Derek Kiernan-Johnson studies the ethics of using narrative and visual rhetoric in legal persuasion and how judges make decisions and express them in writing.
LAWS 5223 - Legal Writing II
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2018 / Spring 2019 / Spring 2020 / Spring 2021 / Spring 2022 / Spring 2023 / Spring 2024
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 2023 / 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 6236 - Judicial Opinion Writing
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2018 / Spring 2019 / Spring 2020 / Spring 2021 / Spring 2022 / Spring 2023 / Spring 2024
Considers the contemporary American judicial opinion in historical and comparative context. Examines institutional constraints and emerging challenges to judicial decision-making. Analyzes individual opinion authors� writing styles. Builds upon the first-year legal-writing curriculum. Challenges students to develop a personal style and approach to writing and editing opinions.
