Law Preview - Legal Research & Writing

Most schools offer a Legal Research & Writing ("LR&W") or Lawyering Skills class during the first year. These classes give practical instruction in researching legal issues, persuasive writing and oral argument, and analyzing and synthesizing legal authority. Students typically write at least one full-length trial and/or appellate brief, and will frequently participate in an oral argument before a mock panel of judges. Many law schools make this simulated argument more realistic by asking alumni who are now attorneys and judges to come back to sit on the judicial panels.

The skills learned in LR&W are transcendent, becoming instrumental in taking successful exams and, eventually, when practicing law. Although LR&W is typically a full-year class worth only two or three credits, students often find the written assignments to be even more time-consuming and stressful than their other, more heavily weighted, substantive classes like Contracts or Torts.