Exercises posted The first four exercises are now posted under Course Materials.

 

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Microsoft Word tips  
Section symbol (§):

• In Word 2007, click on Insert in the toolbar, then select More Symbols, Special Characters, Section, and Insert.
• In Word 2003, click on Insert, then select Symbol, Special Characters, Section, Insert, and Close.

Ordinal numbers without superscripts (e.g., 4th, not 4^th):

• In Word 2007, click the Office button at the top left, then select Word Options, Proofing, AutoCorrect Options, and AutoFormat As You Type. Click to uncheck the box next to Ordinals (1st) with superscript, then click OK and OK again.
• In Word 2003, select Tools, AutoCorrect Options, and AutoFormat As You Type. Click to uncheck the box next to Ordinals (1st) with superscript, then click OK and OK again.

Page numbers, centered on the bottom of each page:

• In Word 2007, select Insert, Page Number, Bottom of page, and Plain number 2 (then press Esc to return to the document).
• In Word 2003, select Insert and Page Numbers. Under Position, select Bottom of page (Footer); under Alignment, select Center, and click OK.

Double spacing:

• In Word 2007, use the mouse to select the text that you want to double space, then right-click and select Paragraph.... Under Line spacing, select Double, and set Spacing Before and After to 0 pt.
• In Word 2003, select the text to be double spaced, then click on Format and Paragraph. Under Line spacing, select Double, and set Spacing Before and After to 0 pt.

To avoid placing a section heading at the bottom of a page:

• In Word 2007, use the mouse to select the section heading, then right-click and select Paragraph.... Select Line and Page Breaks, and check the box next to Keep with next.
• In Word 2003, select the heading and click on Format and Paragraph. Select Line and Page Breaks, and check the box next to Keep with next.

 

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Cites within Cites How do you cite to a case that is cited within another case?

Ordinarily, you should cite to the case that best supports the proposition, but you can include additional information in the citation. If a recent case cites to an older case and both cases support the proposition you are using, here are your options:

Recent Case.
Older Case.
Recent Case (citing Older Case).
Older Case (cited in Recent Case).

(If you are using a direct quotation that appears in both cases, substitute "quoting" or "quoted in" above. See ALWD Rule 46.4 for examples.)

For a closed-universe assignment (like the first memo in L.S. I, where only the materials provided with the assignment may be cited), I suggest citing only to the case that is in the assignment packet. It's not necessary to tell the reader where the proposition originally came from, as long as you cite to a case that supports it.

 

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Welcome - Spring 2010 Welcome to law school! For those enrolled in Section D of Lawyering Skills I at John Marshall (Spring 2010), our first class meeting will be Monday, January 25, 2010, at 6:00 pm in room 522. The course syllabus and other materials are posted at LawyeringSkills.com.

You might also find this article helpful (for this class and others):

Orin S. Kerr, How to Read a Legal Opinion: A Guide for New Law Students
http://ssrn.com/abstract=1160925
http://volokh.com/files/howtoread2007version.pdf

 

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Third Memo Assignment The third memorandum assignment is now posted on the website (under Course Materials).

 

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