This is a book that provides a preliminary examination of seventeen different subjects covered in law schools across the United States. Each chapter offers a succinct and organized review of the topic and begins with a detailed outline of the subject. Expert legal academics, drawn from a number of outstanding American law schools, authored each of the different chapters. The opening chapter of the book provides an overview of the legal system in the United States, and offers comparison with a civil code system. The book covers basic first year courses like Contracts, Torts, Criminal Law, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, and Property. It also examines typical bar-type courses such as Wills and Trusts, Evidence, and Family Law. Finally, there are chapters on some "hot topics," such as Intellectual Property. The final chapter of the book examines the practice of law in the United States.

Overview of U.S. Law is intended for students who are considering attending law school, those who plan to participate in an LL.M. program in the United States, and those outside the U.S. who seek an overview of the legal system. The chapters were designed with foreign lawyers and international students in mind.

This book is part of a project, which the editors affectionately refer to as "The U.S. Law Project." The actual project includes lectures on each of the subjects covered in the book, and the video lectures are presented by the same individual who authored the chapter in the book.