EMORY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW

The Legal Writing, Research & Advocacy Program at the Emory University School of Law is recognized as an essential part of the skills curriculum. Emory’s LWRA Program comprises two semesters and four credit hours covering the fundamental principles and methods of legal writing, research and advocacy. In the fall semester, students are guided through every step of writing an office memorandum. After receiving written comments on each component of the memo, they produce two complete memoranda on progressively more difficult topics. They receive comprehensive written feedback and meet one-on-one with their instructor before rewriting the second memo for the final grade. Students begin the second semester by working in teams to write a letter to a client about a business-based problem. They also hone their research skills and learn to write persuasively by researching and drafting a brief to a court of appeals. Students then practice their oral argument, receive feedback from their peers and instructor, and get a videotape of their practice. They deliver their final graded argument before a panel of judges composed of professors, lawyers and upper-level students. Each of the six instructors teaches the same group of roughly three dozen students throughout the students’ first year. Teachers work with individual students and student groups during extensive office hours. Emory students also have multiple one-on-one conferences with their instructors and receive frequent, individualized, written critiques of their writing.

The LWRA teachers are experienced attorneys who practiced in the corporate, civil litigation, criminal defense and public interest arenas. In addition to bringing this practical experience to the classroom, instructors use innovative teaching techniques based on active learning. They hold creative sessions that make use of the latest classroom technologies, and class meetings usually incorporate lectures, individual exercises and collaborative work in small groups. LWRA teachers also know that each individual student learns best in his or her own unique way; they design class meetings to present learning opportunities that fit varying learning styles. Several instructors are certified as “Master Teachers” through the Emory University Advisory Council on Teaching. Each LWRA instructor has a professional development fund for travel to conferences and seminars; each also receives a summer stipend for curriculum development and generous funding for research assistants. LWRA teachers serve and vote on faculty committees and receive annual contracts renewable for an unlimited number of years. Combining their practice experience with a commitment to teaching, Emory’s LWRA Program instructors prepare students for the real world of law practice.

E-mail address of person who can answer questions: arector@law.emory.edu

Web page with more information: at http://www.law.emory.edu, click on "Faculty Profiles" to find biographies for each faculty member: Lesley Carroll, Karen Cooper, Nancy Daspit, Beth Edmondson, Anne Rector (program director), Jennifer Romig, Julie Schwartz.