Legal Writing Prof Blog

your students should read this

Michael Higdon has written a very helpful article for law students: The Legal Reader: An Expose, 43 New Mexico L. Rev. 77 (2013). (My apology for lacking the accent for "expo-zay" in this blog platform.) I'm still weighing just when in the first semester of law school to recommend it to our new 1Ls, but I'm sending it to our rising 2Ls today. You can also access it here at SSRN, although the date suggests that's not the final edited version.

(spl)

 

 

overcoming procrastination

We all do it from time to time. C'mon, you're probably doing it right now, procrastinating by reading this blog. Two recent articles shed some useful light on why we procrastinate and how to help ourselves move on, to more productive activities. (But do come back to the blog from time to time.)

First, a short article by Meehan Rasch addresses "Understanding the Procrastination Cycle". The abstract tell us: "Procrastination is one of the enduring challenges of human existence, as well as one of the chief problems with which law students struggle. Understanding the cycle of procrastination can help law professors and advisors more constructively address students’ issues in this area — not to mention our own."

Once you've done a reality check via the short article, you're ready for more detailed information in a longer, but just as accessible, article written David and Meehan Rasch: "Overcoming Writer's Block and Procrastination for Attorneys, Law Students, and Law Professors". And here's the abstract:

"Law is a particularly writing-heavy profession. However, lawyers, law students, and law professors often struggle with initiating, sustaining, and completing legal writing projects. Even the most competent legal professionals experience periods in which the written word just does not flow freely. This article provides a guide for legal writers who are seeking to understand and resolve writing blocks, procrastination, and other common writing productivity problems.

"While much of the advice presented applies broadly, lawyers, law students, and law professors each have their own unique writing challenges. This article highlights some of the complexities of the writing process, offers an overview of common writing productivity issues, and provides a series of tools for improving legal writing productivity. Whatever kind of legal writer you are, we hope this article will help point to issues at the heart of your own writing challenges and will help you identify how best to make productive changes."

(spl)

quotable

"A reading man and woman is a ready man and woman, but a writing man and woman is exact."

~ Marcus Garvey

(spl)

 

Another Great Piece on the Importance of Legal Writing by Keene

Earlier this week, we posted about Sherri Lee Keene's important article on the role of legal writing in solving legal education's problems.  She has a shorter, excellent piece on the same topic in the National Law Journal.  This version is the perfect length to circulate to your faculty or dean.  From the article:

Engaging in legal writing has many learning benefits. The act of writing affords the writer an opportunity to think through a legal problem, engage deeply with the law and facts, and expand her knowledge of the law and practice. By analyzing legal problems and developing her ideas through the writing process, a student better understands the substantive law and procedure relevant to an assignment. In discussions with the professor on writing assignments and from feedback received, a student learns to make professional decisions and gains confidence about the prospect of practicing law. Work on writing assignments offers a student an opportunity to apply her knowledge of the law in a practical context, with the benefit of expert guidance.

…

Even though many practitioners share these positive legal writing experiences, a disconnect exists between the vast potential for learning from writing and the limited role of practical legal writing in legal education. It is often seen through a narrow lens as an isolated skill to be learned in designated courses. Yet writing can provide a wealth of learning opportunities, the benefits of which can be realized by the student throughout law school and later in practice. As law schools ponder how they might better prepare students to meet the increasing demands of legal practice, they need to go back to basics and consider the greater role that practical legal writing should play in building practice competence.

(dbb)

Sarah Ricks is recognized for her teaching of practical skills

Sarah Ricks of Rutgers-Camden was recently recognized for her outstanding teaching of the practical side of lawyering. Even before the current emphasis on skills training, her course Current Issues in Civil Rights Litigation engaged students through simulated legal problems. This past year, Ricks taught the course at the University of Pennsylvania School of Law and received rave reviews. As a press release from Rutgers explained, “The entire design of the course is based around engaging students beyond the traditional realm of learning doctrine. [Ricks] brought in guest speakers, provided examples about doctrine and practice from her own career, and wove in many lessons on practical aspects of being a litigator. She also encouraged debate and discussion that solicited conflicting opinions on many topics.”

Hat tip: Lisa McElroy

(jdf)

_________ is the new Google Reader

We're about two weeks out from the end of Google Reader. I've been a loyal Reader user for several years now, but it's time to admit I need to commit to a replacement. It seems like most people I talk to have switched to Feedly. I imported my Google Reader feeds to Feedly (this was a very easy transitional step) but I've still been doing most of my reading through Reader. Anyone made the switch and have any tips for transitioning to Feedly or any other blog-reader recommendations?

(kem)

Congratulations to Anthony Niedwiecki

The John Marshall Law School in Chicago has announced that its Director of Lawyering Skills, Anthony Niedwiecki, has been named Associate Dean for Skills, Experiential Learning, and Assessment. He will oversee the school’s programs in those areas. These are topics in which he has presented and written extensively. Professor Niedwiecki is also currently the President of the Association of Legal Writing Directors.

Congratulations!

hat tip:  Professor Mary Nagel, The John Marshall Law School

(njs and mew)

on a lighter note ...

Stephanie Willbanks at Vermont Law School has written an article worthy of your summer reading time:  "What's in a Name? Would a Rose by Any Other Name Really Smell as Sweet?" 

Here's her abstract for the article:

"What do William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Lewis Carroll, and Robert Frost have in common? All are common sources for law review article titles. This compendium of titles will not necessarily help you decide on the title for your next article, but it will at least provide amusement and help you delay until another day that which you ought to be doing today. As one would expect, the works of William Shakespeare provide a myriad of titles and phrases well suited to law review article titles. So do the works of Charles Dickens. Somewhat surprisingly Hamlet is more popular than Macbeth and A Tale of Two Cities more popular than Bleak House. There are far fewer references to James Bond and Dr. Seuss than you might imagine."

(spl)

 

"What Kids Are Reading, In School And Out"

This All Things Considered piece about what kids are reading these days paints a pretty bleak picture. It quotes Eric Stickney, the educational research director for Renaissance Learning, who says, ""The complexity of texts [high school] students are being assigned to read has declined by about three grade levels over the past 100 years. A century ago, students were being assigned books with the complexity of around the ninth- or 10th-grade level. But in 2012, the average was around the sixth-grade level."

It's an interesting read (or listen), especially as I'm starting to prepare materials for my incoming class of 1Ls. But it's also worth reading the comments, which raise some interesting counterpoints about "reading levels" and what does and should constitute "classics" when it comes to high school reading.

(kem)

Third Annual Western Regional Legal Writing Conference

The Third Annual Western Regional Legal Writing Conference will take place on August 9-10, 2013 at Whittier Law School. The theme of the conference is "Lead the Change," and Richard Neumann is the keynote speaker. More information about the program and travel accommodations is available on the conference website.

h/t Andrea Funk

(kem)

Legal writing should say who did what

George D. Gopen, emeritus professor of the Practice of Rhetoric at Duke, recently advised legal writers that they must “control agency” in their writing: that is, their prose should usually identify an actor. Lawyers who choose abstract nouns and the passive voice produce vague prose that simply doesn’t explain who did what. It’s not enough to write sentences that only some readers may understand with effort. Instead, the prose should be “highly likely to lead most readers to perceive your thought.” See Gopen’s companion articles in the winter and spring 2013 issues of Litigation for some good examples that illustrate his point.

Gopen is the 2011 recipient of the Legal Writing Institute’s Golden Pen Award for his contributions to the field of legal writing.

(jdf)

ALWD conference just 2 weeks away!

As the heat builds in the southern U.S., a trip to our northern climes is looking good. You too could be joining legal writing professors and directors from around the U.S. just two weeks from now at  Marquette University in Milwaukee for the bi-ennial ALWD conference. It's not too late for you to join us. You can see the full program and register for the conference here.

(spl)

 

 

legal writing as legal education's solution

Sherri Lee Keene at U. Maryland has articulated the centrality of legal writing for solving legal education's challenges, in "One Small Step for Legal Writing, One Giant Leap for Legal Education: Making the Case for More Writing Opportunities in the 'Practice-Ready' Law School Curriculum".

As she so aptly summarizes:

"Legal writing is more than an isolated practical skill or a law school course; it is a valuable tool for broadening and deepening law students’ and new attorneys’ knowledge and understanding of the law. If experienced legal professionals, both professors and practitioners alike, take a hard look back at their careers, many will no doubt remember how their work on significant legal writing projects advanced their own knowledge of the law and enhanced their professional competence. Legal writing practice helps the writer to gain expertise in a number of ways: first, the act of writing itself promotes learning; second, close work on legal writing assignments provides a unique opportunity for less-experienced attorneys to engage in meaningful dialogue with more-experienced attorneys, with the assignment acting as a catalyst for the transfer of knowledge of law and legal practice from expert to novice; and lastly, meaningful feedback on legal writing provides an opportunity for more-experienced attorneys to evaluate and critique a less-experienced attorney’s thinking, including her analysis of substantive law and legal concepts, as well as her professional decision-making. Indeed, legal writing projects afford legal novices an invaluable opportunity to apply their knowledge of the law, engage legal experts through work on discrete matters, and receive useful individual guidance on the substance of their work and their judgment on practice matters.

"While legal writing classes are well-established as fundamental courses in the modern law school curriculum, particularly during the first year, the many benefits of legal writing have not been fully realized in law school teaching. Given recent demands for law schools to produce students who are better prepared to meet the demands of legal practice, the time has come for law schools to take a fresh look at the role of writing in legal education. This Article articulates a plan for law schools going forward that will help bridge the gap that currently exists between legal theory and practice in legal education. The paper argues that to better prepare law students for practice, law school teaching must consistently go beyond the acquisition of knowledge of the law, and more frequently include the application of this knowledge to a client’s legal problem. As legal writing provides a particularly useful opportunity for students to engage in the meaningful study of law and to apply their knowledge of law in a practice context, this article brings legal writing into the current 'practice-ready' debate. This Article urges law schools to rethink the role that legal writing can play in preparing students for the challenges of today’s legal practice, and to increase the quantity and quality of legal writing practice opportunities in their curriculums."

(spl)

Jill Ramsfield announces her retirement

Jill Ramsfield, a pioneer in the field of teaching legal writing, has announced her retirement from the University of Hawaii as of May 31. Jill first joined the profession as part of the Seattle group (then at Puget Sound) that started the Legal Writing Institute. When she left that term-contract position, her move to Georgetown highlighted the problems with capped contracts in the field. In the late 1980s, Jill started the annual Legal Writing Institute survey, which at first was printed in hard copy and compiled manually. More recently, Jill received a 2013 award from the AALS Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research. Her scholarship, presentations at conferences, and leadership in the writers’ workshops have had a continuing effect on our field.

Photo credit: Karin Mika

(jdf)

got something to say about clarity?

Clarity International, the association promoting plain legal language around the globe, is looking for submissions for the next issue of its journal, scheduled to be published in November. The focus of this issue will be teaching plain language, i.e., teaching methods and theory related to teaching plain language in the classroom and in practice. The deadline for submissions is July 15th.The articles they are looking for are only 1,000 to 3,000 words long, so surely you can knock out something by then. For more information, contact cmadams@iupui.edu or zeckthek@cooley.edu.

(spl)

Dean Search for University of Montana

The University of Montana invites applications and nominations for a Dean to lead its School of Law as it begins the second century of its distinguished history. Founded in 1912, the School of Law is an established leader in legal education, preparing students for serving people in the practice of law through effective integration of theory and practice. Beyond preparing students for practice, its curriculum emphasizes areas of law significant to the Rocky Mountain West including natural resource law, environmental law, and Indian law. At a challenging time for legal education, the success of Montana's model in training and placing lawyers has earned it recognition as one of the best-value law schools in the nation. Montana is one of a handful of law schools to attract significantly more applicants this year than last.

The successful candidate must hold a Juris Doctor degree, or its equivalent, from an ABA-accredited law school, demonstrate the ability to lead the School of Law's faculty, staff, and students, and have the following additional qualifications:
- Distinguished professional achievement in legal practice;
- Successful administrative experience, including personnel supervision and financial administration;
- Strong listening, communication, and consensus-building skills;
- A commitment to legal scholarship; and
- A commitment to diversity.

TO APPLY: Visit http://umjobs.silkroad.com/ to view full description and apply online. Candidates will be asked to upload: a statement of interest; a current resume or C.V.; and contact information for at least three professional references.   Review of applications will begin on August 1, 2013; application review will continue until the position is filled.

ADA/EOE/AA/Veteran's Preference Employer

(And obviously we on this blog hope that the successful candidate strongly supports legal writing faculty!)

(mew)

Burton awards celebration

The Burton Awards for legal writing were presented at an elegant dinner at the Library of Congress on Monday night, June 3. Event sponsor William Burton began the program by calling for more respect for those in our profession. Justice Sonia Sotomayor and legal writing pioneer Mary Lawrence then received awards, and the evening ended with a concert by Vanessa Williams.  Professor Karin Mika, who attended the event, writes that Bill Burton is "a true friend" of the legal writing profession.

Hat tips: Ralph Brill and Karin Mika

Photo credit: Karin Mika

(jdf)

Final Countdown: 2014 LWI Conference Proposals due June 7!

This is the last week to submit a proposal for the 2014 LWI Conference, which will take place at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown from June 29-July 2, 2014. Proposals are due June 7.

You can submit a proposal using the new online proposal form. Check out the Call for Proposals and the Proposal Requirements, and if you have any questions, contact one of the Program Committee Co-Chairs, Samantha Moppett (smoppett@suffolk.edu) or Kristin Gerdy (gerdyk@byu.edu).

(kem)

New Article Alert: Overcoming Writer's Block

Meehan Rasch (USC) and David. A. Rasch recently published an article on a too-familar topic for some law professors, Overcoming Writer's Block for Attorneys, Law Students, and Law Professors.  It's a good summer read when you're looking for something to help you put off writing.  From the abstract:

Law is a particularly writing-heavy profession. However, lawyers, law students, and law professors often struggle with initiating, sustaining, and completing legal writing projects. Even the most competent legal professionals experience periods in which the written word just does not flow freely. This article provides a guide for legal writers who are seeking to understand and resolve writing blocks, procrastination, and other common writing productivity problems. 

While much of the advice presented applies broadly, lawyers, law students, and law professors each have their own unique writing challenges. This article highlights some of the complexities of the writing process, offers an overview of common writing productivity issues, and provides a series of tools for improving legal writing productivity. Whatever kind of legal writer you are, we hope this article will help point to issues at the heart of your own writing challenges and will help you identify how best to make productive changes.

(dbb)

UMKC moves to a directorless format

The University of Missouri at Kansas City has joined the trend toward directorless legal writing programs. Like professors in other fields, UMKC's writing faculty, whose combined experience totals more that 60 years, will now be autonomous. The former director, Wanda Temm (pictured at right), says this change will allow them “to be even more creative and innovative” in their teaching.

(jdf)