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Calendar - Event Details

Writing Workshop - Session 1 of 3, Using Authority
CLE
December 11, 2019
Time: 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Location: Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell LLP 370 17th St. #4500 Denver, CO 80202
To Register, click here

The first of three writing workshops with instruction and individual/group feedback on practice writing exercises. The first workshop will focus on using authority in your legal writing including:

USING AUTHORITY

I. INTRODUCTORY WRITING EXERCISE

• Edit a motion to dismiss

• Motion sues excerpts from federal court filings

II. INTRO

• mistrust/ build credibility

• what law school taught us

• what we get wrong: string cites- symptom/problem

III. CHOOSING AUTHORITY

A. Uses writing exercise excerpts as examples

B. Step 1: Choose Type of Authority

1. Statutes/Constitution/Regulation

2. Case law

3. Legislative history

4. Treatise/law review/article

5. Dictionary/scientific research

C. Choose Appropriate Source

1. Which case/treatise?- high court, most recent, used later

2. Specificity/accuracy

D. Less is more

1. Habit: college tested you on research; law school tested you on thought process and unclear what professor wanted

2. Use all arrows in quiver

3. Fear judge will get the law wrong

4. My work should go to something

5. Risks: adds length, difficult to read, waters down brief, buries the lead

IV. HOW TO PRESENT CONTENT

A. Quotes vs parentheticals vs paraphrasing vs combo

B. Quotes

1. Use Sparingly

2. Weave into argument

3. Link your law with quote’s facts

4. Link your facts with quote’s law

5. Examples

C. Parentheticals

1. Rarely needed

2. How & when to use

D. Combo

1. Often ineffective b/c redundant

V. FINAL EXERCISE



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