Find your perfect college degree
Facts and Stats
- In 2021, nearly 7 in 10 applicants (68.3%) were accepted* to at least one law school.
- In 2023, there were nearly 35,000 law graduates** in the US. It showed a decline of more than 11,000 graduates from 10 years ago (2013).
- In April 2024, around 53% of law graduates in 2023 in the US found work*** in law firms. About 11.1% were employed by the government.
For the longest time, a law degree has been one of the most sought-after and highly respected courses to enroll at university. Having a law degree is the first step towards securing a career in the legal field for many people.
Further studies and training usually follow this to become a practicing barrister or solicitor. But this is not enough reason to enroll in law school. Everybody knows how a law degree is exceptionally challenging.
How Online Courses for Law Benefit You
If you are a law aspirant, enrolling in an online law course is one of the best ways to boost your knowledge in a specific field. Online courses are beneficial to everybody: a law expert, a professional, or a law school student!
These courses are built on the best topics, and usually, they are offered in shorter terms. But, how do you benefit from these courses?
Lower Cost. Online law courses are cheaper than conventional campus-based programs. Some courses are even offered for free.
It helps save you time. This is particularly helpful if you presently have a job or are tied up with your family obligations. Online law courses are the best options for you. You can study from your home, office, or any other place that’s most convenient for you.
Better opportunities to practice as a solo. If joining law firms and organizations doesn’t sit well with you, working as a solo practitioner is a wise move. Attending law courses online is the perfect choice for you.
Today, the demand for lawyers all around the globe is growing by the day. You can either work with corporate firms or practice as an advocate in the course. Whether you want to be a judge, a lawyer, or a police officer, online law courses take you a step closer to your career goals!
The Top 12 Free Online Courses for Law
Getting into law school needs years of dedication, hard work, and money. While many graduates successfully land on lucrative careers, some struggle to find employment and settle their student loan debts.
Thus, it’s very critical to think about whether law school is for you or not. In the meantime, you can take advantage of these 12 free online courses for law.
FOR BEGINNERS
An Introduction to American Law
The University of Pennsylvania, via Coursera
This course is an excellent first step toward understanding the basic principles of American Law. It provides an insight into the impact of the systems you can encounter daily and how these systems have developed over time. An Introduction to American Law gives you a peek into six areas of American Law:
- Civil Procedure
- Criminal Law
- Constitutional Law
- Property
- Contract Law
- Tort Law
In this free online course, you will benefit from some helpful insights into the problems and issues arising from applying these laws in different settings and what is unique about American approaches.
If you’re still starting law school but don’t have a background in pre-law, this course is very helpful in getting you acquainted with some of the fundamental areas of law that you are expected to be exposed to in law school.
Being a short introductory course, the storytelling approach is not just concise. It is very punchy and exciting without sacrificing quality.
Best Features:
- 100% online and free
- Paid Certificate Available
- Seven weeks long, 11 hours worth of material
- Suitable for beginners, with or without a pre-law background
Justice
Harvard University, via edX
This is one of the most popular courses at Harvard University and introduces moral and political philosophy. Handled by Michael Sandel, a highly praised professor from Harvard, this course discovers the critical analysis of contemporary and classical theories of justice, including intensive discussions of an existing application.
Topics included in this free online course include income distribution, affirmative action, same-sex marriage, debates about rights (property rights and human rights), income distribution, problems of private and public life loyalty, and arguments for and against equality.
What You Will Learn from the Course:
- The essentials of political philosophy
- A more profound sense of the philosophy underlying modern-day issues like same-sex marriage, affirmative action, and equality
- A better understanding of criminal and social justice and the roles in the current justice system
- The power to check and speak philosophical arguments better
Best Features:
- 100% online and free
- Paid Certificate Available ($139.00)
- 12 weeks long, 3-6 hours per week
- Taught by Michael Sander, one of the most lauded professors at Harvard University
- Self-paced
Contract Law: From Trust to Promise to Contract
Harvard University, via edX
Everybody deals with contracts at some point. Whether it’s signing an agreement when you hire a contractor for your home renovation jobs, tapping the help of an experienced computer geek to help you with a new computer program, or even ordering your favorite meal online, contracts are present in these types of transactions. In this course, Harvard Law Professor Charles Fried teaches about the principles of contracts.
This free contract law course has a regular update of case samples and new materials. It is created to give you the many issues that surface when you enter and enforce contracts. You will learn what a contract is and know the purpose and importance of this legal document.
This is followed by a discussion on the intent to make legality, legal relations, morality, and the difference between bargains and gifts. You are also taught about the common pitfalls in contracts: mistakes, frustrations, fraud, and one-sided promises.
Best Features:
- 100% online and free
- Paid Certificate Available ($199.00)
- Self-Paced
- Ideal for Intermediate Learners
- Taught by Charles Fried, a known figure at Harvard Law School who’s been teaching for more than 50 years and has extensively written contracts.
A Law Student’s Toolkit
Yale University, via Coursera
This is a very intriguing and challenging course. During the first week, the classes were intense. But as the course progresses, it eventually becomes more accessible and more enjoyable. Whether you are an aspiring law student or you’re already at the advanced level, this course can help you build the needed foundation to succeed in law school and beyond.
You will learn concepts, tools, and terminologies that legal academics and lawyers use in making their arguments.
This free online course is a combination of assignments and short lectures. A reading list completes each lesson to guide you in exploring the subject deeply on your own. While some studies cross-reference each other, these lectures are generally modular. You can approach the modules in whatever order fits your interests, your needs, and your schedule.
Best Features:
- 100% online and free
- Paid Certificate Available
- Flexible deadlines
- Three weeks long, 16 hours worth of material
FOR INTERMEDIATE LEARNERS
Privacy Law and Data Protection
The University of Pennsylvania, via Coursera
This online training course is one of the most important courses in the field of data privacy protection. This course lets you go over the actual properties of navigating the challenging landscape of privacy.
When you understand how privacy laws and data protection work, you can help protect your whole organization’s personal information.
Heavy emphasis is given to health privacy law, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1998. For those who don’t know about US privacy law, this is a great course to try.
Best Features:
- 100% online and free
- Paid Certificate Available
- Four weeks long, 12 hours worth of material
- Easy-to-follow lectures, great examples on the topics
Introduction to Intellectual Property
The University of Pennsylvania, via Coursera
This course gives a legal foundation to understand intellectual property in the US and a complete review of its three primary forms:
- patents, which cover innovations and inventions;
- copyright, which protects originality;
- trademarks, which handle commercial identity.
In this free online course, you will learn to:
- Recognize the different forms of intellectual property protection in the US.
- Distinguish the pros and cons of intellectual property administration
- Study the most feasible intellectual property strategies using case studies
- Assess choices for formal intellectual property protections
Best Features:
- 100% online and free
- Paid Certificate Available
- Four weeks long, 15 hours worth of material
- Well-structured course, videotaped course materials are concise and clear
- Easy to understand even for non-native English speakers
Internet Giants: The Law and Economics of Media Platforms
The University of Chicago, via Coursera
If you are a lawyer, an economist, a technologist, or just curious about how hi-tech businesses are created and regulated, this course is for you.
This seven-week free online course explores how law and technology are connected. It strongly focuses on US laws, with some basic comparisons to other laws in the world, especially in Europe.
Technology plays an essential role in economic growth, which explains why it’s more important than ever to raise broader questions about the human condition, including how cultures develop and control this development.
The course explores seven topics:
- Microsoft: The Desktop vs. The Internet
- Google Emerges (and the World Responds)
- Smartphones
- Nondiscrimination and Network Neutrality
- The Day the Music Died
- Video
- The Mediated Book
Best Features:
- 100% online and free
- Paid Certificate Available
- Nine weeks long, 59 hours worth of material
- Impressive course content, audiovisual presentations, and lecturing approach
Introduction to Key Constitutional Concepts and Supreme Court Cases
The University of Pennsylvania, via Coursera
This course will teach about the US Constitution and consequential Supreme Court cases interpreting the Constitution. You will explore the origin of the constitutions, their amendments throughout the years, and the methods of constitutional interpretation.
Some of the topics included in the course are the nature and structure of the federal government, individual rights, and the federal government’s powers.
The professor, Kermit Roosevelt III, is very knowledgeable and provides exciting content and a higher-level overview of the Constitution. The lectures follow an excellent structure, and there are also animations, videos, and interviews that break up the monotony of the course.
Best Features:
- 100% online and free
- Paid certificate available
- Four weeks long, 6 hours worth of material
- Materials are easy to follow and well-constructed
FOR ADVANCED LEARNERS
Copyright Law in the Music Business
Berklee College of Music, via Coursera
This course is for those who do not have much experience with the law but have a general understanding of music and musical analysis (Roman numeral analysis, chord progressions, basic tempo, and form). You will learn the foundation for copyright, including those that are not covered by copyright law.
The course will clarify music artists’ rights as creators and what the public can take for free from the artist’s work. This will also cover topics on how technology has evolved and changed copyright for the better and how laws on copyright will change in the coming years.
Best Features:
- 100% online and free
- Paid Certificate Available
- Suitable for beginners
- Four weeks long, 10 hours worth of material
- Course contents are detailed and can easily be absorbed
Copyright for Educators and Librarians
Duke University, via Coursera
This is a beneficial course not only for educators and librarians but also for technical and creative writers. Today, there’s a silent fear of copyright laws that often plague educators. Sometimes, that can even prevent them from teaching creatively.
Copyright for Educators and Librarians is a professional development course designed to give you a basic introduction to copyright laws in the US.
The course is an excellent introduction to copyright law for librarians and educators, especially if you have no previous background in the subject. The modules offer good information; they’re easy to follow and understand and presented engagingly.
Best Features:
- 100% online and free
- Paid Certificate Available
- Five weeks long, 13 hours worth of material
- Easy to follow; beneficial links to references
Copyright for Multimedia
Duke University, Emory University, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill – via Coursera
This is quite challenging when copyright questions are raised (whether data, music, video, or images). While most copyright laws differentiate between these various formats, some media-specific considerations influence a copyright analysis.
This course strongly focuses on four different media, making sure each is given attention to the significant issues when settling on copyright choices for each kind of material.
You will learn more about fair use issues for every multimedia format, check formats that are exempted from the law, and go over specific topics when seeking permission for music, film, images, and data.
By completing this free online course, you will understand how to make copyright decisions and become more comfortable dealing with multimedia issues.
Best Features:
- 100% online and free
- Paid Certificate Available
- Four weeks long, 11 hours worth of material
- A significant number of practical cases and examples
- Lots of reading materials and quizzes to test your knowledge
Media Law
New York University, via edX
This comprehensive online course covers privacy and art, Open-Source, public licensing, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Digital Rights Management, and Creative Commons.
In this free online course, you will learn the following:
- Ethical and legal frameworks in digital media
- US Federal Court decisions that were applied to questionable works of digital media
- US laws concerning the creation of films, videos, apps, games, websites, digital objects, and all those other forms of digital media
- The disparity between sharing, ownership, borrowing, and the likes, and the appropriate concepts of Intellectual Property as applied in various creative practices
- The latest advances in US laws and their future effects on digital media
Best Features:
- 100% online and free
- Paid Certificate Available ($249.00)
- 14 weeks long, 8-10 hours per week
- Very informative and useful
What is Corruption: Anti-Corruption and Compliance
The University of Pennsylvania via Coursera
Through comparisons of tips versus illegal bribes, the course will examine what corruption is. The course examines corruption from different perspectives, its ramifications, and how anti-corruption laws came into being.
Additionally, you will learn practical strategies for addressing and preventing corruption with compliance policies and procedures.
Many anti-corruption laws will be discussed, including the UK Bribery Act and the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The focus is on developing compliance policies and procedures that address corruption in the course.
Additionally, you will learn how to prevent corruption within an organization as well as how to identify and address corruption early.
What You Will Learn From The Course:
- Analyze how anti-corruption efforts are related to an organization’s culture and compliance program.
- Describe anticorruption laws and their implications.
- Structure an anti-corruption program that prevents and/or mitigates corruption within an organization.
- Develop strategies for preventing corruption.
Best Features:
- Shareable certificate
- 100% online and free
- It takes 12 hours to complete
- It can be taken in 4 weeks
Child Protection: Children’s Rights in Theory & Practice
Harvard University via EdX
Violence, abuse, exploitation, and neglect threaten the well-being of children all over the world. Migratory and displacement dangers have forced millions to flee their homes due to conflict and natural disasters.
Many countries face problems related to commercial sexual exploitation, human trafficking, and child labor. To ensure that at-risk children and adolescents are protected from harm and that they develop to their fullest potential, the law must enforce the rights of these children and adolescents.
Failures in children’s protection will be explained in this course. All children deserve protection, and you will explore the strategies, international laws, standards, and resources necessary to ensure they do. In addition to understanding legal frameworks, you will learn to link child-rights approaches to the work involved in policymaking, law, healthcare, education, law enforcement, and social work.
Through this course, learners will gain an understanding of how they can protect children.
What You Will Learn From The Course:
- You will learn about human rights law’s roots in child protection.
- Children’s emotional, social, and physical development and the impact of violence, exploitation, and abuse (VEA).
- Analyzing child protection issues globally and identifying the diverse key people involved in the field.
- Ways in assessing and strengthening child protection systems.
- Child protection standards in conflict or legal situations.
Best Features:
- Self-paced
- It can be completed in 16 weeks
- Classes are 2 to 6 hours per week
- Free but optional upgrades are available
Constitutional Interpretation
Princeton University via EdX
People often disagree about how the Constitution should be interpreted despite its importance to America’s republican democracy.
Throughout this course, you will examine competing constitutional interpretation theories and approaches. You will better understand the American Constitution by studying lectures, Supreme Court cases, readings, quizzes, and discussions.
What You Will Be Able To Answer After The Course:
- According to the Constitution, who can interpret the Constitution authoritatively and apply its principles and norms?
- Do judges always have the final say in disputed questions regarding the meaning and requirements of the Constitution if we accept the principle of judicial review?
- Does the US Constitution affect the intentions of its framers and ratifiers? In such a case, how can we determine their “intent”?
Best Features:
- 100% online and free
- It takes 7 weeks to complete
- Classes are 2 to 5 hours per week
- Self Paced
- Intermediate course
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Law?
Legal studies, or law, touches almost all aspects of human life and the different issues surrounding economics, business, the environment, politics, international relations and trade, and human rights.
A law degree is the academic degree conferred after you study law. This degree is generally in preparation for legal careers. As a law student, it’s expected that you learn how to handle even the most demanding, most problematic, and seemingly irresolvable issues and conflicts in morality and human society.
A law degree also provides a framework where you examine and understand various institutions and cultures. This degree is a helpful way to prepare for a specific legal career and a broader range of professional roles.
What are some reasons why you should study law?
Law is undeniably one of the most admired academic disciplines in the world. With lucrative salaries, job stability, and the highly regarded status coined with law jobs, it is not surprising that so many people wish to enroll in law school. But aside from these benefits, what are other reasons why studying law is a wise move? Is a law degree worth it nowadays?
Law is interesting. One of the significant reasons studying law is a good option is because this discipline is comprehensive and fascinating. A rule governs almost all we do: whether you drive on the freeway, purchase something at Amazon, post something on the Internet, and so much more.
As a practicing lawyer, you will regularly deal with various cases that pose different types of problems. Work is seldom repetitive because you will be defending clients from diverse backgrounds and industries.
Law also allows you to look at human behavior and society from a different perspective. While listening to the stories of people, empathizing with them, and understanding their reasons, struggles, and feelings becomes easier.
Law is hugely challenging intellectually. If you love solving seemingly tricky riddles and impossible challenges, the law is the perfect academic path. Lawyers deal with very complex philosophical, ethical, and more issues.
While some lawyers provide straightforward answers, others sometimes give unclear responses, especially when regulations and potential consequences are factored in. For example, how do you answer tricky questions like:
- Should animal or people cloning be legal?
- Should free speeches be limited?
- Should we consider pollution a crime?
The law protects fundamental human rights and shares justice. Is there a career that does more than pay the bills? Look no more, and lawyering is the answer. More than the hefty paycheck, the law comes with a sense of meaning and fulfillment borne out of fighting against injustice, helping others, and defending innocent people.
It is a huge responsibility, and at times, even if you are right, you cannot win a case. Still, you are willing to do everything you can to make society better.
Law offers job security and financial stability. A career in law remains one of the most well-paid and in-demand jobs out there. While the competition is relatively high, the rewards are well worth it.
You won’t have to fear losing or not finding a job because, in most cases, regular people, business people, and companies will always need the help of lawyers! In the US alone, the job outlook for lawyers is very positive. There is an expected 6% increase between 2018 and 2028.
Law skills can be applied in any professional or personal area. Heard of the cliché “knowledge is power”? While this applies to many fields, this is almost as if it’s made for the law.
Contrary to what most people believed, everyone must know the law, not just the professionals in the lawyering field. When one understands the law, it comes with many advantages:
- Staying away from being charged, fined, and breaking the law
- Legally minimizing the taxes by understanding business and tax law
- Helping family and friends deal with lawsuits, divorces, and the likes
When you are a law student, you will learn demonstrable decision-making and critical thinking skills. You can use these skills to manage your finances, improve your financial relations, and start a business you’re interested in.
What Can You Do with a Degree in Law?
A Juris Doctor (J.D.) is the foundation law degree for would-be lawyers. In most states in the US, the absence of the JD means someone can’t take the bar exam and become a licensed law practitioner.
On the other hand, the JD is also helpful outside the usual legal settings such as the courtroom. JD holders, in this case, need to understand how they can leverage their education within a particular industry. Here are some traditional law jobs and non-lawyer jobs you can do with a law degree.
Certified Public Accountant (C.P.A.). CPAs are accountable for examining and preparing financial records. They ensure that all the business and personal records are accurate and taxes are correctly and diligently paid.
CPAs also assess financial operations so they can create strategic advice for clients. They also help people and businesses recognize ways to boost revenues, minimize costs, or advance profit margins.
Chief Financial Officer (C.F.O.). A chief financial officer maintains a company’s economic well-being and provides accounting services and financial projections.
The CFO position is present in both the private and public sectors. CFOs may have gained their business and financial skills through their previous education and experience and later fine-tuned their JD or J.D.-MBA program.
In most larger companies, CFOs work directly with the organization’s CEO and other top executives. For smaller firms, the CFO is tasked with heading different administrative functions like human and legal relations.
Human Resource Managers. HR managers work within an organization to administer employee relationships, internal programs, policies, and best practices.
To become an efficient HR manager, you need to be a solid communicator, and your relationship-building skills should be on point. Also, be organized and detail-oriented! Having a law background helps HR managers employ, enforce, and communicate an organization’s legal compliance directive.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) stated that, in the US, the median annual wage for an HR manager was $130,000 in 2022. This position is said to have a 5 percent growth rate after a few years.
Insurance Adjuster. You can find an insurance adjuster in the claims departments of an insurance company. As an insurance adjuster, your task is to investigate insurance claims and decide if the insurance firm must pay a share and for how much. In doing this, you conduct interviews with possible witnesses, check hospital and police records, or examine property damages to establish liability.
Some adjusters are tapped to represent policyholders and help in the preparations of insurance claims. The US BLS stated that as of today, claims adjusters, investigators, examiners, and appraisers have a median annual pay of $72,230.
Tax Attorney. As a tax attorney, your roles are a handful. You can represent clients and use gifts, trusts, and other tax planning structures to minimize the worries of estate taxes and income taxes.
You can also represent individuals if troubles arise with lawsuits or business ownership that involves the IRS. You are also responsible for helping large and small establishments set up new enterprises and guiding them to understand taxation laws.
How much can you earn as a Law graduate?
Among the most distinctive features of being a lawyer is the size of the paycheck. Due to the generous compensation, this is often the case. You’ll probably have to undergo some rigorous training if you’re just out of law school, as some legal markets are larger than others.
Before applying to law school, most aspiring lawyers evaluate their career goals first. The legal matters they are most interested in and the field of law they wish to practice are already pretty clear to them.
You receive monetary compensation for your work as a lawyer, which is a perk of being a lawyer. In fact, a lawyer’s average salary is $145,760 per year, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The salaries of new lawyers tend to be lower. Lawyers in the United States earn around $61,500 annually on average. Despite the low wages, very few jobs in this profession pay that little.
This is a rare occurrence and only applies to a small percentage of all employees, typically those with a law degree from an ABA-accredited law school. However, salaries are generally on par with national averages in most cases.
What types of lawyers are paid the highest?
Different types of lawyers earn different salaries, which is evident in their paychecks. Law is a complex field, which is reflected in lawyers’ incomes. Thus, some careers pay more than others. Many lawyers earn their money through contingency fees, too, and do not have set monthly incomes.
According to the latest data, being the highest-paid lawyer does not require being a trial lawyer. High demand for patent attorneys results from a growing number of tech companies needing help protecting their inventions.
Also, medical lawyers and intellectual property lawyers are among the highest-paid specialties.
Check out the highest-paid lawyers in the industry, according to Indeed:
- Patent Attorney – $143,492
- Corporate Attorney – $137,364
- Tax Attorney – $134,322
- Family Lawyer – $128,809
- Bankruptcy Lawyer – $125,048
Law Degree Careers Sans Passing the Bar Exam
Before you become a JD holder, you must complete three years of law school. Once completed, you are then qualified to take the bar exam to become a practicing lawyer finally.
Sadly, some students forgo the bar exams. Thankfully, there are numerous careers for students with law degrees that don’t necessarily require passing the bar exam.
Below are some positions to check if you wish to secure a job in the legal field but don’t have plans to take the bar exam.
Business Development Professional. The main goal of this role is to help build an organization’s market position and successfully boost its exposure. This is achieved by recognizing, defining, mounting, and handling business deals and relationships, coupled with supervising contract negotiations while closely working with the firm’s legal team.
Compliance Careers. Law degree candidates can secure a career in compliance. This field focuses on making sure that people will comply with federal regulations and laws. For instance, a compliance analyst can internally audit a company and check any associated risks.
This is also the same analyst who keeps all the company’s records and constantly monitors all the legal work. Compliance officers have a median salary of $92,700, based on a 2022 study by Salary.com.
Law Professor. You have gained ample experience in a particular legal area if you love teaching through an LLM education. You have a solid academic background coupled with a passion for writing legal articles. A career as a law professor is perfect.
Today, law professors are highly in demand in colleges and professional schools. A survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics asserted that law professors who also engage in research have an average median annual salary of $142,440.
Additional Information:
