Common Law is Common Sense

At its core, the law is about establishing a framework for the ordinary rules of living in a civilized society. If you’ve ever told a younger sibling, “You can’t just take my stuff,” you’ve expressed the foundation of property law (the system that governs ownership and use of things). If you’ve ever complained to a romantic interest, “But you promised!” you’ve invoked contract law (the rules about agreements). If you’ve ever screamed, “Don’t run that red light, you’ll cause a crash!” you’ve articulated the essence of tort law (rules about responsibility for harm).

So why does it feel so confusing? Because law students are asked to read judicial opinions (written explanations by judges, who are themselves former lawyers) about how a doctrine (legal rule) applies, or fails to apply, to the facts of a dispute. These opinions weren’t written for you; they were written for an audience of lawyers who already finished law school and passed the bar. That adds an extra layer of mystique. Accordingly, they use vocabulary that new students haven’t yet been exposed to, much like a foreign exchange student stumbling through her first conversations in a new country. That’s why you shouldn’t be too hard on yourself. The cases you’ve been assigned weren’t written with you in mind, and they’re in a foreign language.

And just like learning any foreign language, you can’t rely on osmosis. You must look up every unfamiliar legal term, and even words you think you know, like consideration, which has a specific legal meaning that doesn’t match everyday usage. That habit is how you’ll gradually acquire the lawyer’s dialect.

Remember, every professional field has its own vocabulary.

If you were in medical school, you’d be learning the “language of medicine”: hypertension (high blood pressure), myocardial infarction (heart attack). In dental school, you’d be immersed in “dental language”: occlusion (bite), endodontics (root canal). Why? Because insiders need a kind of verbal shorthand to communicate quickly and precisely with others in the same field

If the law were, in fact, alien to you, chances are you’d already have been tangled up in the court system. Most people who grasp the basic “rules of the road” of society avoid becoming a civil litigant (a party in a lawsuit about money, property, or rights) or a criminal defendant (a person accused of breaking the state’s rules). The fact that you’ve made it this far without multiple court dates (not counting speeding tickets!) suggests you already get the basics.

To drive the point home: imagine if the law were truly unknowable to the average person. You’d constantly be tripping over it by, for instance, by parking your car in the passing lane of a busy highway, writing bad checks, and signing contracts that take away your rights. Instead, you’ve probably navigated most of life without any issues. That’s not luck. That’s because the law is, at its foundation, common sense dressed up in formal clothing.

And here’s another clue you probably heard before coming to law school: “Ignorance of the law is not a defense.” That principle only makes sense if the law is accessible enough that ordinary people can live in society without first attending law school. If the law were too arcane and inaccessible, courts couldn’t fairly hold anyone accountable.

Most of your 1L law school courses, like Contracts, Torts, and Property, are built on common law (judge-made rules that evolved through judicial opinions over centuries). And common law is really just a formalized record of what communities have historically considered “reasonable” conduct when presented with specific facts.

If you’re sitting there thinking, “So the ‘law’ is just structured common sense,” congratulations—you’re already getting it, and you’re already ahead of most of your classmates.

The biggest trap for new law students is overthinking. Yes, cases are written in stiff 19th-century English, shrouded in legalese, and professors may pepper you with ludicrous hypotheticals. But at its root, the question is usually simple: Who made the promise? Who broke it? Who got hurt? Who should bear the cost?

So, as you dive into your first semester, remember: you're not learning an alien code. You're learning to discuss everyday fairness, albeit in a new, precise language that lawyers and judges use to communicate with one another, alongside with the written structure of case briefs and outlines.

Law school is less about learning a brand-new world and more about recognizing the patterns of fairness and order in the world you’ve been living in all your life. Don’t overcomplicate it. For every legal rule you encounter, try to unearth the nugget of common sense behind it. Once you can do that with ease, you’ll be well on your way towards earning a spot on law review (a scholarly publication that is synonymous with achieving academic success in law school). 

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