LAW 9102 - Experiential Legal Writing II

First year required: 1L
Persuasive writing and reasoning are two of the most important skills that lawyers must possess, and requires you to master the art of narrative storytelling. Many of the techniques used by fiction writers to craft a powerful story, such as plot, theme, character development, and pace, apply with equal force to persuasive legal writing. In ELW II, you will learn and practice applying these skills, and begin to develop your persuasive writing ability in preparation for your required, upper-level experiential legal writing courses. The skills taught in this course include, but are not limited to:

Narrative Storytelling (drafting a compelling factual and legal narrative that tells the court why you should win);
Winning at the beginning: drafting a powerful Introduction (and opening sentence);
Developing your theme;
Distinguishing relevant from irrelevant facts, and using the relevant facts to craft a persuasive narrative;
Presenting the law in a compelling manner;
Avoiding artificial attempts to persuade;
Writing for your audience-and the standard of review;
Confronting unfavorable facts and law, and telling the Court why you should win anyway;
Drafting a strong legal analysis section;
The art of responding to counter-arguments, and the importance of making strategic concessions;
Applying persuasive writing techniques based on the context and document you are drafting;
Knowing when to preempt your adversary’s argument, or save a response for the reply brief;
When policy arguments matter-and when they don’t; and
The ten rules that every legal writer must follow.

By the end of this course, students gain experience drafting the most common litigation documents, and have the opportunity to perform a simulated oral argument before a panel of judges. Note: In this course, students will draft a motion to dismiss, answer, first set of interrogatories and document requests, motion to compel discovery, and motion for summary judgment.*First year required course Credit(s): 3