Law Commons^™

What We Do: The Life And Work Of The Legal Writing Professor, David I.C. Thomson

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

The life of the legal writing professor in today’s law schools is a challenging yet rewarding one. Out of necessity, over the last thirty years the pedagogy of legal writing has expanded to include much more than just writing skills—it has become every law student’s introduction to a broad set of basic lawyering skills and is more appropriately styled the Lawyering Process (LP). The increasing gravity and responsibility of the Lawyering Process course has led to expansion of credits given to the course and gradually to greater status and equity to the faculty who teach it, although most of us …

Skills & Values: Lawyering Process, David I.C. Thomson

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

This legal writing text is unlike others in that it is a hybrid text, with a smaller portion in print and the rest available to professors as supplemetary materials. This offers several advantages over other books. First, it is somewhat less expensive than a traditional text, and with the significant burden of textbook costs on our students, this is an advantage they appreciate. Second, it is based on the belief that students today need to read less and do more, and be active, rather than passive, in their learning.

It is no secret to educators that our students are changing, …

"Teaching" Formation Of Professional Identity, David I.C. Thomson

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

This Article is my attempt to provide a guide to what professional identity formation is—as distinct from more familiar concepts of professionalism and ethics—and what legal educators are doing, and could do in the future, to foster this sort of professional formation in their courses and curricula. In Part I, I offer some background and history of the topic, which supports a new definition provided in the Article for lawyer professional identity formation. I describe in Part II what some schools are doing to “teach” formation of professional identity and argue that those efforts have some significant limitations. I argue …

Defining Experiential Legal Education, David I.C. Thomson

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

This article offers in Part I the major sources for a possible new definition of experiential learning, and describes the limitations of the definitional elements that we currently have. Part II argues that the definitions we currently have are not only limited but their limitations are being further exposed by the growth and variety in experiential learning opportunities currently being offered in many law schools. Part III offers a new definition for experiential learning in law, together with a series of questions that can be used in applying the definition. Finally, Part IV offers application of the new definition to …

When The Aba Comes Calling, Let’S Speak The Same Language Of Assessment, David I.C. Thomson

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

There has been much discussion recently in legal education circles about the need for improvements in assessment. Recently, the American Bar Association has responded by adding an assessment requirement to the accreditation standards, making the subject even more urgent. Because most of us in the legal academy are new to the language and methods of assessment, there have been misunderstandings. And further, because there are different levels of assessment and each level usually has different goals, sometimes the discussion can become confused. It is imperative that we understand the different levels and goals of assessment projects, so we may communicate …

Using Student Evaluation Data To Examine And Improve Your Program, David I.C. Thomson

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

At many schools, directing a legal writing program today is quite different than it was even 10 years ago. As LRW faculties mature and the individual faculty members grow in the profession, the need for a “top-down” director is lessening or going away in many programs. However, in many schools there remains a valuable leader/coach sort of role for a director, whether that person rotates, coordinates, or however it works in practice that is best for the school. This new sort of director is ideally someone who is able to encourage and support a culture of programmatic excellence and is …

Outcomes & Assessment: A Golden Opportunity For Lrw Professors, David I.C. Thomson

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

The American Bar Association is currently discussing drafts of a proposal to shift the law school accreditation standards from inputs measurements (such as numbers of books, faculty student ratios, etc.) to outcomes assessment. While still in discussion, this shift has the potential to create profound change in legal education. For the first time, law schools may be held accountable – beyond the bar exam – for what and how they teach their students. Law schools all across the country are busy trying to determine what this will mean, and how to go about meeting the new ABA standard.

New Ways To Teach Drafting And Drafting Ethics, Lisa Penland, David I.C. Thomson, Susan Duncan, Karen J. Sneddon, Susan M. Chesler

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

As foreign as it can seem to not be in a physical classroom with bodies sitting in the chairs listening, it is a very different way of teaching but it can be very effective. If you go through this process of developing and dividing outcomes, dividing modules, and selecting the right technology, it can work. And that is kind of a scary thought to some people. Perhaps not people who have come to this section today or to this conference about What's Next, but for many of our colleagues, this is kind of a scary thought – that you might …

Law School 2.0: Legal Education For A Digital Age, David I.C. Thomson

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

Legal education is at a crossroads. As today's media-saturated students enter law school, they find themselves thrust into old style lecture-orientated, casebook modes of instruction, much of which is over 100 years old. Over those years legal education has resisted many studies recommending change, most recently from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Clinical Legal Education Association. . .

Using A Wiki To Increase Student Engagement In Administrative Law, David I.C. Thomson

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

Administrative law is one of the courses students love to hate. This is particularly true in schools where Admin is a required course, since many students in the class would not take it otherwise, and gripe about being forced to. The problem with Admin law – for both the teacher and the student – is that it is such a vast topic that teaching it in a manner students can comprehend is diffi cult. When I was asked to teach Admin law last year, I looked at this as a challenge, rather than a burden. Because I am fairly comfortable …

E-Etiquette: Thoughtful E-Mail Correspondence, K.K. Duvivier

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

Dear Readers: This is an example of a traditional business letter. The salutation above is formal; it starts with "Dear" and ends with a colon. The body uses edited prose that follows standard capitalization and punctuation rules. A complimentary closing, "Sincerely," serves as the conclusion.

The House That Jack Built With Effective Transitions, K.K. Duvivier

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

Constructing a paragraph is somewhat like constructing a house. Our sentences are like the boards that form the frame of our ideas. However, those boards may end up looking more like a pile of lumber than an actual building if we do not connect them in a logical way.

Review Of Lifting The Fog Of Legalese, David I.C. Thomson

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

Lifting the Fog collects the best of Kimble's regular columns from the Michigan Bar Journal on the subject of how lawyers should simplify their drafting language and eliminate unnecessary and costly "legalese." Not only do Kimble's columns get to see the light of day again, but as a compilation, they make an even more powerfiul and compelling case in favor of more plain language in legal writing. I highly recommend Lifting the Fog to all attorneysespecially those who find themselves using words like "wherefore" and "hereunto" in their drafting. Kimble persuasively argues that this sort of obfuscation (and worse) just …

Learn To Write “Like The Man On The Six O’Clock News”, K.K. Duvivier

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

Because your writing involves words, it might seem difficult to make your writing "transparent." However, speaking involves words too, and broadcasters employ several techniques to make their words transparent. Consequently, legal writers can look for guidance from the men and women "on the six o'clock news."

“Beholder” Reflections—Part Iii, K.K. Duvivier

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

This is the final column in a series addressing reader expectations for objective legal writing. In the January 2006 Scrivener, I posted three samples of objective legal writing and asked readers to give me feedback through an online survey about which they preferreda nd why. The May and July columns provided analysis of reader responses to introductory and rule explanation paragraphs. This column reports on reader reactions as to what many lawyers would argue is the most important part of a legal analysis: application of the legal rule to a client's facts.

“Beholder” Reflections—Part Ii, K.K. Duvivier

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

This column is the second in a series analyzing feedback from readers about what they believe is good legal writing. In the January 2006 Scrivener, I provided a survey containing writing samples for three parts of an objective legal analysis. The survey questions asked readers to indicate which samples they preferred and why, and to comment on specific devices used in the samples.

“Beholder” Reflections—Part I, K.K. Duvivier

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

In the January 2006 Scrivener, I sought advice from my readers: Is the perception of what constitutes good legal writing in the eye of the beholder? By measuring reader reflections of the samples I posted in a survey online, I am attempting to answer this question.

Reviewing Writing Samples, K.K. Duvivier

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

The ability to write well is a critical skill for attorneys, but few law practices have the resources to provide on-the-job help for struggling writers. Consequently, many law firms use writing samples as a way to screen applicants. Every year, the Office of Career Services at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law asks me to give a workshop from the applicant perspective. Although I cover a bit more in the workshop, overall my advice to students about writing samples is pretty straightforvard.

Teaching As Art Form - Review Of The Elements Of Teaching, David I.C. Thomson

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

The authors of this gem of a book—both retired college teachers who gave their professional lifetimes to teaching—write simply and passionately about what it takes to be an effective teacher, and manage to reduce the key aspects of a complex process down to nine primary elements. In so doing, they provide not only a road map of aspiration for the new teacher, but also signposts of inspiration for the experienced teacher.

Eye Of The Beholder, K.K. Duvivier

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

Fortunately, some universals about legal audiences help make the task of defining good legal writing easier than defining good fiction writing. Legal writing must be utilitarian, so the emphasis should be on the message rather than on the writing itself. Consequently, to avoid distracting or turning off readers, my students must concentrate as much on what they should not write as on what they actually do write.

Bluebook No. 18—“Thank God For Competition….”, K.K. Duvivier

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

The Eighteenth Edition of The Bluebook' is now available, and thanks to competition from the ALWD Citation Manual ("ALWD Manual"), this version is better than ever for practitioners. In the words of Gil Atkinson, '"thank God for competition. When our competitors upset our plans or outdo our designs, they open infinite possibilities of our own work to us."

Colorado Citations, K.K. Duvivier

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

More than ten years ago, I wrote a column addressing special citation forms used by Colorado courts. Readers have clamored for an update, so here it is. . .

Proofreading Tips, K.K. Duvivier

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

Typos get attention--negative attention--like a blemish on the tip of your nose on prom night. But there is a difference between our blemishes and our typos: while our blemishes may seem more prominent to us than to others, our eyes usually slip right past our own typos. This column presents some techniques for detecting and correcting these errors.

Sorting Things Out—Which, That, Then, Than, When, Where, K.K. Duvivier

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

The May 2005 column addressing "which" and "that" evoked a flurry of comments about additional issues. This column responds to the reader questions that column spawned.

Going On A “Which” Hunt, K.K. Duvivier

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

KK: Here's a question that/which I've wondered about for some time. What is the proper use of the words "that"and "which"? I understand their use in the context of "Which car is yours?"and "It's that red one."However which word is proper in my first sentence and how do I know when to use one or the other?

Sometimes You Have To Be The Guide On The Side, David I.C. Thomson

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

A saying in the literature of collaborative learning scolds us teachers for being too fond of the sound of our own voices: “You need to be less of the ‘Sage on the Stage’ and more of the ‘Guide on the Side.’” The night of my “best class” this saying really hit home to me. I was the Guide on the Side, and the students took over the teaching– and the learning.

All For One: Subject-Verb Agreement For Compounds And Collective Subjects, K.K. Duvivier

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

I missed the memo that changed noun-verb agreement on nouns formerly defined as singular i.e. "staff," meaning more than one person, as in "the staff are." When did it change from "the staff is"? Who decided on this change, and why wasn't I notified? I'm making light of this issue, but I'm perplexed. PS. Grammar check didn't get the memo either District Judge Marilyn Leonard.

When Flyspecks Matter—Part Ii, K.K. Duvivier

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

Most of my columns advise legal writers; this one also aims to change the perspective of a legal reader. The September 2004 column addressed some of the issues raised by a British best- seller on punctuation called Eats, Shoots & Leaves. The author, Lynne Truss, attempts to make a case for "sticklers" who "refuse to patronize any shop with checkouts for 'eight items or less'" or who have urges to "shin up ladders at dead of night with an apostrophe-shaped stencil and a tin of paint" to correct advertisements. To her, punctuation errors are "signs of ignorance and indifference."

When Flyspecks Matter—Part I, K.K. Duvivier

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

Thus, instead of reinforcing the author's premise, the panda story may illustrate the weakness of assertions that most punctuation significantly controls meaning.

The Reference Brief, K.K. Duvivier

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

Judges read briefs looking for guidance from the parties about the correct law and the proper resolution of a case. Although it would be nice to assume that all of the briefs provide this guidance, many do not. Some briefs are unclear and contain obvious format and substantive errors. Consequently, in sifting through the submissions for a case, the judges and their clerks often learn more heavily on one party's brief over another as a starting point for their analysis.