Mastering the fundamentals
Good lawyers know the law. Great lawyers know the law and how to put it to work for their clients and employers. Our eight full-time faculty teach legal writing in collaboration with ten experienced law practitioners from around the country, cultivating skills foundational to both understanding the law and representing clients effectively and responsibly.
Mitchell Hamline requires two first-year legal writing courses. In Legal Analysis, Research, and Communication (LARC) I, taken during the first semester, students learn to identify legal issues in a fact pattern, perform legal research, analyze statutes and cases, predict the probable outcome of a legal dispute, and communicate their legal analysis orally and in writing. In LARC II, taken during the second semester, students refine their research skills, learn the fundamentals of oral and written advocacy, and deepen their ability to communicate with diverse audiences. During both semesters, faculty provide frequent oral and written feedback and multiple opportunities for individual and team conferences.
Presenting ALWD Distinguished Speaker Sha-Shana N.L. Crichton
The Legal Writing Program is excited to host Professor Sha-Shana Crichton as part of the Association of Legal Writing Director’s Distinguished Speakers Series. Professor Crichton will lead Mitchell Hamline faculty and students in workshops on designing inclusive learning experiences, social justice and law school, and legal writing scholarship.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11
Designing Safe, Inclusive, and Race-conscious Learning Experiences
1 pm | Room 219 | Faculty
Law School and Social Justice
6 pm | Room 219 | Students
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12
Supporting Legal Writing Scholarship Across the Curriculum
10 am | Room 219 | Faculty
Scholarship for Change
2 pm | Room 219 | Students
Sha-Shana Crichton is an Assistant Professor of Lawyering Skills and director of the legal writing program at Howard University School of Law. She also started and oversees Howard Law’s Writing Center and serves as associate director of the Master of Laws program. Professor Crichton is an elected member of the Board of Directors for the Association of Legal Writing Directors (ALWD) where she also serves on the Executive Committee and as board liaison to the Leadership and Development Committee. She served previously as chair and co-chair of the Legal Writing Institute’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
This program is made possible by support from the Association of Legal Writing Directors through a grant to support the Distinguished Speakers Series Grant Program.