Legal Research And Writing III & IV (R)

The second-year writing program is designed to enhance and refine research and writing skills. The emphasis is on persuasion and precision in drafting litigation documents and other written material common to the practitioner.

First Semester: This fall-semester course focuses on litigation-oriented persuasive writing, including both pre-trial and appellate briefs. Students work on a series of increasingly complex research and writing projects to increase their skills while learning persuasive organization and the use of persuasive rhetoric in support of a hypothetical client's position.

Second Semester: This spring-semester course focuses on transactional drafting in a variety of contexts. Students work on a series of assignments that require the production of particular transactional documents. Students will learn to understand a client's position regarding a transaction, the desired or negotiated outcome, and the use of precise language within a document to achieve the proper outcome.