Legal Writing Class (throw research in too) Forum

[3ThrowAway99]

[There is a whine warning associated with this thread: poster discretion advised].

Does anyone out there hate this class (Writing) even half as much as I do? I've had two semesters of this crap. Honestly, this class alone has made me almost regret law school. I generally really enjoy the class material in substantive classes, but the empty formalism and constant petty assignments of this class have just about driven me to the edge . I realize that being able to produce professional-quality writing will be important as a practicing attorney, but I just feel like I have been punished by this year long misery-session that makes me feel like I'm back in high school.

[fundamentallybroken]

...empty formalism and constant petty assignments...

Guess what most of my lawyer co-workers tell me being a lawyer is all about?

(No, really, guess!)

[3ThrowAway99]

...empty formalism and constant petty assignments...

Guess what most of my lawyer co-workers tell me being a lawyer is all about?

(No, really, guess!)

sigh....

[weee]

Throw me in the "glad it is over" category

[dougroberts]

Either you really like this class, or you really hate it.

[kalvano]

I loathe my LRW class, which is too bad, because I enjoy writing. However, the combination of it being graded and having instructors that couldn't teach chimps at the zoo how to throw their poo makes it an excruciating exercise in frustration and misery. If every single person turning in their brief has literally no idea what their grade will be, and thinks they could have gotten anywhere from a C- to an A, then you have failed as a teacher.

I despise my LRW professor because you can turn in a Supreme Court-quality argument, and she would give you a C- if you failed to underline instead of italicize a case name like the Bluebook requires.

In short, I would rather have my eyelids stapled to a flaming pile of horse manure while being poked with salt-crusted pitchforks wielded by below-average height people who have been mocked about their stature all their life and are bitterly angry about it and looking for someone to take their rage out on. Following that, if you said I would be dipped in a vat of rubbing alcohol so every cut the pitchforks made would burn as it was cleansed, I would still choose that over taking Legal Writing again.

[traehekat]

needs to be something in between favorite and ok but not great (although i guess the point is really just to ask how much you hate legal writing, i get it i get it). i enjoy a lot of the stuff we do, its just a pain cause its only worth 2 credits and not worth the time you put into it. make it 4 credits to justify the time and i would like it more.

[moandersen]

needs to be something in between favorite and ok but not great (although i guess the point is really just to ask how much you hate legal writing, i get it i get it). i enjoy a lot of the stuff we do, its just a pain cause its only worth 2 credits and not worth the time you put into it. make it 4 credits to justify the time and i would like it more.

Yup, I agree. I also think having a competent and engaging teacher helps a lot. I enjoyed the writing part (hated the research part), and did well enough to be a TA next year.

[PirateCap'n]

Yup, I agree. I also think having a competent and engaging teacher helps a lot. I enjoyed the writing part (hated the research part), and did well enough to be a TA next year.

Same here. Loved the writing part. I thought reading research powerpoints in class as the professor's method of "teaching" was pretty useless, but I'm looking forward being a TA. Overall though, it's my favorite class (maybe Torts is close).

[traehekat]

needs to be something in between favorite and ok but not great (although i guess the point is really just to ask how much you hate legal writing, i get it i get it). i enjoy a lot of the stuff we do, its just a pain cause its only worth 2 credits and not worth the time you put into it. make it 4 credits to justify the time and i would like it more.

Yup, I agree. I also think having a competent and engaging teacher helps a lot. I enjoyed the writing part (hated the research part), and did well enough to be a TA next year.

+1 the professor can make a huge difference.

[Royal]

This was actually my favorite class. That said, it should be offered either P/F or uncurved; it's too hard to apply an objective curve to a small Legal Writing & Research section.

It was the only 1L class that actually offered any sort of practical legal training. I don't really give a shit about law and economics, the historical origins of the fee simple system, or comparative international views on widget regulation. I expected, for the unconscionable cost of law school, at least some training on what you do as a lawyer. At least LRW provided SOME of that. From a nerdy perspective, I also actually enjoyed the research element of the class. I learn more about a given area of law by researching it on my own in westlaw than I do through the substantive classes that try to teach it.

I also liked civ pro and crim pro because they had at least some practical use, though not as much as my Legal Reading/Research class.

[evilxs]

In short, I would rather have my eyelids stapled to a flaming pile of horse manure while being poked with salt-crusted pitchforks wielded by below-average height people who have been mocked about their stature all their life and are bitterly angry about it and looking for someone to take their rage out on. Following that, if you said I would be dipped in a vat of rubbing alcohol so every cut the pitchforks made would burn as it was cleansed, I would still choose that over taking Legal Writing again.

My favorite sentiment ever. Nothing more could possibly be added: x2

[zomginternets]

legal writing FTW. all u ppl suxors.

[TTH]

There was very little teaching done in my LRW, but I enjoyed the work itself (or, at least, that's what I tell myself since I'm entering a profession that revolves around research and writing). Had the instruction been better, I think it would have been an enjoyable class.