The fall semester introduces the skills necessary to plan, research, organize and write legal analysis. Students develop and practice these skills through short written assignments that target the discrete aspects of writing a legal analysis. Students end the semester by drafting a full office memorandum to a hypothetical assigning attorney.

In the spring semester, first-year J.D. students shift their focus to persuasive writing. Written work may include client letters, motion memoranda, and other types of documents. As in the fall semester, feedback is provided in a variety of ways. Students also participate in mock oral arguments.

The legal research component of the first-year J.D. course introduces students to the legal research methods and sources that form a foundation for legal analysis. Reference librarians provide research instruction. Students learn about and work with a variety of legal research platforms and tools through both graded and ungraded assessments. Research instruction focuses on developing an understanding of various legal primary and secondary sources necessary to conduct efficient and effective legal research.

Students learn legal citation under the guidance of reference librarians. Instruction focuses on helping students learn to use The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (Columbia L. Rev. Ass’n et al. eds., 21st ed. 2020). All assignments submitted in the Legal Research and Writing course are expected to comply with proper Bluebook citation format.