Higher education law may be a relatively common course in a higher education and student affairs (HESA) curriculum and a core professional competency in the field, yet there is a paucity of empirical research on why it persists. We conducted a qualitative research project to explore how instructors of higher education law describe their approach to teaching. We used a competency-based pedagogy framework distilled from the Law, Policy, & Governance competency (ACPA & NASPA, 2015). Findings reveal how instructors sought to increase student knowledge of law and legal issues that provides a foundation for professional practice and cultivates legal critical thinking. Implications from these findings have bearing upon pedagogical approaches to HESA courses and generate research on how to ensure curricula meet the needs of an applied field.