A Global Approach to Legal Writing and Legal Research: An Evolutionary Process

Drexel Law Review, Vol. 5, Forthcoming

Villanova Law/Public Policy Research Paper No. 2013-3032

37 Pages Posted: 30 Apr 2013 Last revised: 28 May 2013

See all articles by Diane Edelman

Diane Edelman

Villanova University - Charles Widger School of Law

Date Written: April 1, 2013

Abstract

Thirty-some years ago, American law schools reserved the study of international law for upper-level students, keeping the first year of law school focused on the traditional doctrinal subjects of torts, contracts, property, civil procedure, criminal law, and, perhaps, criminal procedure and constitutional law. Similarly, legal writing and legal research, both fledgling fields, dealt primary with instruction in customarily domestic strategies – American statutory and common law research, preparation of legal memoranda advising clients or senior attorneys about domestic law issues, and preparation of legal briefs set in real or fictional state and federal courts. A handful of law schools introduced international law concepts in legal research and legal writing courses, but generally, international law and related subjects were considered material for "substantive", and not skills, courses.

Skip ahead to the present. Once following similar approaches to the first-year curriculum, law schools have begun to experiment – to offer electives to first-year students (often including international law courses), to add a greater variety of skills courses, and the like. The number of legal writing courses and legal research courses that offer assignments that deal with international law – either as applied by U.S. courts or courts abroad – has increased greatly. Moreover, legal writing and legal research professors have branched out internationally in many ways, including developing courses and programs for international students, and guiding our colleagues abroad in developing their own legal research and writing programs.

This article will focus on this evolution in legal skills teaching and its implications for the future, including the place of legal skills teaching in the broader area of globalizing legal education.

Keywords: Legal Writing, Legal Analysis, Legal Research, Legal Communication, International Law in State Courts, International Law in Federal Courts, Globalizing Legal Education, Internationalizing Legal Education

Suggested Citation

Edelman, Diane, A Global Approach to Legal Writing and Legal Research: An Evolutionary Process (April 1, 2013). Drexel Law Review, Vol. 5, Forthcoming, Villanova Law/Public Policy Research Paper No. 2013-3032, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2258093 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2258093

Diane Edelman (Contact Author)

Villanova University - Charles Widger School of Law ( email )

299 N. Spring Mill Road
Villanova, PA 19085
United States

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