LEGAL IS AWESOME.
Depending on your teacher for a lot of what you do in class, but its actually really interesting.
Might I also take the chance to mention its actually a History subject, not Social Science? This is because! You assess the way legal changes and the legal system have been changed by what has happened in society throughout history, and also how effective it is in reflecting those changes.
There's also, depending on your teacher, a lot of politics involved - e.g. you learn about the arbitrary power and things like police powers being extended. (Which are only supposed to hang around for a 'sunset clause' - while they are necessary because of events happening at the time. An example is how police powers were extended and many of these kept after the 2000 Sydney Olympics and APEC last year).
You learn about the concept of the 'rule of law.' It's basically about how law has to be fair. Example case: David Hicks. He was charged for breaking a law that didn't exist at the time he supposedly broke it. You get to learn how legislation cannot be enforced in retrospect (well, at least in Australia).
Oh and things like the judiciary system are covered, human rights - you get to debate whether or not we should have a Bill of Rights, etc. Not to forget Crime, of course, people always find that fun.
And with case studies - yes you learn many textbook ones because they have set precedent. But because the law is a thing that is constantly changing, even as you learn about it, you pick up better research skills in doing Legal Studies. You do have to find current and relevant content as well as learning the historical aspect, and I guess basically you analyse the changes.
And! Although my teacher this year sucks ]= (I changed teachers at the end of last year, the first one was infinitely better and convinced me to do Legal in the first place), he did have a really well planned and thought out first lesson, which basically covered the kind of government that operates in Australia. (i.e. a Democratic Constitutional Monarchy. Now if that confuses you, DO LEGAL AND FIND OUT XD)