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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

grants to help legal writing profs write

Posted on January 01, 2010
The Association of Legal Writing Directors (ALWD) and the Legal Writing Institute (LWI) are funding 2010 Legal Writing Scholarship Grants for professors of legal research and writing. These grants range from $2,000 to $5,000. Applications are due by 5 p...

the year's last bad writing?

Posted on December 31, 2009
Perhaps it's best to put the old year to bed for good when it includes some of the writing examples recently brought to our attention over at the Feminist Law Professors blog. hat tip: Michael Higdon (spl)

classroom techno tips

Posted on December 31, 2009
Click here for the December 2009 volume of the newsletter for the AALS Section on Teaching Methods. This volume includes many short-takes on how to use technology effectively in the classroom. Some of the ideas could be used by attorneys...

What if the poem 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' was written in legalese?

Posted on December 31, 2009
This is what happens when I go off the grid for a few days during the holidays; I miss some good stories and that are now stale. But maybe you can still make use of this in your legal writing...

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bringing along the plugged-in generation

Posted on December 30, 2009
Whether you're training junior attorneys in a law office or teaching legal writing to law students, you may enjoy some of the ideas for reaching the plugged-in generation on this new syllabus. hat tip: Maria Perez Crist (spl)

A great video for teaching students about library research and citations

Posted on December 30, 2009
Here's a great teaching tool that our good buddy at the Law Librarian Blog, Joe Hodnicki, suggests should be adapted to teaching students about legal research as well as citation form. Prepared by the librarians at Cornell, it's called a...

The Top 10 "weirdest" cases of 2009

Posted on December 29, 2009
Everyone loves a "Top 10" list, right? Here's a good one courtesy of the UK's timesonline blog. There's almost certainly some fun hypothetical writing problem material within this list that includes the case of the Florida man who "sued a...

More "Top 10" legal lists for 2009

Posted on December 29, 2009
Following up on the post above, the Legal Blog Watch has compiled a list of several "Top 10" law-related lists for 2009. They're informative, fun and may provide some good legal writing hypo fodder: Top Ten Legal Ethics Stories of...

Legal Writing Survey Results Now Available!

Posted on December 29, 2009
The results of the 2009 survey of legal writing programs conducted by the Legal Writing Institute (LWI) and the Association of Legal Writing Directors (ALWD) have now been published. Click here for the links to the results of the 2009...

tips on negotiation, suitable for class

Posted on December 29, 2009
More and more 1L legal research and writing courses are covering additional lawyering skills, including negotiation skills. The ABA's most recent e-newsletter includes an article by Mike Frascogna, Jr., on how to Improve Your Negotiation Skills Now. It provides some...

contemplative legal education

Posted on December 28, 2009
If you had any lingering doubts about the demise of the Kingsfield approach to legal education, as in the movie The Paper Chase, check out the growing list of ways that law schools are helping students grow into more contemplative...

vacation reading: attorneys in comic books

Posted on December 28, 2009
If you're snowed in somewhere or relaxing on a beach and want to pretend you're doing some reading related to your legal work, you might be interested in William Hilyerd's article on Hi Superman, I'm a Lawyer: A Guide to...

job opening in NYC

Posted on December 27, 2009
St. John's University School of Law has a full-time position available for an Assistant Professor of Legal Writing, starting in August 2010. St. John's seeks individuals with strong interest and competencies in teaching legal research and writing. Candidates should have...

A good writing tip - break it in two

Posted on December 27, 2009
One of my writing tips to students is that their sentences will almost always be more clear if they can reduce the number of syllables (my so-called "fog factor" exercise which involves eliminating the "fog" in one's writing by reducing...

ah, academics

Posted on December 27, 2009
Practicing attorneys can be forgiven for shaking their heads from time to time at those of us working in academia, especially with research reports like this one: http://isotropic.org/papers/chicken.pdf. The author of that report expands on his original thesis at http://www...

LWI reflections deadline extended

Posted on December 25, 2009
LWI's newsletter, The Second Draft, had extended its deadline for the upcoming spring issue to January 11, 2009. The theme for the issue is "Celebrating 25 Years of the Legal Writing Institute." Current and former legal writing professors are encouraged...

Seasons Greetings and Merry Christmas from the Legal Writing Prof Blog

Posted on December 24, 2009
Here are a couple of videos to help put you in the holiday mood - one is traditional (Adrian Erod joined by the Vienna Boys Choir singing "Adeste Fideles") and the other an obscure gem for those who'd rather rock...

Norad tracks Santa

Posted on December 24, 2009
These military techno-geeks can sure tell a good story. Go to http://www.noradsanta.org and follow Santa's progress around the world today. It's a great geography lesson for all ages (he's currently over Hagatna as I type this). Hope you have the...

quotable

Posted on December 23, 2009
"Don't use words too big for the subject. Don't say 'infinitely' when you mean 'very'; otherwise you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite." ~ C.S. Lewis (spl)

To all legal researchers: Be aware of possible discrepancies between Google Scholar and commercial research tools

Posted on December 23, 2009
Thanks to legal research expert, scholar, and all-around good guy Chris Wren for telling me about this potential pitfall he uncovered while recently using the new Google Scholar open-source legal research database. As Chris explained to me, he recently used...

Is It Ethical to Be a "Super Lawyer"?

Posted on December 23, 2009
A new article explores the ethic questions involved when magazines or advertisements promote some lawyers as "super lawyers." Click here to read more. (mew)

More legal jerks in the news - this time from Texas

Posted on December 23, 2009
After blogging a few days ago about a California court that suspended a lawyer for three years because, according to that court, he was a "jerk," comes this story from today's online ABA Journal called "A Judge's Advice to New...

More on the Washington & Lee classroom to courtroom curriculum change

Posted on December 22, 2009
How's that for alliteration? To follow up on a story we told you about last week concerning the practicum curriculum change at Washington & Lee that the school claims is responsible for a 33% increase in applicants, both the Washington...

why can't 1Ls write?

Posted on December 22, 2009
Given the prevalence of "essay mills," as reported recently in the Chronicle of Higher Education, surely at least some U.S. students enter law school with undergrad degrees based in part on written work they paid others to do for them....

Professionalism alert Part II - California court issues 3 year suspension to prominent lawyer for being a jerk

Posted on December 21, 2009
Related to the story below, figuratively if not literally, a California court has suspended from practice for three years Philip Kay, a very successful and prominent plaintiff's attorney for "outrageous conduct." In a 48 page opinion, Judge Lucy Armendariz found,...

Professionalism alert: NY court suspends attorney for living lavish lifestyle and not paying taxes

Posted on December 21, 2009
According to one New York court, even if a lawyer devotes thousands of hours to pro bono work and gives generously to charity, his license to practice can still be pulled if the rest of his financial house is not...

Bankruptcy judge orders attorneys to use good legal writing.

Posted on December 20, 2009
Minnesota bankruptcy Judge Robert Kressel has issued a set of mandatory drafting guidelines for all attorneys submitting proposed orders for his signature. Some of the judge's guidelines reflect what is already commonly considered good practice (i.e. avoiding superfluous words) while...

legal writing prof on Millionaire!

Posted on December 20, 2009
See your local broadcast TV listings for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire on January 4, 2010. Legal writing professor Lisa McElroy, who teaches at Drexel, will be a contestant. The show was taped in the fall, so obviously Lisa...

fantasy Supreme Court

Posted on December 19, 2009
If joining a fantasy football league isn't for you, perhaps you'd prefer the new fantasy Supreme Court game? It lets you predict the outcome of cases pending before the Court. If you've always said you know how a case should...

Minnesota bankruptcy judge, cont'd

Posted on December 19, 2009
I love Kressel's admonition to attorneys to stop capitalizing with abandon. He notes that capitalization should be limited to proper names, and his strict approach to capitalization is even more limiting than the Bluebook's. I also appreciate his plea to...

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