Advanced Legal Writing: Litigation
Building on the skills developed in Federal Litigation, this course will give students additional practice with legal analysis, argument structure, and writing in the pre-trial litigation context. Students will draft pleadings, briefs, and documentary evidence in support of and opposition to pre-trial motions in a hypothetical case set in federal district court. Students also will complete short writing exercises in and out of class (these will consist of drills such as omitting surplus words, preferring active voice, using concrete words, punctuating carefully, etc). The goals of this class are to help students organize facts and principles in a succinct and logical way and to deepen their understanding of the legal reasoning process. In particular, students will develop proficiencies in critical reading and thinking (dissecting and synthesizing cases); legal problem solving (identifying legal issues and interpreting authority); legal analysis (accurately deriving rule s and applying authority to a client¿s situation); and legal drafting (organizing and explaining ideas clearly using appropriate conventions). The course should appeal to students interested in litigation practice and those wishing to hone their writing skills.