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Legal Writing

Legal Writing Prof Blog

By law professors Coleen M. Barger, Sue Liemer and Nancy Soonpaa

Post Frequency: 31.6/day

Last Entry: April 01, 2011 at 15:42:31

A few days ago, we brought you

Posted on March 18, 2009
A few days ago, we brought you the story of the juror who used Twitter to comment about the trial in which he and his fellow jurors awarded a 12-million-plus judgment to the plaintiff. Defendants are asking the judge to...

A good overview of Twitter for lawyers

Posted on March 18, 2009
Following up on Professor Barger's post from a few days ago, the National Law Journal has an article that provides an excellent overview for lawyers, specifically, on Twitter - what it is, how to use it, and the pitfalls lawyers...

The Three Best Books About Writing -- Are They On Your Shelf?

Posted on March 18, 2009
We're happy to present a guest blog post from Joseph Bazan of the Minnesota School of Business. (mew) Recently, a colleague noticed that I am a member of the Leal Writing Institute (LWI). Like many members of LWI, I have...

New national organization for adjuncts looking for law professors to join

Posted on March 17, 2009
We helped break the news back in February about a new, national organization called "The National Coalition of Adjunct Faculty" that seeks to support and advocate for adjunct faculty everywhere, including those who teach legal writing. As a result of...

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Social networking sites account for 10% of total time spent online, more than email

Posted on March 17, 2009
Here's a fascinating article from the Washington Post describing the pervasiveness of social networking sites in terms of the total time spent online noting, in particular, that the average person spends more time on these sites than email (ed. note....

Recent panel discussed how to remove the BS from academic writing

Posted on March 17, 2009
At this past weekend's annual meeting of the Conference on College Composition and Communication, a panel discussion entitled Empty Rhetoric and Academic Bullshit: Strategies for Composition?s Self-Representation in National Arenas was held to discuss, well, how to take the BS...

'Chart of doom" is one stop shopping for law students looking for job news

Posted on March 17, 2009
A blog called The Shark ("don't stop swimming - it's law school.") has created a "chart of doom" to track all the news about law firm lay-offs, rescinded 2L and 3L offers, canceled summer programs, etc. so that "anxious" law...

Workload for writing teachers at community colleges is stretched to the limit

Posted on March 16, 2009
According to preliminary data released Saturday at the annual meeting of the Conference on College Composition and Communication ("CCCC"). Inside Higher Ed is reporting today that: The [CCCC] has long had standards for writing courses, based on the idea that...

Some laid-off associates can't give their time away

Posted on March 16, 2009
Now more than ever, it's critical that law professors and administrators understand the financial reality facing our debt-laden students when they graduate. Given the current surfeit of lawyers, the terrible job market at present and the possibility that things will...

one minute of writing

Posted on March 16, 2009
As Sue notes, so many of our students have done little writing before coming to law school. And with such big stakes as the memos and briefs we assign them, no wonder they are often paralyzed with fear. That's where...

things you should have learned in school ...

Posted on March 16, 2009
In conversation with a 1L today, I discovered that it is possible to graduate from a research level 1 university in the United States with an undergraduate degree in a science and never write a lab report. This student fulfilled...

reading admission files

Posted on March 15, 2009
It's that time of the year, the final push in law school admissions offices across the United States to read through applications and decide who will be entering law school in the fall. At the small law school where I...

twittering lawyers

Posted on March 15, 2009
The notion of brief writing takes on a whole new meaning when it comes to Twitter. Brief -- in the sense of short -- because with Twitter, you write no more than a couple of lines at a time. Think...

Disability Law Writing Competition

Posted on March 15, 2009
Mercer and the ABA host an annual writing competition in honor of Mercer?s former legal writing professor, Adam Milani. It is one of the few competitions for student-written briefs rather than academic papers. Prizes can be as high as $1,000....

We interrupt this argument to bring you . . . another question

Posted on March 15, 2009
Minnesota Poli Sci Prof Timothy Johnson has been researching how often United States Supreme Court justices interrupt the advocates arguing before them. The work of Johnson and his co-authors, Paul J. Wahlbeck and James F. Spriggs, "The Evaluation of Oral...

juror tweets inspire motion for new trial

Posted on March 14, 2009
Defense lawyers in Arkansas have moved for a new trial after learning that one of the jurors in the case, Johnathan Powell, used Twitter to share his thoughts with followers. The jury hit defendants Russell Wright and Stoam Industries with...

quotable

Posted on March 13, 2009
"Writers, like teeth, are divided into incisors and grinders." - Walter Bagehot (spl)

Contract written in human blood held unenforceable by California appeals court

Posted on March 13, 2009
Get this - the AP reports that two friends went to a combination karaoke bar/sushi restaurant when one of them decides he wants to write an agreement promising the other that he'll pay back the $170k he owes. No pen?...

A new video game for lawyers called "Objection!" - May count towards CLE credit.

Posted on March 13, 2009
Depending on your age bracket, this is either coolest ever legal accoutrement or a sure sign that the profession is in steep decline. It's a new video game called "Objection!" that, according to this review in PC World, is a...

Another scholarship alert: The effect of Clinical Education on Law Student Reasoning: an Empirical Study

Posted on March 13, 2009
Professor Stefan Krieger of Hofstra has just published The effect of clinical education on law student reasoning: an empirical study in 35 Wm. Mitchell L. Rev. 359 (2008). I am the scholarship dude. (jbl)

New scholarship alert: A Methodology for Mentoring Writing in Law Practice: Using Textual Clues to Provide Effective and Efficient Feedback

Posted on March 13, 2009
The Boston College legal writing posse consisting of Professors Jane Kent Gionfriddo, Dan Barnett and Joan Blum have just published a new article entitled A methodology for mentoring writing in law practice: using textual clues to provide effective and efficient...

top ten in SSRN

Posted on March 12, 2009
What articles on SSRN's Legal Writing eJournal are downloaded the most? Readers seem to be most interested in advice for getting published, better brief-writing, better analysis, and oral argument. Here are the top ten: Publishing Advice for Graduate Students Thom...

This is a great idea - helping student improve their writing skills through Wikipedia

Posted on March 12, 2009
This article from today's Inside Higher Ed. suggests that teachers can make very effective use of Wikipedia to help improve their students' writing by encouraging them to create their own Wiki entries. It's an idea that seems to embrace many...

What's wrong with this picture? IQ's fall while grades rise.

Posted on March 12, 2009
As we reported here on Tuesday, a U.K. study found that attorney IQs have fallen over the last twelve years. Today, Inside Higher Ed is reporting on a study by Stuart Rojstacze, a retired Duke professor, who says that grade...

Law school creates innovative "real world" practice experience for all 3L's

Posted on March 12, 2009
Washington & Law Dean Rod Smolla knows what time it is - time for law schools to get serious about not just training students to think like lawyers, but to train them to actually practice law. That idea, along with...

Here's a twist on the debate over laptops in the classroom - how about laptops in the courtroom?

Posted on March 12, 2009
While law profs have debated endlessly, or so it seems, whether laptops in the classroom are a good thing or not, today's National Law Journal reports on the nascent debate happening about the use of laptops, Blackberrys and other hand-held...

Jessup International Moot Court Competition Celebrates its 50th Anniversary on March 27th

Posted on March 11, 2009
The 50th Anniversary of the Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court Competition is being celebrated on March 27, 2009 in Washington D.C. The featured speakers are two former presidents of the International Court of Justice: Dame Rosalyn Higgins of the...

Presidential Signing Statements

Posted on March 11, 2009
President Obama has issued an important statement on Presidential signing statements. It may be a point you will want to include when teaching federal statutory research. Click here to read a post about it by Steve Schwinn of The John...

the "two piles" approach to research and writing

Posted on March 11, 2009
Law students love to research. No, it's true! They love to research because it's fun to find authority that is relevant to the issues AND because as long as they're researching, they can postpone the more painful task of writing....

clearly, a good writing rule to follow . . .

Posted on March 11, 2009
Yesterday we had a local appellate attorney talk to our students, and he offered a quotation from Chief Justice Roberts about how to argue effectively, including the implied writing rule that use of intensifiers is often not persuasive. "We get...

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