Advanced Legal Writing: Legislative Drafting and Analysis
Description
This course is designed to immerse and school students in the practical work of drafting and analyzing legislation. The course focuses on U.S. federal law and process and is divided into three distinct, but interrelated segments. In the first segment, students will learn the detailed procedures and political dynamics of federal legislative process. The second part of the course delves into the art of statutory interpretation in understanding the text and covers, from a drafter's perspective, federal case law in the use of legislative history and canons of construction. In the final part of the course, students will draft legislation through realistic legal writing and drafting problems: some collaborative.
The course should appeal to a wide range of students: those interested in working in American representational government on any level--staffer, legislative or administrative drafter, lobbyist, or representative; those that will interpret statutes in their practice areas, and those curious about how laws are effected in Washington and interpreted by the courts and the public.
There are three equally weighted assignments that correlate to the three segments of the course, with the last, a draft of legislation, due on the final day.
- Number of Units: 2
- Course Number: 665