7 Best Free Online Law Courses

If you want a successful career in law in the future, you can’t afford to be limited to the material and training in conventional universities. Law is an expansive field, encompassing topics such as international law, contract law, copyright law, and environmental law; to be competitive in today’s market, you’ll want to enrich your knowledge through free online law courses.

Due to the demand for distance learning, you can use online learning platforms for continuing your law education through online courses. Such platforms, including EdX, Udemy, Coursera, Alison, and FutureLearn, continue thriving as more law professionals migrate to video and digital classrooms. As a result, many online courses on law offer university-level education. This list includes courses from popular universities around the world, like Harvard and Yale.

Whether you’re a law student, a lawyer, or simply a concerned citizen, increase your proficiency in legal affairs by enrolling in the best free online law courses listed in this review.

Check out the 7 Best Free Online Courses

EdX – Justice by Harvard University

Partnered with Harvard and captained by renowned Harvard professor Michael Sandel, this high-quality course is a comprehensive look at the theories and applications of justice in timely contexts.

If you’re planning to be a judge someday, you’ll find few better places online to learn how income should be distributed, the intricacies of human rights, the nature of equality, justice, and even loyalty itself as fundamental concepts.

You can access all 12 weeks of Justice’s Harvard-made course material for free through edX’s audit track. To get a certificate of completion approved by Harvard itself, you’ll need to get the verified degree program for $99.

Coursera – Introduction to International Criminal Law

Designed by Case Western Reserve University professor, Michael Scharf, this program is a detailed overview on how criminal law is practiced around the world to uphold global peace and security. It explains criminal prosecution in international justice courts, analyzing famous cases, such as the Nuremburg Trials and legal proceedings on contemporary terrorist leaders.

For those interested in diplomacy, this is an amazing introduction to the world of international law. It’s also one of the most popular law courses available on Coursera, so the fact that you can join this online course for free is an amazing opportunity.

This class is self-paced, so you can take it at your convenience or on your off-day from law school. You’ll need about 13 hours overall to finish this master-class on criminal law.

If you’re unsure, read the differences between edX and Coursera in this helpful comparison.

Coursera – A Law Student’s Toolkit

Get started with your law studies online through this crash course offered by top Yale Law School instructor, Ian Ayres, where you’ll get to review the core topics of law and legal nomenclature, as well as learn to refine your ability in composing questions and arguments. It also tackles the understanding of the structure, analysis, and procedure of the legal system.

This subject is suitable for all levels as a challenging way to practice your argumentation skills, whether you’re a new student or already a law professional. Much of the material is taught via video lectures, which are extremely well done. You can learn with over 100,000 students who have already entered this popular course for free!

Udemy – Intellectual Property: Inventors, Entrepreneurs, Creators

The Michelson Institute for Intellectual Property offers this beginner-level course for students interested in contract law, in which they’ll learn how to interpret and use IP laws to protect one’s intellectual output. This program is especially vital to help business owners, product developers, and creators learn skills like filing patents, copyrighting works, protecting trademarks, and understanding trade secrets, as well as appreciating how IP is related to science, technology, and other fields.

The total runtime of the video lectures is 3 1/2 hours, which translates into 30 mins each day to finish it after a week. However, since it’s free, this course doesn’t come with a certificate.

Udemy – Launching a Successful 21st Century Law Practice

This course, presented by Carolyn Elefant, is geared towards students who want to learn about managing their own legal firm, explaining the laws and socio-economic factors of starting one, how to stand out in the law field, finding clients via cold calls, handling solo practice, structuring fees, and expanding your legal services through digital technology, as well as establishing an online presence.

This course is an excellent practical education to help you build a top-level professional career once you’ve finished your law studies. Certification isn’t available, but this course is meant for practicing lawyers, anyway.

Alison – Fundamentals of Business Law – Revised

All business owners must be aware of the rights, regulations, and requirements inherent to running businesses. The topics in this course have sections to recommend the best ownership type and help sole proprietors, partnerships, and corporations in structuring their enterprise. You’ll also learn about taxation and liability concerns, so you can be fully compliant with the laws in your area.

This course offers a certificate, although as an Alison program, it’s not recognized as an actual legal degree. Still, this course offers you new insight on running a business that just going to courses at school won’t provide.

FutureLearn – Environmental Challenges: Hierarchy in Property Rights

Land use and environmental law are intertwined, and with University of Leeds’ new course, you’ll learn about the theory, application, and hierarchy of property rights, natural science, human development, efficient agricultural technology and practice, and legal concerns with managing natural resources. To help you master the subject, you’ll also write a policy briefing document on property rights.

You can use the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credits provided by this course to help you progress through studies and obtain a degree. To get credits and a certificate, you can upgrade your enrolment for $69 or unlock Alison’s short courses for $279/year.

Conclusion – Online Law Courses

Whether you’re interested in justice, human rights, international law, or criminal law, among other related topics, it’s simply a prudent choice to branch out your studies, especially when prestigious universities are offering legal education at no cost. Remember to choose courses that will best fit your interests and career goals.

As this list explains, bolstering your law education through online law courses can significantly improve future opportunities in your legal career. We hope you’re able to master the topics in these courses. Best of luck in studying law!