Washburn
Washburn's Legal Analysis, Research and Writing program is taught exclusively by full-time, tenure-track professors led by a tenure-track director. The required program includes six graded credit hours during the first year. An upper-level writing requirement, first adopted in 1986, is currently under revision to reflect the ABA's evolving definition of "rigorous writing experience." The program also offers several upper-level research and writing electives as well as opportunities to collaborate with professors in writing amicus briefs to the Kansas appellate courts.
As part of Washburn's First Week program, incoming law students' baseline writing skills are measured using a standardized, norm-referenced assessment. The first-semester legal writing course introduces fundamental legal thought and the art of lawyering,including legal process, legal reasoning, case analysis and synthesis, legal research, and objective legal writing. Students receive extensive written feedback on a closed-universe office memo and an open- universe office memo. Professors provide extensive written feedback on at least one draft, and they conduct mandatory individual conferences with each student to discuss the graded draft. After students revise and resubmit the drafts, professors provide comprehensive written feedback on the final memos.
The second semester primarily focuses on statutory construction, legislative research, and legal advocacy through persuasive legal writing. Students receive comprehensive written and oral feedback on a client letter or demand letter, a pretrial motion, and an appellatebrief. Students are required to revise and resubmit the appellate brief in final form. At the end of the semester, all students participate in an ungraded moot court argument. Washburn's award-winning Moot Court Team recently took first place in the Evans Constitutional Law Tournament, both for best oral argument and best appellate brief. Washburn regularly partners with the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Kansas Court of Appeals by hosting oral arguments each semester in the law school's state-of-the-art Robinson Courtroom. Legal writing students prepare to attend oral arguments by reading the appellate briefs in advance. The law school also sponsors panel presentationswith visiting appellate judges to give students a first-hand account of effective appellate advocacy. In March 2007, Washburn's Center for Excellence in Advocacy will host a symposium titled "The Art of Advocacy: Writing to Win," in conjunction with oral arguments and panel presentations by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.Washburn's legal writing program recently adopted the ALWD citation manual for teaching citation skills in all first-year sections. Every student must demonstrate satisfactory mastery of citation skills each semester on a comprehensive, in-class citation exam. Each professor has a full-time teaching load of two sections per semester and a total of 40-45 students. The law school funds a teaching assistant for each section of 20-23 students. Legal writing professors are eligible for professional development support and research assistance, including summer stipends, to the same extent as all other faculty members.
Our upper-level legal research and writing electives continue to expand. Current options include Writing for Law Practice, Transactional Drafting, Advanced Appellate advocacy, and Advanced Criminal Appellate Advocacy. Washburn has offered Advanced LegalResearch as an elective for many years. Students may elect to take other kinds of advanced legal writing courses by enrolling in Clinical Pretrial Advocacy and several doctrinal seminar electives.Washburn recently adopted the ALWD citation manual for all first-year sections. Each semester, every student must demonstrate satisfactory mastery of citation skills on a comprehensive in-class citation exam.
The Washburn Law Library pioneered Washlaw, one of the most well-known internet portals designed specifically for legal research. Our first-rate law library supports the legal writing program in countless ways, including assistance with research instruction, electronic legal research training, audiovisual and digital media services, and othertechnical support. With the assistance of Washburn Law Library's technical support team, our program recently began hosting DIRCON, the listserv for the Association of Legal Writing Directors (ALWD).Full-time legal writing faculty are continuously engaged in scholarly activities and continuing legal education presentations. Our faculty are actively involved in national legal writing organizations including LWI, ALWD, AALS, and SCRIBES.
For more information, please contact:
Lyn Goering, lyn.goering@washburn.edu
Jeff Jackson, jeffrey.jackson@washburn.edu
Aida Alaka, aida.alaka@washburn.edu
Tonya Kowalski, tony.kowalski@washburn.edu
Andrew Evans, andrew.evans@washburn.edu
As part of Washburn's First Week program, incoming law students' baseline writing skills are measured using a standardized, norm-referenced assessment. The first-semester legal writing course introduces fundamental legal thought and the art of lawyering,including legal process, legal reasoning, case analysis and synthesis, legal research, and objective legal writing. Students receive extensive written feedback on a closed-universe office memo and an open- universe office memo. Professors provide extensive written feedback on at least one draft, and they conduct mandatory individual conferences with each student to discuss the graded draft. After students revise and resubmit the drafts, professors provide comprehensive written feedback on the final memos.
The second semester primarily focuses on statutory construction, legislative research, and legal advocacy through persuasive legal writing. Students receive comprehensive written and oral feedback on a client letter or demand letter, a pretrial motion, and an appellatebrief. Students are required to revise and resubmit the appellate brief in final form. At the end of the semester, all students participate in an ungraded moot court argument. Washburn's award-winning Moot Court Team recently took first place in the Evans Constitutional Law Tournament, both for best oral argument and best appellate brief. Washburn regularly partners with the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Kansas Court of Appeals by hosting oral arguments each semester in the law school's state-of-the-art Robinson Courtroom. Legal writing students prepare to attend oral arguments by reading the appellate briefs in advance. The law school also sponsors panel presentationswith visiting appellate judges to give students a first-hand account of effective appellate advocacy. In March 2007, Washburn's Center for Excellence in Advocacy will host a symposium titled "The Art of Advocacy: Writing to Win," in conjunction with oral arguments and panel presentations by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.Washburn's legal writing program recently adopted the ALWD citation manual for teaching citation skills in all first-year sections. Every student must demonstrate satisfactory mastery of citation skills each semester on a comprehensive, in-class citation exam. Each professor has a full-time teaching load of two sections per semester and a total of 40-45 students. The law school funds a teaching assistant for each section of 20-23 students. Legal writing professors are eligible for professional development support and research assistance, including summer stipends, to the same extent as all other faculty members.
Our upper-level legal research and writing electives continue to expand. Current options include Writing for Law Practice, Transactional Drafting, Advanced Appellate advocacy, and Advanced Criminal Appellate Advocacy. Washburn has offered Advanced LegalResearch as an elective for many years. Students may elect to take other kinds of advanced legal writing courses by enrolling in Clinical Pretrial Advocacy and several doctrinal seminar electives.Washburn recently adopted the ALWD citation manual for all first-year sections. Each semester, every student must demonstrate satisfactory mastery of citation skills on a comprehensive in-class citation exam.
The Washburn Law Library pioneered Washlaw, one of the most well-known internet portals designed specifically for legal research. Our first-rate law library supports the legal writing program in countless ways, including assistance with research instruction, electronic legal research training, audiovisual and digital media services, and othertechnical support. With the assistance of Washburn Law Library's technical support team, our program recently began hosting DIRCON, the listserv for the Association of Legal Writing Directors (ALWD).Full-time legal writing faculty are continuously engaged in scholarly activities and continuing legal education presentations. Our faculty are actively involved in national legal writing organizations including LWI, ALWD, AALS, and SCRIBES.
For more information, please contact:
Lyn Goering, lyn.goering@washburn.edu
Jeff Jackson, jeffrey.jackson@washburn.edu
Aida Alaka, aida.alaka@washburn.edu
Tonya Kowalski, tony.kowalski@washburn.edu
Andrew Evans, andrew.evans@washburn.edu
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