Reviewed by Suzanne E. Rowe* Disrupting Law Faculty Perceptions Disrupting Common Approaches Disrupting the Usual Orientation Conclusion I never quite felt that I belonged in law school, and I’ve spent my academic career helping students believe that they do. The Guide to Belonging in Law School, by Russell A. McClain,1 is an invaluable…
DetailsWelcome to Volume 25 of Legal Writing: The Journal of the Legal Writing Institute! I’m pleased to greet you in my first year as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal. The theme of my first year in this position has been “never a dull moment!” This is our second volume that’s been produced in the Time of…
DetailsDrew Simshaw* At the 2020 AALS Annual Meeting discussion group, “The Multigenerational Teaching of Legal Writing,”1 participants discussed, among other issues, the different ways in which law professors from different generations experienced law school. In preparing for the discussion group, I focused on this theme by reflecting on my own experience as a 1L and…
DetailsMeredith A.G. Stange* This past semester we all taught during an unprecedented worst-case scenario, moving our courses online at the literal drop of a hat. Although I know my experience is not unique, from March to the end of the semester in May, I felt like I was just treading water. I was teaching three…
DetailsMelissa H. Weresh* I. Advocacy for Legal Writing Professionals: Foundational Efforts A. The Legal Writing Institute 1. The Seeds of the Institute and Initial Proclamation of Equity for Legal Writing Faculty 2. The Establishment of the Organization, Newsletter, Journal, Survey, and Listserv B. The Association of Legal Writing Directors 1. The Beginning of the…
DetailsJan M. Levine* 1. Historical Myopia 2. Institutional Forgetfulness 3. Scholarly and Pedagogical Kumbaya 4. Over-Intellectualization and Academic Jargon 5. Unintended Consequences 6. The End This essay is an effort to open a discussion about some aspects of the academic legal writing world that have been increasingly troubling me for several years. In…
DetailsAnn Nowak* 1. The Problem 2. Inadequate Solutions 3. Elevating “Lower Order” Concerns Conclusion From my perspective as the director of a law school writing center, the biggest problem is that entering law students have become weaker and weaker in basic writing skills — grammar, punctuation, and syntax — over the past decade.…
DetailsSabrina Little* Varied Content Presentation Class Time as Draft Time Structured Collaborative Work Colorful Editing Process Legal writing professors often search for instructional techniques that can enrich and elevate their students’ educational experiences. Several of these techniques can be found in a place where legal writing professors might not consider looking: the elementary…
DetailsAbstract Introduction 1. E-Memos 1.0: A Literature Review 2. Brief Overview of Findings and Study Methodology 2.1 Respondents 2.2 The Samples 3. Respondent E-Memo Rankings 3.1 Rankings According to Age Group 3.2 Rankings According to Number of E-Memos Written Per Month 3.3 Rankings According to Private Firm Size 4. Respondent E-Memo Preferences and Habits 4.1…
DetailsJohn H. Larsen* Table of Contents I. THE SCIENCE OF HOW VISUALS HELP US THINK MORE CLEARLY II. LEGAL REASONING AND THE ROLE OF FORMAL LOGIC A. Deductive Reasoning B. Reasoning by Analogy C. Generalization D. Visualizing the Bounds of Reason III. THE INFORMAL LOGIC OF VENN DIAGRAMS IN JUDICIAL DECISIONS IV. THE USE OF…
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