Legal Methods

Course Number
LAW1540
Course Description

This course serves as the cornerstone of your legal education. You will use the skills you acquire in Legal Methods 1540 throughout law school and professional practice. Treaties, Indigenous legal systems, and the responsibilities articulated in Call to Action #28 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission are woven into the readings assignments, class discussions and delivery of this course and are a foundation for developing as an ethical practitioner. Following completion of this course, you will have developed a basic understanding of the following: legal research, legal analysis, statutory interpretation, legal citation, legal writing, and professional standards and responsibilities. These skills will form the basis for the oral advocacy aspect of the course in the Winter Term when you will prepare and argue a motion before a mock court.

As future professionals, you are required to conduct yourselves professionally. You are expected to read the assigned materials, complete the online modules, work respectfully with peers, and complete all course assignments.

Teaching Method

This course is scheduled to meet for three hours per week in the Fall Term and two hours per week in the Winter Term. Classes consist of lectures delivered to all 1Ls and smaller group work led by instructors, allowing for further engagement with the material.

Assessment

This course is assessed on a Pass/Fail basis, and students must pass all quizzes, assignments, and in-person exercises in order to pass the course. Please note that attendance is mandatory.

Course Materials

Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation, 9th ed (Toronto: Carswell, 2018) [The “McGill Guide”].
Margaret McCallum et al., Synthesis: Legal Reading, Reasoning, and Writing in Canada, 4th ed (Toronto: LexisNexis Canada Inc., 2017).
Core Grammar for Lawyers: Order from https://coregrammarforlawyers.com/ . Select “[Non-US Location]” for your state and “Faculty of Law, University of Manitoba” for your school and type “MANITOBA” in the Access Code field to get the discounted price of US$28.
Additional resources on UMLearn: Each week we may post required statutory provisions, cases, articles, book chapters, videos, newspaper stories, etc that engage with the broad themes of this course and the skills you are developing. From time to time, we will also post optional content. Content will be clearly marked as mandatory or optional.