Economic analysis is one of the major theoretical approaches to the study of law. Broadly speaking, economics as a discipline seeks to understand decision-making and choice, often under uncertainty and in the face of various real-world constraints. Economic analysis of law focuses on how law and legal rules affect (a) the behavior of individuals and firms, (b) the allocation of risk across individuals, and (c) the distribution of resources in society. This introductory course covers the basic concepts of law and economics, including the Coase Theorem, the difference between property rules and liability rules, the allocative effects of alternative tort rules (e.g., strict liability versus negligence), the design of efficient contract damages, the role of insurance, as well as the economics of criminal law. This course will focus on developing basic intuitions, and it will do this by applying economic ideas to realistic legal scenarios and problems. Problem solving helps to solidify understanding. By the end of the course, students will appreciate the complex range of economic considerations swirling around legal practice and law design. Students will develop the ability to apply economic principles to legal questions in many areas of law, both to predict the effects of alternative legal rules and to identify what rules would be “optimal” in particular contexts. Students will also develop the ability to offer forceful critiques of economic arguments as applied to the law, to identify the underlying assumptions and spot flaws in the reasoning. No prior knowledge of economics is assumed. Furthermore, grasping the power of economic thinking and its relevance to law and policy does not require a technical background. Still, there are enough moving parts, and trade-offs, that sometimes writing ideas down as simple equations and using straightforward examples helps to develop intuition and facility with the concepts.