Legal Writing and Research Commons^™

Selecting And Designing Effective Legal Writing Problems, Grace C. Tonner, Diana Pratt

Articles

Legal research and writing courses are unlike most substantive first year law school classes in that they teach using the problem method. The success of a legal writing course depends on the quality of the problems. The purpose of this article is to provide some guidance for legal writing professors in designing legal writing problems. The article addresses (1) general considerations in problem design, (2) designing expository problems, (3) designing persuasive problems, and (4) sources of problems. In the first section, we discuss problem design as it relates to the overall goals for teaching the basic forms of legal analysis, …

Education's Promise, Laurel Oates, Sam Wineberg

Faculty Articles

This is a story with at least two parts. In the first part, Sam Wineburg, a Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Washington, tells his story, the story of instruction in the United States, beginning with one revolution, the scientific revolution, and ending with another, the cognitive revolution. In the second part, Laurel Oates, the Director of Legal Writing at Seattle University School of Law, tells our story, the story of legal education and, in particular, legal writing, and how both have been affected by these revolutions.

"A Day In My Law Library Life," Circa 1997, Dwight B. King, Frank G. Houdek

Journal Articles

Contributors describe their lives as law librarians by recounting what they did during a single day at their jobs. Given the wide range of positions and libraries represented by the authors, the pieces collectively represent a snapshot - and a historical record - of the law library profession in 1997.

Beyond Admissions: Racial Equality In Law Schools, Sharon E. Rush

UF Law Faculty Publications

Beginning with a discussion of the United States Supreme Court’s decision in McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, this article discusses the meaning of “integration.” In McLaurin, the University of Oklahoma was forced to abandon its segregation policy and not separate black students from their white classmates in all settings (not just the classroom). The McLaurin decision raised the fundamental questions: "What is integration?" and "How is integration related to racial equality?" Significantly, the McLaurin Court clarifies that equality is premised on integration and that integration means more than just having a presence in an institution. …

New York Law School Reporter, Vol 11, No. 7, April-May 1996, New York Law School

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

From Courtroom To Classroom: Creating An Academic Component To Enhance The Skills And Values Learned In A Student Judicial Clerkship Clinic, Stacy Caplow

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Regulatory Sins Versus Market Legacies: A Short Reply To Mr. Leech, 29 J. Marshall L. Rev. 617 (1996), Richard A. Epstein

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Is There Life After Forty: The John Marshall Law School's Fortieth Annual Conference On Intellectual Property, 29 J. Marshall L. Rev. 841 (1996), Donald W. Banner

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Legal Skills Training In The First Year Of Law School: Research? Writing? Analysis? Or More?, Lucia A. Silecchia

Scholarly Articles

This Article will explore the issues that arise as more and more law schools face important definitional questions: To what extent should first year programs focus on providing in-depth research and writing training? To what extent should those programs adopt a more holistic curriculum that exposes students to a range of skills beyond research and writing?

The Article will begin with a description of what is actually done in first year programs at American law schools. This information was gathered in a Spring 1995 survey of law school research and writing programs, to which representatives of 111 schools responded. It …

New York Law School Reporter, Vol 11, No. 5 February 1996, New York Law School

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

An Un-Uniform System Of Citation: Surviving With The New Bluebook, 26 Stetson L. Rev. 53 (1996), Darby Dickerson

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Navigating The Dark Morass: A First-Year Student's Guide To The Library, 19 Campbell L. Rev. 115 (1996), Maureen Straub Kordesh

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Convergence Of Analogical And Dialectic Imaginations In Legal Discourse, Linda H. Edwards

Scholarly Works

The dialogue over the role of narrative in the making and interpreting of law and in legal practice is often stalemated by confusion about the complex relationships between narrative and other forms of legal reasoning. Are narrative and rules opposing methods for interpretation and persuasion? Does narrative theory assert that lawyers can win cases by presenting a sympathetic story, without regard for the governing rule of law? If so, it is no wonder that conversations about narrative theory are so difficult.

This article explores the relationship between narrative and other forms of legal interpretation and persuasion. It relies on David …

On Becoming A Law Professor, Terrance Sandalow

Articles

Thirty-five years ago, when I first joined a law faculty, only one job description existed for law professors, that for the conventional classroom teacher. In the years since, the opportunities available to lawyers interested in teaching have become a bit more varied. In addition to conventional classroom teachers, a growing number of law teachers are employed by law schools to provide what I shall somewhat misleadingly call clinical instruction.1 Although these comments are addressed mainly to men and women interested in classroom teaching, a few lines about clinical teaching may be in order because the initial question for anyone considering …

Teaching Research To Faculty: Accommodating Cultural And Learning-Style Differences, Jane Thompson

Publications

Ms. Thompson explores the challenge of teaching law school faculty how to research effectively, especially in light of a unique "faculty culture" and differences in individual learning styles.

Critiquing Law Students’ Writing: What The Students Say Is Effective, Anne Enquist

Faculty Articles

It seemed worthwhile to study the comments legal writing instructors put on students' papers and ask the readers of those comments - the students themselves - which comments were the most useful. This article describes such a study that was conducted by the author using students and faculty at the University of Puget Sound School of Law. The results should be useful to new legal writing faculty who are striving to learn how to critique their students' writing effectively, as well as to experienced legal writing faculty who are interested in whether the conventional wisdom about critiquing is borne out …

Faculty Spotlight, Grace C. Tonner

Other Publications

Professor Grace Tonner talks about her teaching and work.

The Use Of Journals In Legal Education: A Tool For Reflection, J.P. "Sandy" Ogilvy

Scholarly Articles

This Article demonstrates that the journal is a pedagogical tool worthy of more explicit attention by both clinical law teachers and non-clinical faculty alike. It introduces some of the literature on critical thinking and learning theory that supports the assignment of journals as an important tool in legal education; it provides a starting point for articulating pedagogical goals that can be met through journal assignments; and it alerts the first-time user to the challenges inherent in the use of journals in legal education.

A Practical System For Legal Research, G. Nicholas Herman

North Carolina Central Law Review

No abstract provided.

Teach-In Reflections: Past, Present And Future, Gail Partin

Faculty Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Our Perspective On Irac, Christina L. Kunz, Deborah A. Schmedemann

Faculty Scholarship

In this brief article, the authors present their view of IRAC, an acronym for Issue, Relevant law, Application to facts, and Conclusion. The authors conclude that IRAC can be taught so that students understand not only why it is useful as a thinking and writing tool, but also that proper use of it requires judgment and creativity. When IRAC is presented this way, the authors assert, it can serve first-year students well as they study legal writing. And they will operate accordingly, even without being aware of its influence, during their years as practicing lawyers.

Feature: Learning The Practical Side Of Scholarship

Law Quadrangle (formerly Law Quad Notes)

For generations, law students have enhanced their education by working on a law journal. In addition to honing their writing, research, and analytical skills, they learn valuable life lessons about working with all kinds of people, motivating others, meeting deadlines,and handling the details involved with printing and mailing a tangible product. Of course, as a sign of good grades, hard work, and strong writing ability, hournal experience gives students a leg up in the job market, and it's a critical first step to a scholarly career.

Learning By Doing - Preparing Law Students For The Practice Of Law: The Legal Practicum, John O. Sonsteng, Roger S. Haydock

Faculty Scholarship

The MacCrate Report outlined ten skills that are essential for every practicing attorney and should ideally be taught in every law school. The Association of American Law Schools (AALS) concluded that these ten skills cannot be effectively obtained through every law school curriculum because of each school's individual, economic limitations. This article demonstrates how one law school—William Mitchell College of Law, in St. Paul, Minnesota—has , since 1984, incorporated a cost effective Legal Practicum course into its curriculum to help meet the MacCrate Report goal of providing the law student with the opportunity to learn and apply fundamental lawyering skills. …

Manuscript Selection Anti-Manifesto, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

Joining a conversation begun by James Lindgren, An Author's Manifesto, 61 U. Chi. L. Rev. 527 (1994), Prof. Tobias discusses the process of submission, review, and editorial work on articles published in student-edited law reviews.

An Author's Manifesto (Manifesto) constructively criticizes the amazingly arcane process of law review publication and affords salient suggestions for its improvement. The essay treats two aspects of this process-the selection of manuscripts and the editing of articles which sustain that venerable institution: student-edited law journals. Manifesto regales readers with many terrible tales of travesties which involve article editing but recounts comparatively few sordid stories that …

Writing To Learn Business Law, Robert B. Bennett, William K. Templeton

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

Robert Bennett and William Templeton's contribution to Journal of Legal Studies Education, vol. 13, 2.

Migration: A Natural Growth Process For Libraries (Part Two Of Two), Georgia Briscoe

Publications

No abstract provided.

Profiling Minority Law Librarians: A Report On The 1992-93 Survey, Dwight B. King, Rhea A-L Ballard, Helena Lai, Grace M. Mills

Journal Articles

The authors present a demographic and professional profile of AALL minority law librarian members based upon responses to a detailed survey that elicited information about work experience and skills, professional activities and participation, and career aspirations. The results lead the authors to suggest some recruitment strategies to increase diversity in law librarianship and the level of minority participation in AALL.

Migration: A Natural Growth Process For Libraries (Part One Of Two), Georgia Briscoe

Publications

No abstract provided.

Why Not A Shared Database For Legal Serial Patterns?, Georgia K. Briscoe

Publications

Just as bibliographic records are shared by law libraries through a national database, serial publication pattern data could also be shared. The author presents a history of the movement toward such a database and offers a specific proposal for its creation.

Teaching Assistants: Study Of Their Use In Law School Research And Writing Programs, Julie M. Cheslik

Faculty Works

No abstract provided.