Lawyering Skills

Catalog description

Lawyering Skills - Basic: The course covers the practical lawyering skills essential for the successful and effective representation of clients in various areas of the law, including criminal law, corporate, real property and zoning, estates and trusts, litigation, appellate practice, and other area of practice. When discussing those areas of law, special emphasis will be placed on client interviews, ethical issues, negotiation techniques, counseling skills, drafting documents, making presentations, persuasive writing, decision-making, and, most importantly; critical and strategic thinking. By doing so, the course should condense and weave together a broad range of experiences and exercises which the students may encounter in the actual practice of law. Lawyering Skills - Planning for the Non-Traditional Family: Drafting of legal instruments for individuals and their loved ones who do not fit the traditional nuclear family model. Topics would include domestic partnership agreements, estate planning instruments (e.g. wills, trusts, and corporate formations), tax planning, and second-parent adoptions.