Northern Illinois University College of Law

The Northern Illinois University College of Law requires its first-year students to successfully complete two, two-credit semesters of legal writing, Legal Writing and Advocacy I and II. The NIU-COL legal writing program strives to teach its writing students to analyze facts, frame legal issues and synthesize diverse sources of law to arrive at simple or complex rules and to draft and revise their legal analyses using solid organizational techniques and making rule, analogy and policy arguments. During the first semester, students focus on objective writing, completing two closed-universe memo assignments, one open-research memo assignment and a final examination modeled after the Multistate Performance Test. The two closed-universe memo assignments are rewritten. In this first semester, students are also introduced to lawyering skills such as interviewing, counseling, and client-letter writing. During the second semester, students focus on advocacy. Assignments include drafting and arguing a motion and researching, writing, and rewriting an appellate brief. The semester concludes with two rounds of oral arguments, one practice round and a final graded round in front of local attorneys and judges. Throughout the year, students are encouraged to consider their assignments in the context of the rules of professional responsibility. In addition to the legal writing course, students are required to complete two, one-credit semesters of Legal Research. The legal research classes are taught by the college of law reference librarians, all of whom have law degrees. The legal writing instructors and the librarians work together to coordinate research and writing assignments.

NIU-COL employs three full-time, professional legal writing instructors in a directorless program. The instructors coordinate due dates but are individually responsible for designing their course content. Each instructor teaches between 35-40 first-year students each semester. The small class size allows for significant time for individual student conferences and feedback. As a result, the writing instructors, as the coordinators of the Academic Support Program, have a unique opportunity to work closely with the ASP students to ensure their ultimate success in law school. This commitment to success begins with the NIU-COL legal writing instructors’ administration of a week-long academic orientation for first-year students. It continues with the school’s summer bar skills review seminar, emphasizing essay writing and success on the MPT, and also administered by the legal writing instructors. In addition to teaching responsibilities, each instructor also serves on two faculty committees.

For more information about the NIU-COL writing program contact:
Jeanna L. Hunter at jeannh@niu.edu
Elsa M. Miller at elsamiller@niu.edu
Meredith A. Geller at mgeller@niu.edu