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Legal Writing Tips Thurgood Marshall School of Law
Texas Southern University
Legal Writing Tips is a weekly on-line newsletter about legal writing that is designed to help law students develop a professional legal voice by offering helpful points about grammar, syntax, rhetoric, punctuation, and style; discussing research about legal writing; and making information available about legal writing resources.
Some Helpful Texts for Law Students: Writing a Legal Memo and Pass the Bar!
Writing a Legal Memo by Professor John Bronsteen In May 2006, Foundation Press is publishing Writing a Legal Memo by Professor John Bronsteen, from Loyola University Chicago, School of Law. Writing a Legal Memo is a concise book that is written to be user friendly. Its goal is to make it easy for students to learn and remember the basic elements of writing a good legal memo. Whereas other books aim to be comprehensive in teaching the many skills a lawyer might need, Writing a Legal Memo focuses only on one type of assignment that many students and lawyers are given: "Find the answer to this particular legal question, and write a memo explaining that answer." Published in paperback, Writing a Legal Memo walks the reader through each step of completing such an assignment by giving highly specific instructions and explanations. The book takes the mystery out of memo writing and can be used as a reference by students and practicing lawyers. The book does what it teaches students to do in their writing, i.e., makes it easy for the reader to understand and implement the author's suggestions. A graduate of Harvard (A.B.) and Yale (J.D.), Professor John Bronsteen clerked for the Hon. Douglas Ginsberg in D.C. during 2001-2002. Afterwards, Professor Bronsteen was a Bigelow Fellow at the University of Chicago from 2003-2005. Since 2005, Professor Bronsteen has taught at Loyola University Chicago, School of Law, where he teaches Class Actions, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, and Evidence.
Volume 1, Issue 19
March 27, 2006
A weekly on-line newsletter about legal
writing to help law students develop a
professional legal voice
EDITORS Aiesha Dennis, 2L
Shalonda Lewter, 3L Be’Atrice McFarland, 3L Donna Kay Simons, 2L
ADVISOR
Professor Anthony Palasota
PUBLISHER Center for Legal
Pedagogy
For more information about the Center or to make submissions to Legal Writing Tips, contact Professor Palasota in Room 235 of the law school or by e-mail at [email protected] or by telephone at 713-313-1022.
Legal Writing Tips Thurgood Marshall School of Law
Texas Southern University
Pass the Bar! by Professor Riebe and Professor Schwartz Professor Denise Riebe from Duke University School of Law and Professor Michael Schwartz from Western State University College of Law have written a timely book – Pass the Bar! – in order to help students prepare for the bar. Riebe and Schwartz wrote their book because “[t]he bar exam is firmly entrenched as the gateway to the legal profession … despite criticisms and proposals for alternatives, the bar exam is a reality our students must face to become licensed professionals. During the past couple of decades, there has been a trend of increasing the scores required to pass bar exams and a resulting decrease in bar passage rates. The impact on our students is substantial: career opportunities, financial stability, a sense of professional achievement, and personal well being are all at stake.” Published by Carolina Press, Pass the Bar! has been specially designed to help students achieve bar exam success. Riebe and Schwartz believe that most bar exam failures are preventable and the result of curable problems (such as insufficient planning, inappropriate study strategies, insufficient persistence, and insufficient practice and feedback) rather than lack of ability. Pass the Bar! is intended to help students understand the bar review and bar exam processes, develop realistic expectations, and create individualized plans for success. The book provides many checklists, exercises, studying tips, and practice questions and answers. In doing so, Pass the Bar! reduces what might otherwise be an overwhelming sea of information into user-friendly knowledge and advice. Pass the Bar! is written in a student-friendly, straightforward, and practical manner so that it is equally valuable as a self-instructional guide and a small-group resource. Professor Denise Riebe from Duke University School of Law is a graduate of Wake Forrest. She teaches Legal Writing, Appellate Practice, and Mediation. Professor Michael Schwartz from Western State University College of Law is a graduate of Berkeley and California Hastings. He teaches Contracts, Insurance Law, and Remedies.
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Your thoughts about these writing tips are welcomed. Please feel free to respond by email to the editors by sending an email to Professor Palasota: [email protected]
