LWI One-Day Workshops 2022
Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
Thursday, December 1 – virtual (MST)
Teaching Social Justice and Legal Change in Legal Writing
While legal writing classes often teach students to interpret and apply existing law, we’re interested in conversations about how legal writing faculty engage students with questions of making the law better – more fair, more just. Ideas include but are not limited to activities within traditional legal writing classes; development of advanced courses; collaboration with public interest organizations, pro bono programs, or clinics; incorporating critical perspectives; and any other experiences or ideas you have for engaging students in working toward a better future.
Nova Southeastern University, Shepard Broad College of Law
Friday, December 2 – hybrid (Ft. Lauderdale, FL – EST)
Choose Your Own Adventure: Recharging and Recentering in the LRW Classroom
The COVID-19 pandemic was an unprecedented time in legal education, forcing legal educators to grapple with a sustained sense of uncertainty while facing a multitude of challenges. As a direct result of these challenges, legal educators developed innovative strategies for becoming better teachers who in turn made their students better learners.
We welcome proposals on a variety of topics—ranging from student and faculty well-being to identify formation and universal design—that relate to the overall theme of recharging and recentering in the LRW Classroom. To foster collaboration and inclusion, our program will offer non-presenter participants the option of attending virtually or in person.
Charleston School of Law
Friday, December 9 – in-person (Charleston, SC)
Time to Shine: Legal Skills and the NextGen Bar Exam
The NextGen bar exam will have far-reaching effects on law students and law schools in nearly every jurisdiction in the United States. Its reduced doctrinal coverage, expanded skills coverage, and revised format distinguish the exam from all its predecessors. The NextGen bar exam’s unprecedented emphasis on “Foundational Skills and Associated Lawyering Tasks” puts the spotlight on skills instruction in legal education.
While many of the details surrounding the NextGen Bar exam remain uncertain, one detail looms large: with a July 2026 target administration date, the Fall 2023 incoming class of nearly every law school in the country will sit for this exam. This timeline has law schools taking a hard look at curricula to determine what adjustments should be made to best prepare their students. Some schools will tweak course requirements and assessment practices while others will overhaul the entire curriculum. All are asking questions: How can we make sure our students are adequately prepared for this exam? Where are we already covering these foundational skills? How do we assess these skills? How can we incorporate these skills throughout all courses?
Skills instructors are in a unique position to use our expertise and experience to support curricular reform and to engage doctrinal colleagues in planning and implementing instruction designed to give students the skills needed for success not only on the new bar exam, but in practice as well. Join us as we discuss the critical role that research librarians, legal writing professors, academic success instructors, and other skills faculty members will play in preparing for the new exam. It’s time to shine.
Case Western Reserve University School of Law
Friday, December 9 – virtual (EST)
Preparing Students for the Modern Practice of Law
The practice of law is constantly evolving. From technology like e-discovery, electronic due diligence, and artificial intelligence tools to modes of communicating, it’s safe to say that lawyering today does not look the way it did when many legal writing professors were in practice. How are you preparing students for practicing law today? If you are currently practicing or have recently practiced, what tips can you share with others? If you are a veteran professor, how have you adapted your curriculum to reflect changes in technology and communication? Should the predictive memo still be a mainstay of the 1L curriculum, or should it give way to other types of writing students are more likely to come across in practice? All ideas—big and small—are welcome! We encourage presenters to make their presentations interactive or to save time at the end for questions and brainstorming ideas.
University of Florida Levin College of Law
Saturday, December 10 – in-person (Gainesville, FL)
Know Your Audience: Identifying Law Students’ Educational Needs and Developing Inclusive and Effective Teaching Strategies to Meet Them
In legal writing and drafting courses, we often emphasize that students should know their audience and draft accordingly. It is time for professors to practice what they preach! This workshop will focus on discussing techniques and strategies that help professors identify and address the needs of the diverse student populations that are currently attending law schools. We hope to share research and best practices for addressing the following needs (not an exhaustive list):
1. Different learning styles
2. Learning differences (and the accommodations that can come with them)
3. Non-traditional law students (international students, first-generation students, etc.)
4. Physical and emotional impairments (visual impairment, hearing impairment, etc.)
Seattle University School of Law
Saturday, December 10 – virtual (PST)
Teaching Values in the Legal Writing Classroom
Many legal writing programs teach values as part of their curriculum. These values may include professionalism, cultural competence, self-reflection, anti-racism, the rule of law, or others. We invite proposals that explore assignments, exercises, or other best practices for teaching values in the legal writing classroom.
Fordham Law School
Friday, December 16 – in-person (New York, NY)
Advancing Simulation-Based Pedagogy
Simulations are a vital piece of the experiential-learning triad, but they often go undiscussed in conversations about law school pedagogy. For decades, legal writing classes have been using simulations to teach lawyering skills. Our program hopes to highlight innovative and effective ways to use simulation-based learning to teach a broad range of skills – including research, writing, drafting, interviewing, negotiation, and counseling. We also welcome ideas about how to create simulations that introduce new skills and feedback methodologies, foster professional identity formation, and advance discussions about bias, cross-cultural competency, and racism (ABA Standard 303).
