that government officials can’t use informal coercion to punish speech they disfavor.

The critical facts alleged in NRA v. Vullo are stark. In February 2018, Vullo, New York’s top financial regulator, with direct oversight of every bank and insurance company in the state, told Lloyd’s, the insurance underwriter, that she’d go easy on unrelated insurance violations if it aided her campaign to weaken the NRA by halting all business with the group. Lloyd’s agreed, and did her bidding.

Six weeks later, Vullo issued formal guidance letters and a press release directing the thousands of banks and insurance companies she oversees to cut their ties with the NRA—not because of any alleged improprieties, but because it “promotes guns.” In the accompanying press release, Cuomo said he directed Vullo to issue the guidance because doing business with the NRA “sends the wrong message.”

This was not about enforcing insurance law; it was about using state power to coerce a boycott of a political group because the state’s highest officials disapproved of its speech. As Cuomo put it in a tweet responding to the NRA’s subsequent lawsuit, “The regulations NY put in place are working. We’re forcing the NRA into financial jeopardy. We won’t stop until we shut them down.”

Had the court accepted Vullo’s argument that this was merely “government speech” and ordinary law enforcement, as the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit did, the decision would have provided a playbook for state officials across the country to blacklist whichever groups they disfavor.

That’s why the American Civil Liberties Union agreed to represent the NRA in the Supreme Court. The ACLU disagrees profoundly with the NRA on many issues of law and policy, but we agree that government officials can’t punish advocacy groups simply because they disagree with what they say.

The court’s unanimous decision ensures that officials can’t achieve indirectly what they are barred from achieving directly: punishing speech simply because they disagree with its message. That principle is foundational to a free and democratic society. And the Vullo decision ensures that the First Amendment’s protection extends not just to direct penalties, but to the sorts of end runs that Vullo and Cuomo attempted in targeting the NRA.

The case is NRA v. Vullo , US, No. 22-842, 5/30/24.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg Industry Group, Inc., the publisher of Bloomberg Law and Bloomberg Tax, or its owners.

Author Information

David Cole is national legal director of the ACLU and professor at Georgetown Law. The ACLU represented the NRA in NRA v. Vullo , and Cole argued the case before the Supreme Court.

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To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alison Lake at [email protected] ; Jessie Kokrda Kamens at [email protected]

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