10110105Legal Writing
Course Information
Description
Students gain practical skills required for legal writing and analysis.
Total Credits
3
Prior Learning Assessment
  • Experiential-Portfolio
Course Competencies
  1. Utilize proper, industry-recognized structure, wording, grammar, punctuation, and citation in all written work product
    Assessment Strategies
    Written product and team projects
    Criteria
    Work product is written using the appropriate structure specified by the instructor
    Work product shows evidence of professional level of accuracy in grammar, spelling and punctuation
    Work product includes bias-free wording
    Work product accurately cites to primary and/or secondary sources of law in accordance with Harvard Bluebook’s Uniform System of Citation

  2. Analyze a range of common legal documents/professional written work product
    Assessment Strategies
    Team projects
    Criteria
    Identify a range of legal documents’ primary audience, purpose, tone, and content/scope
    Select appropriate document that is the best fit to accomplish clients’ goals
    Analysis/Work is conducted in a team environment to ensure accountability and full compliance with client confidentiality and other applicable ethical standards

  3. Critique/edit common legal documents
    Assessment Strategies
    Team projects
    Criteria
    Critiques/edits improve the overall clarity, conciseness, completeness and accuracy of original draft documents provided
    Critiques/edits account for bias-free wording alternatives
    Critiques/edits demonstrate logical application of professional discretion to appropriately address necessary substantive changes vs. optional stylistic edits to original source material
    Critiques/edits are completed in a time-sensitive team environment that parallels a real-world law office setting

  4. Analyze the meaning and applicability of case law and other primary and secondary sources of law
    Assessment Strategies
    Written product and team projects
    Criteria
    Analysis assists in resolving clients’ legal problems
    Analysis demonstrates a professional level of understanding of what body of law governs/applies to particular fact patterns
    Analysis logically and accurately applies governing law to specific facts, expressing a likely outcome

  5. Organize all professional writing into an analytical form
    Assessment Strategies
    Written product and team projects
    Criteria
    Document organization enables a quick/clear understanding of the client’s legal problem and its proposed resolution
    Document organization logically flows from section to section ensuring that all elements of the legal problem(s) are fully addressed
    Document organization is concise, eliminating all unnecessary words
    Document organization is focused, avoiding ancillary subject matter

  6. Recognize vital ethical questions linked to various types of legal correspondence, memoranda, and externally-filed documents
    Assessment Strategies
    Written product and team projects
    Criteria
    Work product/documents fully comply with all applicable rules of professional conduct
    Work product/documents resulted from a strategic process designed to ensure full compliance with all applicable rules of professional conduct
    Discuss/develop strategies to ensure accountability and remedy mistakes relating to any lapse in compliance with rules of professional conduct

  7. Compose internally-used legal documents
    Assessment Strategies
    Written product and team projects
    Criteria
    Work product/documents are clear, concise, complete and accurate
    Work product/documents fully comply with applicable rules of professional conduct
    Work product/documents assist the office legal team to properly diagnose / address / resolve clients’ legal problems

  8. Compose legal documents for filing with the court
    Assessment Strategies
    Written product and team projects
    Criteria
    Work product/documents are clear, concise, complete and accurate
    Work product/documents fully comply with applicable rules of professional conduct
    Work product/documents appropriately advocate on clients’ behalf with goal of persuading the court to resolve disputed questions of law, or fact, or both, in favor of our clients

  9. Analyze the role of inequalities and underrepresentation during the jury selection process
    Assessment Strategies
    Written product
    Criteria
    Describe U.S. Supreme Court and Wisconsin Supreme Court case law precedent related to bias in the jury selection process
    You meet minimum requirements for case law quizzes connected to each case
    Case brief concerning the most recent U.S. Supreme Court jury selection case: Flowers v. Mississippi 588 U.S. ___ (2019) is written to instructor specifications and/or rubric