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Full-Text Articles in Law
Teasing The Arc Of Electric Spark: Fostering And Teaching Creativity In The Law School Curriculum, Jason G. Dykstra
Teasing The Arc Of Electric Spark: Fostering And Teaching Creativity In The Law School Curriculum, Jason G. Dykstra
Articles
No abstract provided.
Transferability: Helping Students And Attorneys Apply What They Already Know To New Situations (Part 1), Edward R. Becker
Transferability: Helping Students And Attorneys Apply What They Already Know To New Situations (Part 1), Edward R. Becker
Articles
Every fall, I work with my first year law students to begin developing their legal writing skills. They work hard learning how to analyze cases objectively, predict how a court might resolve a dispute, and convey their assessments to an experienced attorney. Their improvement from September to December is noticeable. They have only one semester of law school behind them and still have much to learn, but they’re on their way…In the second semester, we begin focusing on advocacy. The first assignment asks students to draft a pretrial brief. When I review the drafts, I’m struck by how many problems …
Govern Yourself Accordingly- Crafting Effective Demand Letters, Jason G. Dykstra
Govern Yourself Accordingly- Crafting Effective Demand Letters, Jason G. Dykstra
Articles
An effective demand letter can expediently resolve a dispute without litigation. But a poorly conceived demand letter can accelerate a dispute toward litigation and even generate negative publicity. Like all correspondence, demand letters need to be tailored in tone and content for varied audience, both the intended recipient and other foreseeable recipients. Beyond the intended recipient, the audience for a demand letter could encompass insurance adjusters, in-house counsel, and perhaps even the public via social media or press coverage. Therefore, an effective demand letter should not only be polite but firm, but also tell a persuasive story that evokes incredulity …
Enhancing The Effectiveness Of Your Legal Writing, Jason G. Dykstra
Enhancing The Effectiveness Of Your Legal Writing, Jason G. Dykstra
Articles
This article focuses on areas where busy practitioners can aspire for plain English and not only improve their writing but possibly avoid a few pitfalls. As Justice Brandeis once remarked, "There is no such thing as good writing. There is only good rewriting" So here are three areas to focus on as you rewrite: minimizing initialisms, acronyms, and defined terms; losing legal jargon and cutting clutter; and balancing legal terms and precision.
Bridging The Gap: Transitioning Law School Legal Writing Skills To Practicing Law, Jason G. Dykstra
Bridging The Gap: Transitioning Law School Legal Writing Skills To Practicing Law, Jason G. Dykstra
Articles
No abstract provided.
Good Old-Fashioned Editing, Jason G. Dykstra
Good Old-Fashioned Editing, Jason G. Dykstra
Articles
While not perfect, the spelling and grammar review features of word processing software can prove good editing tools. Similarly, find and replace features can help ferret out any lurking malapropisms. These searches can avert the potential embarrassment of quoting a "statue" in the Idaho Code in a brief filed in "Canon County' However, electronic editing does not supplant the good old-fashioned printing-a-fresh-draft- and-reading-keenly style of editing. This article focuses on a few tips to optimize the effectiveness of editing text in print.
To Verb Or Not To Verb, Jason G. Dykstra
Teaching Legal History Through Legal Skills, Howard Bromberg
Teaching Legal History Through Legal Skills, Howard Bromberg
Articles
I revolve my legal history courses around one methodology: teaching legal history by means of legal skills. I draw on my experience teaching legal practice and clinical s.kills courses to assign briefs and oral arguments as a means for law students to immerse themselves in historical topics. Without detracting from other approaches, I frame this innovation as teaching legal history not to budding historians but to budding lawyers.