Legal Research and Writing 

Our Legal Research and Writing (LRW) courses for first-year students provide practical experience in legal research, analysis and writing. 

In two semester-long courses, students learn how to analyze various kinds of legal issues in a rigorous, methodical and logical way. Students practice issue identification, legal research, and analysis in the context of objective writing (office memos) in the fall and persuasive writing (trial court motions and appellate briefs) in the spring.  While students are learning foundational principles of common law and procedure in other first-year courses, in LRW courses they do their own research to find applicable rules and they practice applying those rules to specific fact patterns to answer legal questions. With assistance from selected upper-class students, LRW professors review drafts, provide small-group and individual conferences, and give individualized comments on written assignments throughout each semester.  

Through small-section instruction, consistent practice, and frequent feedback, the LRW program seeks to give students a solid foundation in legal reasoning and legal writing that will help them learn how to think, and write, like lawyers.

"I felt extremely prepared for tasks assigned to me as a summer clerk because of the instruction I received in LRW.

"I felt confident conducting legal research because LRW provided me with the tools to sift through hundreds of opinions to provide my employers with an answer to a question they had about a given body of law. The same goes for the legal writing I did as a summer clerk; I knew how to craft informative legal memos and briefs because LRW taught me the 'do’s and don’ts' of how to effectively communicate an answer to a complex legal question. As a practicing attorney, I use the skills I developed in LRW every day." —Owen Mattox, JD '22

Caruthers Fellows

The Caruthers Fellows, chosen by the LRW faculty, are second- or third-year students who serve as mentors and assist first-year students with the development of research, writing and other basic skills.