Requiring Three Years of Real-World Legal Writing Instruction: Law Students Need It; Prospective Employers Want It; The Future of the Legal Profession Demands It

27 Pages Posted: 28 Jan 2014 Last revised: 5 Aug 2014

See all articles by Adam Lamparello

Adam Lamparello

Georgia College and State University; Assistant Professor of Public Law

Charles MacLean

Metropolitan State University School of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice

Date Written: January 1, 2014

Abstract

Part I of this three-part series set forth a blueprint for change. In this essay, we get more specific and propose a three-year legal writing curriculum that is designed to mirror the actual practice of law, from start to finish, and provide alternative paths for students who prefer to focus on transactional drafting or alternative dispute resolution. In so doing, we include: (1) required courses for each of the six semesters of law school; (2) a discussion of the practical skills that students will acquire in each course; (3) electives that students may take to complement their required courses; and (4) suggestions for textbooks and other materials. In our view, law students should not just learn to "think like lawyers," but also to "do what lawyers do." They should graduate with knowledge of how law is practiced, and not merely how it is acquired. This essay continues that quest.

Keywords: Legal writing, legal research, legal education, appellate advocacy, legal education reform

JEL Classification: K40, K10

Suggested Citation

Lamparello, Adam and Lamparello, Adam and MacLean, Charles, Requiring Three Years of Real-World Legal Writing Instruction: Law Students Need It; Prospective Employers Want It; The Future of the Legal Profession Demands It (January 1, 2014). 4 Houston Law Review Off the Record 95 (2014), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2385744 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2385744

Adam Lamparello (Contact Author)

Georgia College and State University ( email )

Milledgeville, GA 31061-0490
United States

Assistant Professor of Public Law ( email )

Charles MacLean

Metropolitan State University School of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice ( email )

700 East Seventh Street
St. Paul, MN 55106
United States

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