At the same time, Tulane offers a curriculum that is unique and distinctive, particularly in the areas of civil law, European legal studies, comparative and international law, admiralty and maritime law, environmental law, and sports law. The curriculum is designed to prepare students to analyze legal problems and transform that analysis into valuable work products in the form of research memoranda and briefs. Further, students' preparation in law school should make them capable of applying that analysis on behalf of clients through the skills of negotiating, mediating, arbitrating, and litigating. The first-year program focusses upon basic legal concepts in the context of their historical development and explores their application to current social and economic problems.
Emphasis is placed on legal research and writing.
Analytical thinking is developed by use of the case method, which requires students to dissect cases, respond to Socratic questioning by each other and their professors, and to consider the insights of their fellow students. Completion of the first-year courses described in this catalog is required for graduation. Upperclass students may choose from a wide spectrum of courses and seminars. They are free to develop areas of concentration within the curriculum, for example, in admiralty, taxation, or international and comparative law, if they so desire. Alternatively, they may choose to survey a variety of areas, given the unknown nature of their future practice.