This is HLS2X Harvard University’s free online course on introduction to Contract Law. This 8-week course, ‘Contract Law: From Trust to Promise to Contract’ is designed to introduce the range of issues that arise when entering and enforcing contracts.

Enrolling on the course will give you the opportunity to earn knowledge of contract and also analyze the purpose and significance of contracts.

At the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• The theoretical background of contracts, trust, and promise
• Contracts the government will stand behind and those it won’t
• Illusory promises, offer and acceptance
• The limitations of contract law
• Writing and Interpretation of contracts
• Key concepts including mistake, fraud, and frustration; remedies and specific performance; and third parties

Instructors

Charles Fried
Charles Fried is a Beneficial Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. He has been teaching at Harvard Law School for more than 50 years and has written extensively on contracts.

Requirements

None

Length: 8 weeks
Effort:  2-3 hours/week
Languages: English
Price: Free. Add a Verified Certificate for $100
Certificate Available: Yes
Session: Self-Paced

Providers Details

Harvard University is offering the course via renowned online platform edX. Harvard University contributes its best in quality teaching, learning, and research, and to has generated various developing leaders in many disciplines who made a difference globally.

This online platform edX provides online courses from the world’s best universities. edX can empower you to build innovative applications, services, and experiences on the HarvardX platform that will help you make a meaningful impact in today’s interconnected world.

About This Course

Learn about contracts from Harvard Law Professor Charles Fried, one of the world’s leading authorities on contract law. Contracts are promises that the law will enforce. But when will the law refuse to honor a promise? What happens when one party does not hold to their part of the deal?

We are exposed to contracts in all areas of our life — agreeing to terms when downloading a new computer program, hiring a contractor to repair a leaking roof, and even ordering a meal at a restaurant. Knowing the principles of contracts is not just a skill needed by lawyers, it illuminates for everyone a crucial institution that we use all the time and generally take for granted.

This contract law course, with new materials and updated case examples, is designed to introduce the range of issues that arise when entering and enforcing contracts. It will provide an introduction to what a contract is and also analyze the purpose and significance of contracts. Then, it will discuss the intent to create legal relations, legality and morality, and the distinction between gifts and bargains. The course also investigates common pitfalls: one-sided promises, mistake, fraud, and frustration. With the knowledge of what makes contracts and how they can go wrong, Professor Fried will discuss remedies and specific performance. Finally, Professor Fried will introduce how contracts can create rights for third parties.

Why Take This Course?

This is a free online course. This MOOC is an Intermediate level course. This MOOC will be offered with Video Transcripts. Applicants can get a verified certificate. The course makes you learn about contracts from Harvard Law Professor Charles Fried, one of the world’s leading authorities on contract law.

1. Go to the course website link
2. Create an edX account to SignUp
3. Choose “Register Now” to get started.
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