Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Law Students Blogs -> Nuts & Boalts

Law Students

: Nuts & Boalts

Two Uncreative Ideas

At six weeks into my summer gig, and the beginning of a holiday weekend, today is an opportunity for repose. Unlike the gentleman in the thread below, I have kept the drinking at firm events in check. Unlike my friend [snip], I have kept my hands to myself. So, I dare say things are going well.

Things could, however, be going better. I suppose it is an old saw on this board, but I confess, I'm no different: I wish I had devoted more energy last fall to LRW. Legal research and writing is, in fact, what I do all week. It would be nice to remember how.

I also wish I had made it off the waiting list and into Civil Procedure II. It is embarrassing to know that I am the one person at my firm who understands absolutely nothing about jurisdiction ? a concept that (from what I can gather) must be kind of important.

I have two curricular proposals. They are uncreative, but reasonable.

First, I propose grading in LRW, and teaching it with substantially less hand-holding. That would pull LRW from the back burner and put it on a par with our (arguably) less important classes. Many other law schools grade their writing courses, so the idea is workable. The less-hand-holding part of my proposal may be controversial, but I can see nothing but benefit. Analysis and writing are so inextricably bundled together that, by forcing students to do their own analysis of those LRW fact patterns, and then forcing students write their own analysis out, Boalt will help its students' legal reasoning across the board. I feel it would have helped my legal reasoning across the board, at any rate.

Second, Civil Procedure II should be a mandatory second semester class. I hear it used to be. I wish it still was.* I realize Boalt's admissions brochure scores points with Admits, by advertising that 1L's get to choose an elective or two. Those points do not buy much, however, for rising 2L's like me who cannot fathom the difference between state and federal court. Civil Procedure II. Bring it back, please.

One caveat: I have worked almost entirely on litigation projects this summer. That epxerience might make me overly sensitive to the procedure and writing angles of lawyerly-ness. But I do not think so. No matter what type of work a lawyer (or a "pretend lawyer" / summer associate) does, they must able to write. And they need to understand jurisdiction.

*Was? Were? Both Strunk and White, and Fowler's are silent on this one.

Full post as published by Nuts & Boalts on July 04, 2008 (boomark / email).