LL.M. Legal Writing and Legal Skills II – 6022

The spring semester course continues to build upon the foundation presented in the fall semester and to examine the fundamentals of US legal analysis and legal writing. The focus of the second semester is persuasive legal writing, and students will draft and edit a legal memorandum for motion practice in litigation, as well as professional correspondence. To accomplish these goals, students act as attorneys in fictitious law firms, representing either the plaintiff or the defendant in a litigation matter. Students will also engage in simulated oral exercises such as mock client meetings and mock oral arguments. We will also spend time examining how to improve legal writing by doing editing, and revising exercises and by analyzing samples of good (and bad) legal writing.