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APPLIED LEGAL ANALYSIS PT I (STATE AND FEDERAL PRACTICE - 3070)
3 credits
The course is a two-semester, four-credit course designed to prepare JD students for the Multistate Bar Exam ("MBE") and the Multistate Performance Test ("MPT"). The course will prepare students for the MBE by providing a comprehensive review of the six multistate subjects tested on the MBE and by developing the close reading and analytical skills necessary to perform well on the exam. The course will prepare students for the MPT by familiarizing them with the documents and skills typically tested on the MPT and by teaching them how to draft a well-organized, clear document in a ninety-minute time frame. Course enrollment would be required for, and limited to, those JD students identified by the administration as those who would benefit most from the course. The course is not designed to provide comprehensive preparation for the bar exam and is not a substitute for a bar review course.
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APPLIED LEGAL ANALYSIS PT. 2 (STATE AND FEDERAL PRACTICE - 3080)
3 credits
The course is a two-semester, four-credit course designed to prepare JD students for the Multistate Bar Exam ("MBE") and the Multistate Performance Test ("MPT"). The course will prepare students for the MBE by providing a comprehensive review of the six multistate subjects tested on the MBE and by developing the close reading and analytical skills necessary to perform well on the exam. The course will prepare students for the MPT by familiarizing them with the documents and skills typically tested on the MPT and by teaching them how to draft a well-organized, clear document in a ninety-minute time frame. Courase enrollment would be required for, and limited to, those JD students identified by the administration as those who would benefit most from the course. The course is not designed to provide comprehensive preparation for the bar exam and is not a substitute for a bar review course.
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CIVIL PROCEDURE (CIVIL PROCEDURE - 1000)
4 credits
This first year course is concerned with the statutory and judicially established procedures governing the conduct of civil litigation in the courts, with an emphasis on the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The course examines in depth principles of jurisdiction, conflict of laws, pleadings, joinder of parties (including class actions), motions, summary judgment, discovery and the doctrine of preclusion. Grades are based upon a final examination.
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INTRO BANK PRACT:CASE ANALYSIS (BANKRUPTCY LAW - 5010)
2 credits
This course, open to second-year day or third-year evening staff members of the ABI Law Review, simulates the working environment of a law firm bankruptcy practice group. Students assume the role of entry-level associates who conduct time-sensitive research and writing assignments on cutting-edge bankruptcy issues. After completing a series of preliminary research and writing assignments under the supervision of the instructor, who will provide feedback and suggestions for revision, students will submit a professional-quality work product to an electronic forum. Each student will monitor the discussion of his or her posting, and update it as necessary. Drawing on the insights offered by bankruptcy practitioners through discussion on the forum, students will thoroughly research the subject of their assigned issue and prepare a first and final draft of a comprehensive office memorandum. The memorandum will be reviewed by both ABI Law Review student editors and the instructor. Their feedback will guide students through the revision process. Evaluation will be based on the quality of the research and writing, as well as participation in writing workshops conducted during the semester. Students using this course to satisfy the Advanced Practice Writing Requirement may not use a paper on the same subject to satisfy the Advanced Scholarly Writing Requirement.
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LEGAL WRITING - ADVANCED (ADVOCACY AND LEGAL SKILLS - 4090)
2 credits
This course is intended to develop students' ability to write clear, concise, well organized legal prose, to closely read and cull relevant information from source materials (such as case files), and to evaluate and edit their own and others' writing. In addition to required readings, there are numerous writing assignments: weekly ones of about two pages, plus a midterm of about six pages and final of about twelve. Weekly assignments cover a variety of legal documents, including pleadings, contract provisions, office memoranda, briefs, and law review articles. Typically, both the midterm and final assignments are memos from an associate to a partner assessing the strengths and weaknesses of a case based on a review of the file in a civil or criminal matter. The final grade is based on class participation, the written weekly assignments, the midterm assignment, and the final assignment. Graded assignments are judged by various criteria, including clarity of thought, word usage, sentence structure, organization, conciseness, spelling, punctuation and style.
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LEGAL WRITING II (LEGAL RESEARCH AND WRITING - 1010)
2 credits
The second course in a two-semester sequence, this course further develops students' writing, analytical, and research skills. The course focuses primarily on persuasive legal writing but may include a further predictive writing assignment. It also introduces students to oral advocacy. Students prepare several open-universe writing assignments and rewrite at least one persuasive writing assignment based on the professor's feedback. Students also conduct an oral argument. Grades are based primarily on writing assignments.
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U.S. LEGAL ANALYSIS WRITING I (US LEGL STUDIES FOREIGN LW GRD - 1010)
2 credits
The first course in a two-semester sequence, this course introduces LL.M. students to the idioms and forms of U.S. legal writing. An emphasis will be placed on predictive writing. Grades will be based upon periodic assignments and a re-write of those assignments.
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US LEGL ANALYSIS,WRITING & RES (US LEGL STUDIES FOREIGN LW GRD - 1030)
3 credits
The second course in a two-semester sequence, this course provides students with a comprehensive introduction to manual and electronic legal research and further develops their writing and analytical skills, focusing primarily on persuasive legal writing. Students will be introduced both to core research materials, such as case reports and annotated codes, and to more sophisticated techniques, such as using federal and state administrative materials, legislative histories, on-line research, law review articles, and legal databases. Grades are based primarily on periodic writing and research assignments.