Legal Writing Prof Blog

ALWD Visiting Scholars Program

The Association of Legal Writing Directors (ALWD) has issued a call for applications for the Legal Communication & Rhetoric: 2013 Visiting Scholars Grant Program. ALWD will award grants up to $2,500 each to law schools to fund visits by legal writing scholars, for up to three law schools annually.

Law schools must use the grant to bring in a visiting scholar for a one- to two-day visit that includes one or more presentations to students, faculty, alumni, or local practitioners. The presentation should draw on the visiting scholar’s research, and its focus should be helping law students or practicing lawyers become more rhetorically effective and persuasive. This grant program extends ALWD’s commitment to support, strengthen, and encourage scholarship that focuses on the study and practice of professional legal writing. ALWD already supports such scholarship through its financial and other support for its journal, Legal Communication & Rhetoric: JALWD.

The application for a Visiting Scholar's Grant and a more detailed description of the program guidelines are available here. The application deadline is February 15, 2013.

hat tip: Ursula Weigold

(spl)

Half a Million Visits to the Legal Writing Prof Blog

Sometime today, one of you will be the 500,000th visitor to the Legal Writing Prof Blog.  (Check the counter in the left-hand column.)  Please let us know if you are that person.

We thank you for your support of this blog  and for sending us news of your publications, accomplishments, conferences, and other events. 

The blog was started on November 4, 2005 by Nancy Soonpaa (Texas Tech University School of Law), Sue Liemer (Southern Illinois University School of Law), and Collen Barger (University of Arkansas at Little Rock, William H. Bowen School of Law). 

Mark E. Wojcik (The John Marshall Law School) joined them later as a contributing editor and then as co-editor.  He is also an editor on the International Law Prof Blog.  Jim Levy (Nova Southeastern School of Law) joined the for a while (as "The Scholarship Dude") and now is an for the Adjunct Law Prof Blog and the Legal Skills Prof Blog. 

The latest additions to the team are Judy Fischer (University of Louisville, Louis D. Brandeis School  of Law) and Dustin Benham (Texas Tech University School of Law).

We all thank you for your continued support and friendship.

Examples of Good Legal Writing

 Looking for examples of good legal writing?  In its spring 2010 issue, the Green Bag published a list of "Exemplary Legal Writing" that includes court opinions, concurrences, dissents, books, and articles from 2009.  I particularly like Judge Rakoff's opinion and Lani Guinier's article, but readers may find their own favorites.  The journal's similar lists from past years are also rich sources of examples.

(jdf)