Prof. Stafford's research is focused on the application of narrative and rhetorical theory to persuasive legal analysis and argument.
keywords
legal writing, persuasive technique, appellate advocacy, law and socio-economic class, the legal profession, employment and labor law
Teaching
courses taught
LAWS 4075 - Introduction to U.S. Law for Undergraduate Students
Primary Instructor
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Summer 2018 / Summer 2019 / Summer 2021 / Summer 2023
Introduces undergraduate students to the American legal system and to legal reasoning and argumentation via case studies of prominent litigation. Students will learn basic conceptual building blocks of American law, basic lawyering skills and an understanding of how the American legal system structures and resolves complex disputes.
LAWS 5223 - Legal Writing II
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2018 / Spring 2019 / Spring 2020 / Spring 2021 / Spring 2022 / Spring 2023
Students prepare appellate briefs and related documents and deliver oral arguments before a three-judge court composed of faculty, upper-division students, and practicing attorneys. Practice arguments are videotaped and critiqued.
LAWS 5226 - Legal Writing I
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2018 / Fall 2019 / Fall 2020 / Fall 2021 / Fall 2022 / Fall 2024
Provides an intensive introduction to the resources available for legal research. Students also prepare written material of various kinds designed to develop research skills, legal writing style, and analysis of legal problems.
LAWS 6213 - Advanced Appellate Advocacy
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2018
Advanced study and practice of written and oral appellate advocacy. Builds on the first-year advocacy course, but provides more advanced techniques for brief writing, and preparing for and conducting oral argument. Students are required to write an appellate brief and participate in several oral arguments, and receive detailed, one-on-one critiques of work product.
LAWS 6226 - Advanced Legal Writing
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2018 / Spring 2019 / Spring 2020
Builds on skills learned in the first-year legal writing course to improve written legal analysis. Students will complete multiple written assignments and will receive individual feedback on their work. Sections vary significantly depending on the professor; please check the Legal Writing page of the Colorado Law website to read each professor's course description.
LAWS 7418 - Legal Imagination
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2021 / Spring 2022 / Spring 2023 / Fall 2024
Advanced course in reading and writing for law students. Varied literary and other works are read. May be of interest to the student interested in the question: Does my choice to become a lawyer mean the sacrifice of my ambitions to be a serious writer (or person)?
LAWS 9025 - Introduction to U.S. Law For LLM Students
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2018 / Fall 2019 / Fall 2020 / Fall 2021 / Fall 2022 / Fall 2024
Reviews the fundamentals of the U.S. legal system, including an overview of the U.S. Constitution, federalism, the structure and function of courts, sources of legal authority, and common-law methodology.
LAWS 9246 - Intro to U.S. Legal Practice: Legal Writing, Research and Analysis
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2024
Assist LL.M. students develop their legal writing skills as well as teach practical skills needed in the U.S. legal environment including locating cases, statutes and other legal source materials, citing legal authority correctly, and checking the validity of case citations.
