How the Legal Analysis, Research, and Writing Program Benefits You
Our goal is to help you achieve a professional level of writing with well-reasoned logical analysis, incisive research, and clear presentation. You will graduate with at least eight credits in Legal Analysis, Research, and Writing, so you can arrive at your job or internship interview with a portfolio of samples of your work. These will reflect the wide range of writing that lawyers do today—from a fast-turnaround e-mail memo to a fully researched trial brief as well as transactional documents from specialized practice areas that interest you.
Student Experience
Highlights:
- Individualized support to empower you to succeed
- One-on-one constructive meetings with your professors
- Step-by-step coaching from upper-level students in your first year
- Specialized workshops in specific writing areas
- Focused attention to polish skills for your chosen practice area
- Innovative techniques to help master the skills you need
From your first day in law school, you will learn to navigate the hierarchy of legal authority and construct a legal proof. Then, in progressive steps, you will learn to research law and to write increasingly complex documents as you acquire the higher levels of skill that employers demand.
In the classroom, you will find innovative teaching techniques and personal attention. In multiple assignments, your work will receive a close reading that weighs everything from legal reasoning to writing fundamentals and legal citations. You will meet one-on-one with your professor to discuss individual questions and track your progress.
In the spring semester, you will watch lawyers in action when the Second Court of Appeals of Texas hears oral arguments on our campus. You will read the briefs in advance, watch judges ask the tough questions—and then prepare for the excitement of your own oral argument in the classroom.
After the first year of law school, you will choose the practice area in which you want to polish your writing. You can select one or more upper-level writing classes in any of a wide range of legal specialties. Depending on your choice, you will soon be drafting such documents as intellectual property licenses, criminal and civil pleadings, discovery requests, corporate contracts, child custody and property settlement agreements, articles of incorporation, commercial leases, and wills.
The demands will be high, but our program provides support that will empower you to succeed. Excellent upper-level students, working in our proactive Academic Support program, will coach you step-by-step through the demands of the first year. Throughout your time in law school, our Writing Center will offer workshops in specific writing areas as well as individual assistance for your work.
In every course, the learning is practical and hands-on; alumni tell us that they have kept their writing samples as guides to use in their legal practice.
Meet Our Faculty & Staff
Your first-year writing course will be taught by one of our team of full-time professors, dedicated to teaching and writing. These professors bring extensive public- and private-sector experience to the classroom. They hold national positions in the Legal Writing Institute, judge writing competitions, edit legal publications, and teach other attorneys. At the upper level, you will be taught by a full-time professor or a practicing attorney in a specialized area of law.
Full-time Faculty