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Contract Law

The Pocket Guide

Every black-letter rule a first-year contracts exam actually tests - formation, terms, breach, remedies, and third parties - reduced to its essential elements, one real example each, and the single thing worth remembering under time pressure. No padding, no filler cases, nothing outside the standard curriculum.

5 chapters · ~53 pages · delivered as a PDF, read on any device · $12 one-time

Contents

Chapter 1: Formation

A contract needs, in order: capacity, mutual assent (offer + acceptance), and consideration. Fail any one of these, and there is no contract to breach in the first place - which is exactly why exams test formation before anything else.

  • Types of Contracts
  • Capacity
  • Mutual Assent — the Objective Theory
  • Consideration
  • Offer
  • Acceptance & the Mailbox Rule
  • The Statute of Frauds
  • Battle of the Forms — UCC § 2-207
  • Defenses to Contract Formation

Chapter 2: Terms & Interpretation

Once a contract exists, the next question is always: what does it actually require? These four doctrines control what evidence a court can even look at, and how it reads what it finds.

  • Integration & the Parol Evidence Rule
  • Interpreting Ambiguous Terms
  • Implied Terms & Gap-Filling
  • Conditions vs. Promises

Chapter 3: Breach & Excuse

Not every failure to perform is equal, and not every failure to perform is even wrongful. This chapter covers how a breach is classified, when a party can walk away from a deal entirely without breaching, and the defenses that unwind formation after the fact.

  • Material vs. Minor Breach
  • Anticipatory Repudiation
  • Excuse: Impossibility, Impracticability & Frustration
  • Substantial Performance
  • Mistake
  • Duress, Undue Influence & Misrepresentation

Chapter 4: Remedies

Once a breach is established, the exam question shifts to: what can the injured party actually recover? Contract law is compensatory by design - know the default measure, its alternatives, and the narrow cases where money isn't the answer at all.

  • Expectation Damages
  • Reliance & Restitution Damages
  • Mitigation & Consequential Damages
  • Specific Performance & Liquidated Damages
  • Rescission
  • No Punitive Damages

Chapter 5: Third Parties, Risk & Good Faith

The final piece: contracts don't always stay a closed loop between the original two parties. This chapter covers who else can gain rights, how obligations move to new parties, and how contracts allocate risk in advance.

  • The Duty of Good Faith and Fair Dealing
  • Third-Party Beneficiaries
  • Assignment & Delegation
  • Novation
  • Risk Allocation

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This book teaches general doctrine using original hypothetical examples. It does not provide legal advice about any specific situation and does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your own circumstances, consult a licensed attorney.