Law Commons^™

"I See And I Remember; I Do And Understand": Teaching Fundamental Structure In Legal Writing Through The Use Of Samples, Judith B. Tracy

Judith B. Tracy

A first-year legal reasoning and writing curriculum is designed to introduce students to the analytical skills and organizational tools needed for the preparation of effective objective and then persuasive documents. This article describes how to use samples to enable students to self-identify a general, logical structure for a document, considering its content, its audience and purpose, and the realities of legal practice.

'The Reasonable Zone Of Right Answers': Analytical Feedback On Student Writing, Jane Kent Gionfriddo

Jane Kent Gionfriddo

This article develops the theory behind and practice of written analytical feedback on student writing for law practice. After Section I, which provides an introduction, Section II discusses the theory. It begins by addressing the function of legal writing classes in teaching students how to produce the kind of accurate and precise analysis that is the necessary foundation for documents useful in law practice. The section then goes on to discuss how this focus on analysis requires legal writing teachers to play a dual role—that of a legal educator as well as reader in law practice—in providing written critique of …

A Methodology For Mentoring Writing In Law Practice: Using Textual Clues To Provide Effective And Efficient Feedback, Jane Kent Gionfriddo, Daniel Barnett, E. Joan Blum

E. Joan Blum

Becoming a successful legal writer is a process that begins in law school and continues intensively during the beginning years of a lawyer's career. Throughout this process, in both contexts, a writer benefits enormously from feedback on his analysis, and how that analysis is conveyed, from those more experienced. Much has been written about how legal educators should respond to student written work, yet little addresses the role that supervising attorneys can play in mentoring the writing of less experienced colleagues. This article therefore proposes a methodology to help supervisor-mentors provide, in an efficient manner, effective feedback on junior lawyers' …

Teaching In Practice: Legal Writing Faculty As Expert Writing Consultants To Law Firms, E. Joan Blum, Kathleen E. Vinson

E. Joan Blum

As experts in the pedagogy and substance of legal writing, full-time legal writing faculty who serve as writing consultants to law firms help fill an increasing need for training and support of lawyers. In addition to providing a direct benefit to lawyers and their firms, this practice benefits the legal academy by providing fresh ideas for teaching and scholarship. This article discusses generally the practice of legal writing consulting in law firms by full-time legal writing faculty. The article provides background in theory and practice, addressing why law firms seek outside consultants for this type of training and support and …

Persuasive Legal Writing, Nancy Schultz, Louis Sirico

Nancy Schultz

No abstract provided.

When You're The Editor: Editing The Writing Of Other Lawyers Uses Skills Similar To Those Applied In Editing Your Own Writing But Also Requires 'Additional Roles', Anna Hemingway, Jennifer Lear

Anna P. Hemingway

Amos Lee's "Street Corner Preacher" Through Michel Foucault's Critique Of Scientific Knowledge: A Critique Of Legal Knowledge, Nick J. Sciullo

Nick J. Sciullo

This article will demonstrate that although students of the law, legal scholars, and practitioners rely on a relatively narrow body of “legal scholarship,” there are in fact sundry diverse sources of legal thought that deserve to be evaluated along with currently accepted legal scholarship. It will present arguments in favor of appreciating music as a unique and important source of legal commentary through which we might understand how people relate to the law—what I have called “coming to the law.” It will demonstrate that music can be uniquely transgressive and presents a powerful alternative to what Michel Foucault called “scientific …