Course Schedule

Introduction to problem-solving through law-practice simulation. Focuses on legal research, writing mechanics, predictive written analysis, and oral presentation of research results.

Introduction to problem-solving through law-practice simulation. Focuses on legal research, writing mechanics, predictive written analysis, and oral presentation of research results.

Introduction to problem-solving through law-practice simulation. Focuses on legal research, writing mechanics, predictive written analysis, and oral presentation of research results.

Introduction to problem-solving through law-practice simulation. Focuses on legal research, writing mechanics, predictive written analysis, and oral presentation of research results.

Introduction to problem-solving through law-practice simulation. Focuses on legal research, writing mechanics, predictive written analysis, and oral presentation of research results.

Introduction to problem-solving through law-practice simulation. Focuses on legal research, writing mechanics, predictive written analysis, and oral presentation of research results.

Introduction to problem-solving through law-practice simulation. Focuses on legal research, writing mechanics, predictive written analysis, and oral presentation of research results.

Introduction to problem-solving through law-practice simulation. Focuses on legal research, writing mechanics, predictive written analysis, and oral presentation of research results.

Introduction to problem-solving through law-practice simulation. Focuses on legal research, writing mechanics, predictive written analysis, and oral presentation of research results.

Introduction to problem-solving through law-practice simulation. Focuses on legal research, writing mechanics, predictive written analysis, and oral presentation of research results.

Introduction to problem-solving through law-practice simulation. Focuses on legal research, writing mechanics, predictive written analysis, and oral presentation of research results.

Introduction to problem-solving through law-practice simulation. Focuses on legal research, writing mechanics, predictive written analysis, and oral presentation of research results.

Legal English is a short course (7-weeks) and is restricted to LL.M. students. The course will cover oral Legal English.

This course will introduce foreign lawyers to the case-law method, the basic tools for conducting legal research, and the basic conventions and expectations for creating professional legal work product. This course focuses on legal document drafting. It does not focus on legal academic works, such as research articles. The multiple research and writing assignments will build on each other, culminating in full-length, formal analytical memorandums that could potentially serve as professional writing samples. The course will assist with the critical-thinking and writing skills that are foundational to American academic endeavors as well as law practice.

This course fulfills the New York Bar Exam requirement Rule 520.6(3)(vi)(b) and Texas Bar Exam requirement under Rule 13 Sec. 9(a)(7)(B). 

Graded pass/fail.

Restricted to LL.M. students who do not have a U.S. J.D. degree.

Prerequisite: Legal Analysis and Communication

This course is restricted to upper division students who have completed the first year, two semester, Legal Analysis and Communication course or who otherwise obtain the permission of the instructors. LLM and Exchange Students interested in taking the course should first contact the instructors to discuss whether their prior coursework includes instruction similar to a first year, two semester, Legal Analysis and Communication course. 

This one credit, pass-fail, seven week course will solidify and build upon legal research skills acquired during the first year of law school. It will focus on the identification and evaluation of relevant primary and secondary sources and efficient information retrieval. Students will learn how to design a research strategy that effectively integrates using online tools with an underlying understanding of traditional print resources.  Students who successfully complete this course will gain a thorough understanding of the use of legal information and research resources in diverse contexts. Emphasis will be placed on U.S. federal sources, but Texas materials will be referenced in the course, and will serve as a model for research in the legal materials of other states. 

Students will be required to complete both in- and out-of-class exercises throughout the course, but there is no final examination.

This one hour, pass-fail course focuses on research resources used in business and commercial practice. The emphasis of the course is on identifying sources and efficiently undertaking corporate, securities, and general business and commercial law research. It is not a class on the substantive aspects of corporate and securities law except as those aspects relate to the finding and interpretation of legal materials. Students will be be evaluated on take-home and in-class research assignments.

The sources and methods of research in foreign and international law are largely excluded from the first year training in legal research. Yet, both international law and the law of foreign countries are today of ever-increasing significance to American lawyers. The purpose of the course is to introduce the information sources in these fields and the ways of doing research in them, tailored to the needs of American law students and lawyers. Areas covered include: public international law, including treaty research; documentation of international organizations, including the UN and the European Union, particularly as available on the WWW; the law of other countries, with the emphasis on jurisdictions that American lawyers are likely to encounter, e.g., Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany; selected topics with an international component, e.g., commercial arbitration, intellectual property, international litigation. The grade is based on the completion of research exercises. There is no exam. This is a one-credit, mandatory Credit/No Credit course. It is taught during the first seven weeks of the semester. Prerequisite: A law school course with an international or comparative focus, which may be taken simultaneously. Familiarity with online legal research, including Westlaw, Lexis, and WWW.

This seven-week course will focus on the resources and methodology used in performing legal research in Texas. Through a series of lectures and assignments students will become familiar with the various types of legal research, including statutory law, case law, administrative regulations, and secondary practice materials. The course is offered on a Pass/Fail basis. Students are required to complete in-class and out-of-class exercises throughout the course, but there is no final exam.

Advanced Legal Writing: Analysis and Process covers legal analysis, organization, clarity of expression, and writing mechanics, as well as managing research-and-writing projects. A key focus is on producing professional written work on the job.

Advanced Legal Writing: Appeals offers instruction in advanced written advocacy techniques tailored to the appellate context. The course will build on the foundations established in Persuasive Writing & Advocacy, honing students' brief-writing skills while familiarizing them with each step in the appellate process. Lectures and readings will address common challenges and errors in appellate advocacy, and a series of short exercises will help students put into practice the strategies discussed in class. Students will learn, among other skills, how to synthesize complex facts into clear, persuasive prose; how to precisely and strategically frame issues on appeal; how to analogize and distinguish case law; and how to structure a brief for maximal clarity and strength. The course also includes a research component with particular focus on common issues in appellate practice, such as standards of review, hierarchy among courts, and doctrines of deference and abstention. Individualized feedback will be provided for each assignment, enabling students to confidently construct the full-length brief that will comprise their final grade.

Advanced Legal Writing: Litigation is a two-credit, pass-fail course. The course covers documents typically drafted during litigation, including pleadings, discovery requests, motions, and letters. Students will draft a variety of litigation documents and will critique documents drafted by others.  

Legal Writing, Advanced: Litigation is a two-credit, pass-fail course. The course covers documents typically drafted during litigation, including pleadings, discovery requests, motions, and letters. Students will draft a variety of litigation documents and critique documents drafted by others.  Students will also make presentations and engage in in-class discussions and exercises.  Attendance is required.

This course will develop the writing skills you will use in litigation, with a focus on the kinds of clients, cases, and forums you will encounter in a public interest practice. You will learn how to write better pleadings, motions, and briefs—and also letters, emails, and settlement agreements. You will learn how to write for judges, opposing lawyers, administrative officials, and clients who are not in-house counsel. You will improve not only your writing style, but also your strategic judgment.

You will have weekly writing assignments of varying intensity. You will edit your peers’ work, which will make you a more empathetic writer and a better self-editor. The course will prepare you for the pace and expectations of real-life practice.

This two-credit class meets once a week. There are no exams. Grading is pass/fail.

This course focuses on analytical legal writing. Students will practice the skills of writing and critiquing written legal analysis and will receive instructor feedback on their writing and critiquing. Two credits, pass-fail. Enrollment is restricted to Teaching Quizmasters.

The course focuses on the structure and style of contracts and agreements with a focus on modern drafting conventions. Students will practice revising and drafting various kinds of transactional documents.