Programs

Introduction to Legal Analysis & Reasoning

July 12 to July 30, 2027

This program introduces participants to the principles and methods of legal reasoning and analysis. The classes and readings examine certain analytical problems that recur across all substantive areas of law and the particular toolset that lawyers use to resolve them. Participants will study the relationship between legal problems and other fields of thought, such as moral and political philosophy, economics, and political theory. The subjects for discussion include the nature of, and justification for, reasoning from precedent; differences between common and civil law systems; the degree to which materials that are not distinctively legal should be considered in deciding what the law is; the role that notions such as incentives, consent, coercion, and voluntary choice should play in legal decisions and policy decisions that affect the law; the question of whether and when to impose rules or allow discretion; and the problems of interpreting statutes and other authoritative texts. Finally, the program will explore recent developments that present new challenges to the legal profession, asking participants to apply what they have learned to contemporary problems in law, including globalization and the rise of machine learning technologies.

As the program provides participants with an understanding of what it means to be a lawyer and how to analyze legal problems, it is ideal for applicants considering pursuing a law degree.

Students will gain an introduction to legal reasoning and analytics. They will learn the basic skills of a successful lawyer. They will be introduced to legal methods of interpreting statutes and constitutions and developing case law. They will learn the basic methods of legal argument that are used by lawyers in arguing cases and advising clients.
After completion, students will understand the fundamental questions that lawyers are called on to solve and the various methods of analysis that they used to do so.
Topics covered will include interpretive methods such as textualism, purposivism, and originalism; theories on the nature of law including legal realism, formalism, and natural law; the fundamental theories behind competing schools of legal thought including Law and Economics; and how law interacts with other institutions in society.

Available for current high school students who are at least 15 years old
The program's medium of instruction will be in English, so students should be comfortable in an English-speaking learning environment
Applicants must be Hong Kong residents or be eligible to study in Hong Kong during the program period

Classes will be held Monday through Friday from 9:30 to 14:00. While each day varies slightly in format, a typical day includes:

Time	Activity
9:30 – 12:15	Morning Session (incl. 20-minute break)
12:15 – 13:15	Lunch
13:15 – 14:30	Afternoon Session
14:30 – 16:00	Optional Group Work/Office Hours

Week 1

Day 1: This class introduces students to the differences between Civil Law and Common Law systems and the tools that lawyers utilize in each system. Students will compare purely statutory legal systems with those that develop law through judicial precedent. Students will learn the basic tools of legal analysis, with an emphasis on what is unique about the role of a lawyer in the operation of private and public institutions.
Days 2&3: These classes will turn to methods of interpretation starting with statutory and constitutional interpretation. Students will explore various methods of interpretation including textualism, purposivism, and originalism. Materials will also explore how institutional structures and modes of government affect the interpretation of law.
Days 4&5: These classes will look more closely at the development of law through precedent. The materials will explore how case law develops over time and assess the methods for interpreting precedent. The materials will survey common law development across fields including business law, constitutional law, criminal law, and international law.

Week 2

Day 1: This class will introduce students to concepts of natural law, formalism, and legal realism and explore how those concepts interact with methods and tools of statutory interpretation and the development of precedent in common law systems. They will also explore the possibility of norms and customs substituting for formal law.
Day 2: This class will begin to introduce students to modern schools of legal thought. The first stop will be Law and Philosophy, with students learning how one's moral and philosophical groundings can affect the analysis of law. In doing so, students will consider the role that free choice plays in legal rules, focusing on notions of coercion, consent, and contract.
Day 3: This class will introduce the school of Law and Economics. Materials will examine how economic theories about incentives and rational choice can impact the interpretation and definition of law.
Day 4: This class will explore the many critiques of law and economics, including recent developments in Law and Psychology, Behavioral Law and Economics, and Critical Race Theory.
Day 5: This class will introduce the concept of “the rule of law,” considering what it means and how it fits with the methods of interpretation and schools of legal thought covered in prior sessions.

Week 3

Day 1: Continuing with the rule of law question, this class will explore an ever-present dilemma in law: When should the law utilize strict rules and when should it employ discretionary standards? This is often referred to as the “rules and standards” debate.
Day 2: In the last three sessions, students will use the tools they have developed to address specific problems in law. This class will start by asking students to apply the methods from prior classes to problems in private law, including contract, property, and corporate governance.
Day 3: This class will look at the problems of evidence, factfinding, and burdens of proof. Students will learn the importance of distinguishing between evidence and facts and between factual questions and legal ones. They will also develop tools for recognizing the distinctions.
Day 4: This class will explore recent developments that present new challenges to the legal profession, asking students to apply what they have learned to contemporary problems in law, including globalization and the rise of machine learning technologies.
Day 5: Students will present their final capstone projects.

For each of our Summer Academy programs, students will also have the opportunity to participate in sessions led by a UChicago admissions counselor to better understand the highly selective admissions process practiced by U.S. colleges and universities. Such sessions will give students a window into the role that essays play in the application and how an application is holistically reviewed for admission.

Participants who successfully complete the Introduction to Legal Analysis and Reasoning will be eligible for the UChicago Summer Session Early Notification (SSEN) application option.

Executive Education Instructor at the UChicago Law School
Professor, Melbourne Law School

Professor Chen grew up in Singapore and Taiwan. He obtained his LL.B. from the National University of Singapore, and his LL.M. and J.S.D. from the University of Chicago. He is admitted to practice in Singapore and New York. He joined Melbourne Law School in 2017, having commenced his academic career at the University of Hong Kong in 2011.

Bilingual in English and Chinese, Professor Chen publishes widely. His work includes two monographs with Cambridge University Press and articles in leading journals such as the Sydney Law Review, Law & Social Inquiry, and 北大法律评论. Spanning fields such as corporate and securities law, tax, property, criminal law, and law and religion, and drawing on jurisdictions including Australia, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States, his research explores how the different forms of state actions—law, regulation, taxation, state ownership, public contracts, or government speech— often operate more similarly than conventional legal categories suggest.

Professor Chen teaches Economic Analysis of Law, Corporations Law, Commercial Law in Asia, Comparative Sexual Offences, and Natural Resources Law in Asia. He also coordinates and conducts the Research Support Program for graduate researchers.

Donald M. Ephraim Professor of Law and Economics and the Faculty Director of the Center on Law and Finance.

Professor Casey is an expert on business law, finance, and corporate bankruptcy. His research—which has been published in the Yale Law Journal, the Columbia Law Review, the Supreme Court Review, and the University of Chicago Law Review—examines the intersection of finance and law. He has also written about the role of intellectual property law in the organization and financing of creative projects and about how technological innovation is changing the foundations of our legal system more generally.

Before entering academics, Professor Casey was a partner at Kirkland and Ellis, LLP. Before joining Kirkland & Ellis, he was an associate at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. His legal practice focused on corporate bankruptcy, merger litigation, white-collar investigations, securities litigation, and complex class actions. Casey also served as a law clerk for Chief Judge Joel M. Flaum of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Professor Casey received his JD with High Honors in 2002 from the University of Chicago Law School. He received the John M. Olin Prize for the outstanding student of law and economics.

Professor Casey teaches courses and seminars in corporate governance, business law, bankruptcy and reorganization, finance, litigation strategy, civil procedure, and law and technology.

The University of Chicago Law School occupies a unique niche among this country's premier law schools. Located on a residential campus in one of America's great cities, UChicago Law offers a rigorous and interdisciplinary professional education that blends the study of law with the humanities, the social sciences, and the natural sciences. Students, faculty, and staff form a small, tightly knit community devoted to the life of the mind. Learning is participatory. UChicago Law does not seek to impose a single viewpoint or style of thought on its students. Instead, our faculty exposes students to contrasting views, confident in students' abilities to choose their own paths.

Application Opens:
Summer Priority Deadline: January 13, 2027
Summer Regular Deadline: March 3, 2027

[Refer to UChicago Summer Sessions Admissions]

Application submitted:	Hong Kong Dollars
Before January 13, 2027	$
Between January 14 and March 3, 2027	$

Program fee includes the academic sessions, use of the UChicago campus in Hong Kong facilities, one meal and refreshments during on-campus days and shuttle buses to and from campus and Kennedy Town MTR Station. Program Fees are non-refundable once paid unless the program is canceled by the UChicago campus in Hong Kong.

From 2026's participants

The legal theories and legal thinking taught in this course have elevated my understanding of the law beyond a black-and-white line of laws. I have gained many more ways to interpret a hard case: why the law is implemented and how it can be interpreted differently under different circumstances. These aspects have changed my stereotype of law as a tedious subject ”

The first skill I gained was of discussion, especially speaking up and contributing. I think this is the most important especially since before this, I rarely contributed to discussions with the fear of being wrong, but this helped because I understood that real discussion is not about who is right or wrong, but understanding all perspectives when discussing something like a case study or a concept. Aside from that, the most important things I learned would be the class content, including elements of law, especially rules and standards, schools of jurisdiction, common law, civil law and the future of law. I also learned how to think like a lawyer and theories and methodologies, which allowed me to understand how the world around me worked and encouraged me to find out more outside of this course. ”

I think that the lecture is really informative. I take lots of notes. Professors not only cover laws in lectures but also related humanities topics, which I find helpful and interesting. Moreover, I think the office hours are really helpful. Professors answer our questions patiently and expand them into broader topics worth sharing or discussing. ”

You have questions about the Introduction to Legal Analysis and Reasoning?

Email us: hkprograms@uchicago.edu