Lessons · Law foundations · Quick reference
Law foundations quick reference
57 topics, one line each, in the order Hone teaches them.
Hone is a place to practise a career, one idea a day. This sheet is the whole Law foundations track at a glance: every idea it covers, in the order they are taught, one line each. It is a map rather than a lesson. Read opens the full explanation of an idea; Practise gives you a question on it. Both are free, and reading needs no account at all.
In beta. This sheet was written for Hone and has not yet been checked by an attorney. Practice material, not professional advice. What that means.
From a word to a case that is in order · The map
civil cases and criminal casesA civil case is one party asking a court to make another put something right; a criminal case is the state asking a court to punish somebody for breaking a public rule. Read: Two kinds of case, and the four questions that tell them apart · Practise civil cases and criminal cases
what each side is calledIn a civil case the side that starts it is the plaintiff and the side answering is the defendant; in a criminal case the state's side is the prosecution and the person charged is the defendant. Read: Who is who, and why the words change as the case moves · Practise what each side is called
the standard of proofA standard of proof is the height of the bar: how convinced the decider must be before the side carrying the burden wins. Read: How sure the court has to be · Practise the standard of proof
trial courts and appeal courtsA trial court hears witnesses and decides what happened; an appeal court hears no witnesses and decides whether the trial court got the law right on the record it made. Read: The court that hears the evidence, and the court that reads the record · Practise trial courts and appeal courts
statute, regulation, case lawA statute is text a legislature passed, a regulation is the detail an agency wrote under a statute, and case law is what courts have decided and why. Read: Three kinds of written law, and which one to read first · Practise statute, regulation, case law
precedent, and what binding meansA decision binds a court when it comes from a court above it in the same system and answers the same question; anything else is only persuasive. Read: Precedent, and the difference between must and might · Practise precedent, and what binding means
reading a case citationA case citation is always the same boxes in the same order: the parties, the volume, the reporter, the page the case starts on, the court, and the year. Read: Reading a citation as a set of boxes · Practise reading a case citation
From a word to a case that is in order · The elements
a claim is a list of elementsEvery claim is made of elements, and the party bringing it has to show every single one; miss one and the rest do not save it. Read: A claim is a list, and every line has to be ticked · Practise a claim is a list of elements
the elements of negligenceA negligence claim has four elements: a duty owed, a breach of that duty, causation linking the breach to the harm, and damages. Read: Negligence: four lines, always the same four · Practise the elements of negligence
how a contract is formedA contract comes into being when an offer is accepted, with something given on each side, between parties who meant it and are able to make it. Read: How a contract is made, in the order it happens · Practise how a contract is formed
breach of contractA breach of contract claim has four lines: a contract existed, it required this, that was not done, and loss followed. Read: Breach: what was promised, what was done, what it cost · Practise breach of contract
act and mental stateAlmost every offence has two parts: the conduct the rule forbids, and the state of mind the rule requires at the time of that conduct, known by the old names actus reus and mens rea. Read: A crime is an act plus a state of mind · Practise act and mental state
defences, as a listA defence either knocks out one of the claim's own elements or stands on its own list of elements that the defendant has to make out. Read: A defence is a list too · Practise defences, as a list
who has to prove itThe burden of proof says which side loses when the evidence leaves the decider unsure, and it is not always on the side that brought the case. Read: Who has to prove it, and what happens if nobody does · Practise who has to prove it
From a word to a case that is in order · Civil procedure in order
the life of a civil caseA civil case runs through the same stages in the same order: complaint, service, answer, discovery, motions, trial, judgment, and then any appeal. Read: The life of a civil case, start to finish · Practise the life of a civil case
complaint and answerThe complaint says what happened, what rule it breaks and what is wanted; the answer responds to each numbered paragraph and raises any defences. Read: The complaint and the answer, paragraph by paragraph · Practise complaint and answer
service of processService is the formal delivery of the case papers to the other side, done by a permitted method and then proved to the court in writing. Read: Service of process, step by step · Practise service of process
the tools of discoveryDiscovery is the stage where the parties exchange information, using written questions, requests for documents, requests to admit facts, and questioning under oath. Read: Discovery: the four ways each side sees what the other has · Practise the tools of discovery
what a motion asks forA motion is a request to the court to do a specific thing, resting on a rule, supported by facts, with the order it wants written out ready to sign. Read: A motion asks the court for one thing · Practise what a motion asks for
a civil trial, in orderA trial runs in a fixed order: opening statements, the case of the side carrying the burden, the other side's case, closing arguments, then the decision. Read: A civil trial, in the order it happens · Practise a civil trial, in order
From a word to a case that is in order · Criminal procedure in order
the life of a criminal caseA criminal case runs arrest, charge, first appearance, release decision, plea, disclosure and discovery, trial, then sentencing if there is a finding of guilt, and then any appeal. Read: The life of a criminal case, start to finish · Practise the life of a criminal case
the rights read at arrestIn common-law systems a person taken into custody and questioned is told a short, fixed list: that they need not answer, that what they say can be used, and that they may have a lawyer. Read: The rights told to a person under arrest · Practise the rights read at arrest
first appearance and bailAt the first appearance the court confirms who the person is, makes sure they know the charge and their right to a lawyer, deals with release until trial, and sets the next date. Read: The first court date, and the question of release · Practise first appearance and bail
the plea optionsA plea is the defendant's formal answer to the charge, and each one sends the case down a different track. Read: The plea, and what each one does to the case · Practise the plea options
what an appeal can doAn appeal asks a higher court to find an error in what the lower court did, on the record already made; it is not a second chance to try the facts. Read: What an appeal can do and what it cannot · Practise what an appeal can do
From a word to a case that is in order · Counting and dates
counting a deadlineA deadline is a trigger event plus a number of days, counted the way the rule says, and then moved if the last day is not a day the court is open. Read: Counting a deadline from the rule you were handed · Practise counting a deadline
a limitation periodA limitation period is a length of time, running from an event the rule names, after which a claim can no longer be started. Read: A limitation period, and the day it runs out · Practise a limitation period
a fee schedule totalA fee total is each item's price multiplied by how many of that item there are, added up, with nothing rounded until the end. Read: A fee schedule is a list of prices and a count of things · Practise a fee schedule total
interest on a judgmentSimple interest is the amount times the rate times the fraction of a year it has run for, and the rate and the year length both come from the order or the rule in front of you. Read: Interest on a judgment, at the rate the order gives · Practise interest on a judgment
damages arithmeticAdd the measurable losses and the general damages figure the problem gives, then apply any reduction, then subtract anything already paid. Read: Damages arithmetic: add the losses, then apply the reductions · Practise damages arithmetic
From a word to a case that is in order · The office
reading a file in orderA file is read from the outside in: who and when first, where it stands today second, what it is about third, and the detail last. Read: Reading a file you have never seen, in order · Practise reading a file in order
the parts of a contractA contract is laid out in a standard order: who and when, why, what the words mean, what each side must do, how it ends, the standard clauses, and then signatures and schedules. Read: The parts of a contract, in the order they sit on the page · Practise the parts of a contract
drafting a chronologyA chronology is every relevant dated fact, earliest first, one per line, each with the document it comes from. Read: A chronology: one line, one date, one fact · Practise drafting a chronology
a conflict checkA conflict check compares every name connected to a new matter against the names the office already acts for or against, and it is done before the office takes the matter on. Read: The conflict check, and when it happens · Practise a conflict check
confidentiality and privilegeConfidentiality is a duty to keep the matter to yourself; privilege is a rule of evidence that keeps certain communications from having to be handed over at all. Read: Confidentiality and privilege are two different things · Practise confidentiality and privilege
a filing checklistEvery filing goes through the same short list in the same order, and the list ends with the diary entry rather than with the delivery. Read: The checklist before anything goes to the court · Practise a filing checklist
From deciding to apply to a California licence · Getting in
The admission test: what it measuresThe admission test carries no law on it at all. It measures how carefully you read a piece of argument and how reliably you can say what follows from it, which is the thing law school will ask of you every day. A score sits on a fixed band, and the same raw performance gives the same place on that band whichever sitting you take. Read: A test of one skill, not of what you know about law · Practise The admission test: what it measures
Arguments: what the question is really askingEvery argument question hands you a short piece of reasoning and asks for one specific operation on it: what the argument assumes, where it breaks, what would strengthen it, what must be true if it is true. The operations are few and they repeat. Naming the operation before looking at the options is most of the work. Read: Find the job before you read the answers · Practise Arguments: what the question is really asking
Reading: holding a long passage in orderA long passage carries far more detail than any question will ask about, and the questions that do ask about detail tell you where to look. What the questions rely on is structure: what the author is claiming, who disagrees, and what each paragraph is doing. Read once for that, and go back for facts. Read: Read for the shape, not for the detail · Practise Reading: holding a long passage in order
The file a school readsAn application is a small file with two numbers in it and several pieces of writing. The numbers -- the undergraduate grade record and the test score -- do most of the sorting. The writing decides among people whose numbers are close, and explains anything the numbers would otherwise say wrongly. Read: What a school is actually reading · Practise The file a school reads
Why the same file is worth more in OctoberMany schools decide as applications arrive rather than all at once at the end, against a class that is filling up. Early in the cycle there are many places left and few applications to compare yours against; late in the cycle the reverse is true. The file has not changed. What it is competing against has. Read: The same file is worth more in October than in February · Practise Why the same file is worth more in October
From deciding to apply to a California licence · The California examination
Four kinds of law school, and what each one permitsMost states will only admit graduates of nationally accredited law schools. California is the large exception: it recognises several tiers -- nationally accredited, state-accredited, and registered schools including some taught at a distance -- and a graduate of any of them may sit its examination. What the tier changes is what happens if you ever want to practise elsewhere. Read: Four kinds of law school, and what each one permits · Practise Four kinds of law school, and what each one permits
The first-year students' examinationCalifornia requires students at schools outside the accredited tiers to pass an examination after their first year before the rest of their study will count. It covers the classic first-year subjects. It exists so that somebody on a less regulated road is measured early rather than after four years of fees. Read: An examination after the first year, for some students · Practise The first-year students' examination
The California examination, part by partMost states now give one common examination whose score can be carried to other states. California does not. It sets and grades its own, built from three kinds of instrument: a multiple-choice paper, written essay answers, and at least one performance test. The parts are weighted and combined into a single scaled total, which is compared against a passing line the board sets. Read: California sets its own examination · Practise The California examination, part by part
What an essay answer is graded onA bar essay is not asking for the right verdict. It is asking you to identify the issues raised by the facts, state the rule for each, apply that rule to these specific facts, and reach a conclusion. A well-reasoned answer that ends the wrong way scores far better than a bare assertion of the right one. Read: An essay is graded on the road, not the destination · Practise What an essay answer is graded on
The performance test: a task, a file, a libraryA performance test gives you everything: a task from a supervising lawyer, a file of facts, and a library of the law you are to use. Nothing is memorised. It measures whether you can produce the document asked for, in the form asked for, using only the materials supplied, inside the time. Read: A task, a file, and a library · Practise The performance test: a task, a file, a library
From deciding to apply to a California licence · Admission, and keeping it
The professional responsibility examinationProfessional responsibility is examined on its own, on its own day, usually well before or after the bar examination itself. It is about the duties a lawyer owes: to the client, to the court, to the other side, and about money held for other people. Each state sets its own passing score on a common paper. Read: A separate examination on the duties of the job · Practise The professional responsibility examination
Moral character: the application that takes longestAdmission requires a determination that you are of good moral character. It is a separate application, with its own fee, and it involves verification of what you disclose: addresses, employment, finances, any matter involving the police or a court. It takes months, and the months are outside your control. Read: The application that takes longest and is started last · Practise Moral character: the application that takes longest
From a pass to a California licencePassing the examination is one of several conditions. Admission also needs the professional responsibility requirement met, the moral character determination positive, the registration and fees in order, and an oath taken. Only after all of them does a licence number exist and practice become lawful. Read: A pass is not a licence · Practise From a pass to a California licence
Keeping a licence in good standingA licence is a continuing obligation, not a possession. It requires periodic continuing education, including a portion on ethics and related subjects, fees paid on a cycle, and the record kept current. The obligations run on the board's calendar and non-compliance has its own consequences, separate from anything to do with competence. Read: Keeping it in good standing · Practise Keeping a licence in good standing
From deciding to apply to a Texas licence · The Uniform Bar Examination
One examination, three instrumentsMost states, Texas among them, give a common examination built from three instruments: a long multiple-choice paper, a set of written essay answers, and performance tests. Each is written and supplied by one national body, each is weighted, and the weighted total is placed on a common scale. A state then sets the score it will accept. Read: One examination, three instruments · Practise One examination, three instruments
The multiple-choice dayThe multiple-choice paper covers foundational subjects with a large number of questions under tight time. Options are written so that more than one is defensible and one is best. The skill is disciplined elimination against the precise rule, not recognition of a familiar phrase. Read: The multiple-choice day is a test of elimination · Practise The multiple-choice day
Essays on subjects announced in advanceThe written essays are drawn from a published list of subjects, so the scope is known before you start. As with any bar essay, the marks are in identifying the issues, stating the rule, applying it to these facts and concluding -- in that order, visibly, for each issue. Read: Essays on subjects announced in advance · Practise Essays on subjects announced in advance
A score that travels, and what it cannot doBecause the examination is common, a score earned in one participating state may be offered to another that also participates, within a time limit and subject to that state's own passing line and its own separate requirements. Transferring a score is not the same as being admitted: the receiving state still runs its own character process and its own local requirements. Read: A score that travels, and what it cannot do · Practise A score that travels, and what it cannot do
From deciding to apply to a Texas licence · Admission, and keeping it
The part that is only about this stateBecause the main examination is national, it cannot test the law peculiar to one state. States that use it therefore add their own requirement covering local law and procedure, typically delivered as study material with an assessment rather than as a further day of examination. Read: The part that is only about this state · Practise The part that is only about this state
Character and fitness: file it earlyAdmission requires a separate determination of character and fitness, with its own application, fee and timetable. What is disclosed is verified: addresses, employment, finances, any matter involving a court or the police. It takes months and the duration is not in your control. Read: Character and fitness: file it early because it is slow · Practise Character and fitness: file it early
From a pass to a Texas licencePassing is one condition among several. Admission also requires the professional responsibility score, the state component, a positive character and fitness determination, fees and registration in order, and an oath. A licence exists only once all of them are done. Read: A pass is not a licence · Practise From a pass to a Texas licence