In this advanced course, students will learn the concepts and skills needed to research complex legal problems. This course will cover a wide range of legal research topics, including statutes, legislative history, court and government documents, administrative materials, practitioner tools, secondary sources, and specialized legal research. Students will also gain hands-on experience developing, implementing, and documenting appropriate research strategies, conducting research in an efficient manner, and citing resources appropriately for a professional-level work product.

Grading will be based on class attendance and participation, a series of research assignments, and a take home exam.

Learning Objectives:

As a result of this class, students will be able to:

1. Classify different primary and secondary legal resources, regardless of format.
2. Evaluate the costs and benefits of particular resources, regardless of format, and articulate major differences between resources.
3. Analyze a legal research problem and then design, execute, and document an efficient research plan.

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.

This two-credit seminar is designed to help students develop the legal writing and practice skills necessary to succeed as judicial law clerks and civil litigators. Students will have an opportunity to build upon the written and oral advocacy skills learned in first-year Legal Research and Writing by using those skills in a practical setting that simulates the litigation process. Throughout the semester, each student will play the role of advocate, law clerk, and judicial decision-maker and should expect to research and write a motion to dismiss and a bench memorandum (both about a single fact pattern). Students will also learn to reflect on their own writing process, collaborate effectively, and edit their own written work and the work of their colleagues—all critical skills for lawyers to develop early in their careers. 

Class format will vary from week to week. Some classes will be seminar-style discussions, others will simulate courtroom experiences, and others will feature guest speakers. One class session will be dedicated to the clerkship application process and clerkship experience and will feature advocates who have clerked in the state and federal courts. Class participation and attendance will count toward the final grade.

The out-of-class time commitment associated with the class will also vary from week to week.  There will be some light reading for the course, particularly early in the semester, but for the most part students can expect to spend the bulk of out-of-class time actively engaged in research, writing, editing, or argument preparation--all of which may become time-intensive at key junctures of the semester.  

Through this course students can expect to develop their research and writing skills, understand how to approach cases from multiple perspectives, and learn practical strategies for navigating the real-world challenges of litigation and legal workplaces. The instructor(s) will provide individualized feedback on student writing at multiple points during the semester, and the course will integrate opportunities to revise based on that feedback.  By the end of the semester, students can expect to have generated approximately 40 pages of legal writing and produced two substantial writing samples that can be used to apply for judicial clerkships and/or litigation positions. 

Learning Objectives:

• Strengthen legal research, writing, and editing.
• Draft brief and bench memorandum.
• Deliver oral argument.

Over the past decade, the practice of "National Security Law" as its own discipline in private practice has emerged, partially as a response to market demand for assistance with national security-related agencies, regulations, and issues, and partially as a realignment of several different areas of law into one holistic practice that benefits from cross-sectoral and cross-regulatory experience. (The relevant areas of law include government contracting, international trade, data privacy and security, telecommunications, transactional matters involving foreign direct investment, and other related issues.) This class is designed to prepare students to succeed as national security law practitioners by creating opportunities to develop skills relevant to the various stages of relevant matters, including counseling, investigations, administrative advocacy, and litigation. We will simulate the roles of law firm associate, law firm partner, law clerk, and judge through oral presentations and substantial writing projects (which may be used to develop writing samples suitable for applying to clerkships or other roles). Students will also learn to edit their own work and the work of others. Class format will vary week-to-week and include practice simulations, guest speakers, and seminar-style discussions.

Each student will complete three primary assignments:

• A memorandum or similar piece of writing for counseling (~10 pages)
• A motion, brief, or similar piece of advocacy writing (section) (~15 pages)
• Oral presentation related to the second writing assignment (~7 minutes)

Learning Objectives:

• Improve legal writing and research skills through “real world” applications of national security law topics.
• Develop a deeper understanding of the structure and function of legal advice or legal arguments.
• Practice techniques to more effectively edit and critique one’s own writing.
• Produce 1-2 pieces of writing that could be used as writing samples.

This seminar is designed to reinforce and build upon of the legal writing skills introduced in the first year Legal Practice class as well as to ensure mastery and develop efficiencies in terms of the legal writing process and product. The seminar will focus on efficient and effective prewriting techniques; will give students ample opportunity to hone their writing skills and, to a lesser extent, their research skills; will allow students to learn effective rewriting and revising techniques by participating in the commenting process; and will help students develop collaborative working skills.

The course will be run like a law firm, with students performing assignments for a supervising attorney. Over the course of the semester, the students will write at least three significant documents, with smaller interim writing assignments. The assignments will focus primarily on writing for a litigation practice, and may include inter-office memos or email memos, pleadings, briefs, client correspondence and advise letters, case and witness prep documents, and slide decks.  Discussion topics will include litigation strategy, writing techniques, and professional demands and concerns.  Students will have opportunities to work in teams, to strategize and write both individually and collaboratively, and to write as they will be expected to write in practice, including using email correspondence, preparing drafts for colleagues, and ultimately finalizing work product for a client and the court. At least one major assignment will be a collaborative assignment with a classmate. Professor DeLaurentis will guide the in-class discussions and provide individualized comments and grades on each major assignment.

Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) is rapidly transforming the way we make decisions, conduct business, and express ourselves. It is likely to change how our students practice law when they enter the profession.  At a minimum, as young lawyers they need to be familiar with this technology and its impact on the law.  See ABA Model Rule 1.1., Comment 8, which requires lawyers to keep abreast of changes in the law and its practice, including the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology.  In this new course, students will learn the fundamentals of Gen AI, discuss the risks and benefits of using Gen AI for legal writing, be introduced to ethical and legal issues surrounding Gen AI use in lawyering, and engage with tools and techniques for effectively using Gen AI.  The core focus of this course is for students to practice using Gen AI and to develop best practices for using Gen AI in their legal writing.

This three-credit seminar offers an opportunity for J.D. students interested in transactional practice to hone their legal writing, negotiating, and real-world transactional skills in a small workshop environment. Students will review, write and analyze a variety of transactional documents – including full-length contracts, unique contractual provisions, and simulated client correspondence – and will develop individualized goals for improving their writing and transactional skills throughout the semester. While this course will teach drafting, deal-structuring, negotiation, and related skills that are generally applicable for any type of deal or transactional practice, it will focus on intellectual property and technology transactions and will teach those skills through a semester-long simulation based on a fictional startup company. The course will also focus on improving students' abilities to critically assess their own and others' legal writing and to provide helpful feedback to colleagues in a professional setting. Students will receive peer critique during most classes, as well as individualized feedback from the professor on most drafts of documents.

Professor permission is not required. Background in intellectual property or technology is not required.

Participation in the in-class exercises and simulations will be a key component of student evaluation.

Learning Objectives:

My primary goal for the course is to give you real world transactional experience that you can use on day one out of law school. In addition, this course aims to expose you to new and emerging technologies and complex intellectual property licensing constructs, and give you the ability to analyze and negotiate different types of deals from both a legal and business perspective.

This seminar will focus on legal writing as a discipline. It will impart to students both the foundational and advanced tools to excel in all forms of legal writing and communication, from litigation briefs and judicial opinions to office memoranda and corporate documents. Through this seminar, students will gain a leg up in the marketplace, attaining a rare skill applicable to all types of legal positions.

To write and communicate effectively, attorneys must use language in a focused manner and make complicated information clear. This seminar will teach students how to master these skills. Students will learn how to draft both routine and complex legal documents by applying writing principles and techniques based on how readers process information most easily. The seminar will use a case problem with a federal constitutional issue. The first part of the seminar will focus on three overarching principles of the discipline of legal writing. It will involve brief writing assignments centered on each principle, based on the case problem. The second part of the seminar will apply the three principles to drafting and editing various legal documents common to many law practices.

While each assignment will require individual writing, the seminar also will involve significant collaboration among students, primarily through weekly peer review and discussion. The instructor will provide individualized comments on each major assignment and evaluate students based on the assignments and participation.

This three-credit seminar offers an opportunity for J.D. to hone their legal writing skills in a small workshop environment, while learning the skills and strategies of lawyers in practice. Students will represent a client in a simulated case, prepare relevant documents for their client, and discuss and debate relevant strategies. In addition, they will learn and participate in a number of in-class oral presentations related to the representation of the client. Students will build on skills in legal discourse introduced in the first year Legal Practice course, including crafting effective written analysis, understanding and meeting the expectations of the audience and the purpose of the projects, organizing documents to enhance clarity, and developing effective time management strategies. Students will learn to critically assess their own and others’ legal writing and to provide helpful feedback to colleagues in a professional setting. This course is designed as a workshop, with in-class and out-of-class writing and rewriting, in-class oral presentations, peer critique, individualized feedback from the professor, self-critique and reflection, and collaborative work.

This two-credit seminar offers an opportunity for J.D. students to hone their legal writing skills in a small workshop environment, while learning the skills and strategies of lawyers in practice. Students will represent clients in simulated cases, prepare relevant documents for their client, and discuss and debate relevant strategies. In addition, they will learn and participate in a number of in-class oral presentations related to the representation of the client. Students will build on skills in legal discourse introduced in the first year Legal Practice course, including crafting effective written analysis, understanding and meeting the expectations of the audience and the purpose of the projects, organizing documents to enhance clarity, and developing effective time management strategies. Students will learn to critically assess their own and others’ legal writing and to provide helpful feedback to colleagues in a professional setting. This course is designed as a workshop, with in-class and out-of-class writing and rewriting, in-class oral presentations, peer critique, individualized feedback from the professor, self-critique and reflection, and collaborative work.

This three-credit seminar offers an opportunity for J.D. students interested in transactional practice to hone their legal writing skills in a small workshop environment, while learning the basic elements and construct of a written agreement. Students will write or edit a variety of transactional documents – including deal memos, contractual provisions, and correspondence – and will develop individualized goals for improving their writing throughout the semester. Students will build on skills in legal discourse introduced in the first year Legal Practice course, including crafting effective written analysis, recognizing the importance of precise drafting to ensure that the various provisions of contracts fit together in a synchronized way, understanding and meeting the expectations of the audience, organizing documents to enhance clarity, applying those skills to new forms of legal writing, and developing effective time management strategies. It will also focus on improving students’ ability to critically assess their own and others’ legal writing and to provide helpful feedback to colleagues in a professional setting. This course is designed as a writing workshop, with in-class writing and peer critique during most classes and individualized feedback from the professors on most drafts of documents.

Learning Objectives:

Each assignment will have specific goals; some goals will be specified by the professor, and some goals will be specified by the student. Each assignment will be submitted first as a draft and then as a final product, with an opportunity to receive feedback after the draft is submitted. The grade for each assignment will be based upon (1) assessments of how the successful the draft was in accomplishing the goals for the assignment; (2) evaluation of how effective the revisions to the draft document were in addressing the feedback received on the draft; (3) professionalism/polishing/timeliness of the final document.

Students study legal writing from both the writer's and reader's perspectives. Students review documents, analyze scholarship, write criticisms of legal writing, prepare their own texts, and read extensively about the theory of legal composition. Students hold conferences with clients who are currently working on writing projects.

This course is designed to prepare law journal members for the significantly different and, in many instances more challenging, nature of their responsibilities in their second year on journal. Its focus is twofold: to help students develop excellent editing techniques in the context of publication, and to help students master other aspects of second year journal membership, including journal management, timely publication, and author-editor interactions. During the course, students will analyze scholarly writing from the editor’s perspective, covering such topics as article selection, large- and small-scale edits, style judgments, and analytical precision. Studying scholarly papers drafted for publication, students will discuss how to edit them to achieve the best balance among the author’s intent, the readers’ needs, and the journal's production imperatives. Students also will do several assignments focused on particular editing challenges. The class will meet in four three-hour sessions, and attendance will be mandatory in order to receive credit.

Introduction to Scholarly Note Writing assists students in discovering, understanding, experiencing, and successfully completing the scholarly note writing process. Based on a proven five-stage writing process (Thinking, Preparing, Executing, Refining, and Finishing), this course is designed to take students from idea-development to publication. The class meets seven times during the semester at intervals that track the writing process. Class topics include idea brainstorming, topic selection, and thesis development; scholarly research; organization and drafting; and revision, editing, and polishing. Assignments will include readings on relevant topics, interim writing assignments, and contributions to works-in-progress class sessions. At least two of the class meetings are designed as works-in-progress sessions for students to give and receive feedback on students’ scholarly projects. Each class meeting requires students to engage in discussion, both giving and receiving feedback.

Learning Goals:

1.      understand the scholarly writing process and implement it in your own writing

2.     understand the structure and audience expectations of a scholarly paper

3.     develop a workable topic and thesis

4.     understand scholarly research and the resources available to you

5.     complete interim assignments as a way to stay on track with your project and foster peer review and discussion

6.    receive substantive peer review feedback on your work-in-progress

7.     provide substantive peer review feedback on peers’ works-in-progress

8.    understand the publication process

9.    foster a creative and supportive learning environment

This course will reinforce the skills learned in the Legal Practice: Writing and Analysis course. Students will learn how to develop strategies for approaching legal research problems and how to select and use basic legal sources. Topics covered include the legal research process, statutory research, legislative history research, case law research, administrative law research, and secondary sources. This course will focus on practitioner tools and research techniques. At the end of the course, students will have gained valuable knowledge and experience in developing a legal research strategy and selecting and using basic legal sources. This basic course provides limited opportunities for completing extensive research problems. Instead, this course focuses on generally applicable strategies for approaching these types of problems.

Grading will be based on a series of assignments due at the beginning of each class, attendance and class participation, and a take-home exam at the end of the semester.

Whether they are representing couples in transnational adoptions or multinational enterprises in cross-border mergers, legal practitioners increasingly are expected to consult international and foreign legal materials. This course will familiarize students with the best tools for researching international law and the domestic law of jurisdictions outside the U.S., enabling them to approach these tasks with confidence, rather than trepidation. Students will learn how to efficiently locate multilateral and bilateral treaties, decisions issued by international tribunals, documentation produced by the United Nations and other international organizations, as well as legislation and case law from selected foreign jurisdictions, including the European Union. Tools for topical research in specialized fields, such as human rights, international trade, and investor-state arbitration, also will be covered. Students will refine their information-gathering skills through a series of in-class research exercises and take-home quizzes based on real world, practice-oriented scenarios. This course will be especially beneficial for journal editors, students participating in the Jessup International Moot Court competition and other international competitions, and for students interested in pursuing careers in international law or in practicing law outside their home jurisdiction.

This seminar is designed to develop mastery of the legal writing skills initially taught in Legal Research and Writing as employed in a simulated law firm environment. Students will draft a variety of documents based on a single fact pattern, including emails, an inter-office memo, a client letter, and a motion. Students will complete multiple drafts of documents, meet in group conferences and individually with the instructor to discuss certain drafts, and engage in peer editing of classmates' papers with the goal of improving their own writing and editing.

Writing assignments, both inside and outside class, will involve exercises, initial drafts, peer review, and final revisions with students building a portfolio of their work during the course of the semester. Discussion topics will include legal strategy, writing techniques, and professional demands and concerns. Students will have opportunities to work in small groups and in team pairs, to strategize and write individually and collaboratively, and to write in the way they will be expected to write in legal practice, including using email correspondence, preparing drafts for colleagues, editing the work of others and ultimately finalizing work product for a client and a court.