Curriculum Guide · Courses

Professor Johanna Hickman

J.D. Seminar 036 | 2 credit hours

This seminar will provide students with a platform to build upon the principles learned in first year Legal Research and Writing and to develop real-world legal practice skills. The course is designed to provide the most benefit to students who are pursuing judicial clerkships and litigation positions for post-graduate employment. The course will simulate the litigation process, with students playing the roles of both advocates and decision-makers throughout the semester. Students should expect to research and write several documents common in civil litigation, including correspondence, legal research memoranda, motions and responses, and judicial decisions. At least one assignment will be a collaborative writing assignment, and the remainder will be individual assignments.

The instructor will provide individualized comments and grades on each major assignment. The seminar will teach cost-effective research, writing, and revising techniques. Students will also develop their practical research and writing skills, learn to view cases from multiple perspectives, and learn strategies for addressing and managing the challenges of legal practice.

Prerequisite: Legal Research and Writing (or the equivalent Legal Practice: Writing and Analysis).

Students may not receive credit for both this seminar and the Advanced Legal Writing In Practice Seminar or the Advanced Legal Writing Seminar or Advanced Legal Writing: Legal Writing as a Discipline.