Advanced Legal Writing for American Courts

Catalog description

This course orients LLM, advanced degree students, and JD students to a range of legal writing genres used by lawyers in practice before American courts and by courts in their decision making. At the core of these genres are the techniques of legal research, objective and persuasive legal writing, and related legal analysis. The course presents students with realistic legal writing scenarios that they address in and out of class. Students perform legal research and prepare an analytical memorandum advising a hypothetical judge and write a short letter brief. These assignments are designed to help students adapt their writing skills by incorporating methods that American lawyers use to analyze typical legal problems and to advocate on behalf of their clients and that American judges use to evaluate the cases before them. Elements used in grading: Class Participation, Attendance, Written Assignments.