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Grade 11 CAS: Law Lecture

March 2, 2023

On March 1, 2023, the school was honored to hold a lecture session at the Grand Auditorium given by Mr. Mao, who is a qualified lawyer in New York State and China and an alumnus of Shanghai High School International Division.

Mr. Mao started his exciting lecture with an interactive section, where he asked students some questions regarding the legal system and working as a lawyer. For example, he listed the phrases “lawyer,” “legal consultant,” “attorney,” “legal agent,” “barrister,” “legal advocate,” and “solicitor” and asked students which terms were commonly used to refer to the job in China, Britain, and the U.S. Then, he introduced the basics of the law, concerning factors such as its basic meaning, self-defense, abortion, and bullying. Students responded to the content eagerly by answering questions and discussing among themselves. Many students had not been aware of the distinctions between the different phrases Mr. Mao mentioned before, and his explanations were very illuminating.

Mr. Mao then gave an example of the case of Marbury v. Madison, a landmark legal case in the history of the United States of America, to illustrate the establishment of judicial review. He extensively described the case, and students actively interacted with him.

Mr. Mao then spent time depicting the crucial case Roe v. Wade, which essentially ruled on the right to abortion. He explained the facts and background of the incident, illustrating how the U.S. legal system worked. For example, he told the students that while self-defense could be totally legal in dangerous circumstances, we should always consider running away as the best and safest option. At this, many students began discussing what they would do if they were put in a dangerous situation that would require self-defense. Continuing on to talk about self-defense and bullying, Professor Mao explained definitions in law and emphasized the importance of safety awareness to the students. He used personal experiences and anecdotes in his lecture to point out how students can protect themselves physically and legally.

Through this lecture on law, students were not only able to learn about the legal system that governs many aspects of their lives, but they were also able to come into contact with the professional career of working as a lawyer.

(Written by 11-6 Aine Zhang, 11-2 Tiffany Gui, Pictures by SHSID Media Group, Edited by 11-3 Angela Zhang, 11-8 Chelsea Chen, 11-5 Elizabeth Xu, Supervised by Yueer Gao Reviewed by Qian Zuo)