Legal Writing and Research Commons^™

Law Library Blog (October 2025): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

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Changemakers: Julia Meskis '25 : 3l : Protecting The Waters 4-10-2025, Andrew Clark

Life of the Law School (1993- )

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Embrace The Chaos: Contributing To Experience In The Face Of Ai And Nextgen, Margaret Moore Jackson

Pace Law Review

This article asserts that the combination of AI-assisted writing tools and the immediacy of the NextGen Bar compel changes in legal education’s goals, expectations, and delivery methods. Topping off these forces, the ABA is considering increased requirements for additional experiential credits prior to graduation. These challenging mandates provide opportunities for law faculty, who can construct courses that help students learn through integrated experiential credits while promoting and spreading legal knowledge to organizations that lack legal advice.

Through the example of a Housing Discrimination course, this article demonstrates a method for constructing a course that is resigned to the presence of …

Law Library Blog (March 2025): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law Library

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

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Law Library Blog (September 2024): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

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First Amendment And Media Law Diversity Moot Court Competition, Roger Williams University School Of Law, Michelle Choate

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

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Law School News: Victorious Verdict 2-21-2024, Michelle Choate

Life of the Law School (1993- )

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Law Library Blog (February 2024): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

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Law Library Blog (September 2023): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

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Flawless First Draft In Legal Writing: A Fantasy Of The Uninitiated, Patrick Barry

Other Publications

I recently received an email from a former student (now a public interest lawyer) who had just finished a major writing project. She wanted to thank me for introducing her to the psychologically liberating concept of “shitty first drafts.” Without it, she said, she probably would have never hit her deadline.

References To Classic American Novels In Advocacy And Judicial Opinions, Douglas E. Abrams

Faculty Publications

With this Journal of the Missouri Bar article, the survey of courts’ cultural markers returns to literature – particularly American literature. Besides “To Kill a Mockingbird,” federal and state courts in their written opinions have cited and quoted from other classic novels written by American authors, including "Catch-22", "Moby-Dick", and "The Grapes of Wrath".

The Beauty Of Shorts: Ten Tips On Writing A Publishable Short Piece, Robin Boyle-Laisure, Brooke J. Bowman

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

Based upon our experience serving on editorial boards of peer-reviewed law journals for over twenty years combined, we encourage faculty who teach legal research and writing to write short scholarly pieces. While books have been written on how to write scholarly articles, and law schools offer students courses on writing journal articles, there is little information about how to write a scholarly piece that is short. This Essay fills that gap and provides advice for constructing a publishable short.

Changemakers: The Long Road To The Law : Kiron Ireland, Michelle Choate

Life of the Law School (1993- )

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Changemakers: 'Hard Work, Determination, And Dedication': Arya Omshehe, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

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Law School News: Omshehe Wins Top National Prize With Securities Regulation Article 11-4-2022, Michael M. Bowden

Life of the Law School (1993- )

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Legal Citations: A Foundation Of Written Advocacy, Douglas E. Abrams

Faculty Publications

The article advanced this formula for achieving effective appellate advocacy: “First, you seek to persuade the court of the merit of the client’s case, to create an emotional empathy for your position. Then you assist the court to reach a conclusion favorable to the client’s interest in terms of the analysis of the law and the procedural posture of the case.”

Law Library Blog (September 2022): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

Writing By Presidential Example: The First Inaugural Addresses Of Reagan And Obama, Douglas E. Abrams

Faculty Publications

This article is about two recent U.S. presidents who differed from one another in prominent respects. One entered the Oval Office as a staunch Republican; the other entered as a staunch Democrat. One was one of the oldest men ever to serve in the Oval Office; the other was one of the youngest. The pair assumed contrasting positions on the political spectrum.

Despite these differences, however, the pair – Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama – shared an important common denominator. As president, both achieved recognition as “great communicators,” thanks in large part to their speeches marked by dexterity with the …

Changemakers: To Empower And Amplify Lgbtq+ Voices, Michelle Choate

Life of the Law School (1993- )

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Elephant In The Room, Patrick Barry

Articles

Over the past several decades, the student population at law schools across the country has become more and more racially diverse. In 1987, for example, only about 1 in every 10 law students identified as a person of color; by 2019, that percentage shot up to almost 1 out of 3.

Yet take a look at virtually any collection of recommended manuals on writing. You are unlikely to find even one that is authored by a person of color. The composition of law schools may be dramatically changing, but the materials that students are given to help them figure out …

Law Library Blog (December 2021): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

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A Human Being Wrote This Law Review Article: Gpt-3 And The Practice Of Law, Amy B. Cyphert

Law Faculty Scholarship

Artificial intelligence tools can now “write” in such a sophisticated manner that they fool people into believing that a human wrote the text. None are better at writing than GPT-3, released in 2020 for beta testing and coming to commercial markets in 2021. GPT-3 was trained on a massive dataset that included scrapes of language from sources ranging from the NYTimes to Reddit boards. And so, it comes as no surprise that researchers have already documented incidences of bias where GPT-3 spews toxic language. But because GPT-3 is so good at “writing,” and can be easily trained to write in …

Law Library Blog (August 2021): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

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References To Children's Stories And Fairy Tales In Judicial Opinions And Written Advocacy, Douglas E. Abrams

Faculty Publications

Jones v. State is typical of recent state and federal court decisions that have spiced substantive or procedural points with references to classic children’s stories or classic fairy tales. These literary resources have won places in American popular culture and are likely generally familiar to readers, especially when (as in Jones) the court provides any necessary context explaining the resource’s relevance to the decision.

In previous Journal of The Missouri Bar articles, I have written about judges’ invocation of an array of influential cultural markers that are generally familiar to Americans. These articles explored written opinions that accompanied substantive or …

How I Finally Overcame My Apprehension About Peer Review, Beth H. Wilensky

Articles

I’ll admit it: I was afraid to try peer review in my Legal Practice class. I’ve been teaching legal analysis, writing, and research for 17 years. I know all of the benefits of peer review. I’ve read plenty of scholarship about why and how to do it well. I have space in my syllabus to incorporate it into my teaching. But I’ve been reluctant. I worried that students would be averse to sharing their work with a classmate. I worried that the exercise would embarrass students who felt self-conscious about their writing. And I worried that the truly excellent writers …

Law Library Blog (August 2020): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

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Law School News: F.A.Q. Update: Covid-19 And Rwu Law 03-30-2020, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

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Law Library Blog (November 2019): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

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Law Library Blog (September 2019): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

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Law Library Blog (April 2019): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.