Legal Writing and Analysis – JURI 515
CG • Section 8WK • 12/17/2019 to 05/25/2020 • Modified 01/04/2024
Course Description
This course will further develop student research methods, research strategies, and statistical analysis skills necessary to both produce and critically analyze research reports and data compilations used in forming legal analysis. Students will further develop and apply professional writing skills in the research paper drafting process and fully incorporate techniques as outlined in this course and the Introduction to Legal Research course.
For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.
Rationale
Legal professionals must communicate in various methods, but one of the most important is through the written word. Thus, legal writing and analysis skills are perhaps the most important skills that a legal professional can possess. The student will examine two of the main types of roles in which lawyers engage: predictive and persuasive writing. Once the student understands these two types of writing roles he or she will then draft documents that demonstrate his or her understanding of these two types of writing roles.
Course Assignment
Textbook readings and lecture presentations
Course Requirements Checklist
After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.
Discussions (3)
Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student is required to create a 400–600-word thread in response to the provided prompt for each discussion. The student must support his or her assertions with at least 1 scholarly source in current Bluebook format. In addition to the thread, the student is required to create a 150–250-word reply to 2 other classmates’ threads. Each reply must be supported with at least 1 scholarly source in current Bluebook format.
Case Briefs Assignment
The student will draft four 1–2-page synopses of four assigned cases. The student will briefly explain the facts, issues, holding, and rationale of each case assigned.
Predictive Office Memo Assignment
The student will draft a 2–3-page Predictive Office Memo based on the four cases assigned for the Case Briefs and a factual scenario.
Brief: Rough Draft Assignment
The student will create a rough draft of a 3–5-page persuasive brief based on the four assigned cases and using no outside resources.
Brief: Final Draft Assignment
The student will finalize the 3–5-page rough draft of the persuasive brief based on the four assigned cases and using no outside resources. Note: LL.M students must add an additional 2,500 words of writing in their final paper. This is a Pass/Fail component of this assignment. This is not required of the JM students.
Professional Letter Assignment
The student will draft a 1–2-page Professional Letter to his or her “client” explaining the decision of the court.
Quizzes (3)
Each quiz will cover the Learn material for the assigned Modules: Weeks. Each quiz will be open-book/open-notes, contain 25 multiple-choice, true/false, matching, and short answer questions, and have a 1-hour time limit.
