I spent most of my first semester of law school in a state of total confusion. On a day-to-day basis, I was holding it together. I kept up with the readings, took careful notes, and was prepared for cold calls. Although I was able to make sense of each class and case individually, I had no clue how the different cases, legal rules, commentary, and history all fit together. It wasn’t until the end of the course — when I wrote an outline to study for the exam — that I began to see how the different pieces fit together.

I’ve created this roadmap as a way for you to understand how parts of the course fit together in a big-picture way even as we take a case-by-case approach to individual lessons.

I. Introduction

What are we here to learn? How can we do that well?

II. Remedies

What are the stakes? What do I get when I win? What do I lose when I lose?

A. Compensatory Damages

Making the plaintiff whole

B. Punitive Damages

Punishing the wrongdoer

III. Negligence

Tort law’s major contribution

A. The Fault Standard

When should someone be held liable for unintentional harm?

B. The Existence of a Legal Duty

No legal duty, no liability

C. Special Circumstances

• Medical malpractice
• Purely emotional harm

D. Causation

The link between the defendant’s actions and the plaintiff’s harm

• Factual cause
• Proximate cause
• Joint and several liability

D. Defenses

Even when your client is negligent, here’s how you can still win…

• Contributory and comparative negligence
• Assumption of risk

IV. Strict Liability

Liability without fault

A. Traditional view

If you play with dynamite, you pay damages

B. Products liability

• Manufacturing defects
• Design defects
• Warnings
• Defenses

V. Intentional Torts

A. Intent

B. Types of Intentional Tort

• Assault and battery
• False imprisonment
• Intentional infliction of emotional distress

C. Defenses

• Consent
• Self defense
• Necessity

VI. Alternatives to Tort

• Insurance
• Workers compensation
• No-fault and beyond