Sorkin's L.S. blog

Referring to statutes

2008-11-11T13:12:00.002-06:00

A short form citation to a statute (just like short form citations to other types of authorities) saves space and minimizes the disruption to the flow of your writing. In a typical memorandum or other short legal document, cite to a statute using a full citation only once, and then use short form citations for subsequent references to that statute.

Rule 14.6 in the ALWD Manual (page 116) provides some examples of short form citations for statutes. You have several options--just make sure that it will be clear to the reader what statute you are referring to. If your memo cites to only one statute, a briefer short form such as "§ 16" is plenty.

For citations within textual sentences, take a look at Sidebar 14.2 on page 118 of the ALWD Manual (and perhaps also Rule 6.11). I suggest trying to avoid the need to spell out "Illinois Compiled Statutes." Hopefully you will have already cited to the relevant statute by the time you are referring to it within a sentence, so "§ 16 of the Animal Control Act" or "§ 16"--or even just "the statute"--may suffice.

Memo #3

2008-10-29T21:36:00.001-05:00

The final memo assignment is now posted (under Course Materials).

Canons of construction

2008-10-29T07:53:00.004-05:00

This is the article on canons of statutory construction that I mentioned in class yesterday:

Karl Llewellyn, Remarks on the Theory of Appellate Decision and the Rules or Canons About How Statutes Are to Be Construed, 3 Vand. L. Rev. 395 (1950).

(If the link doesn't work, try retrieving 5 Green Bag 297 on Westlaw or 5 Green Bag 2d 297 on Lexis.)

Memo #2

2008-10-01T13:33:00.001-05:00

The second memo assignment is now posted (under Course Materials).

The thesis paragraph

2008-09-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

A thesis paragraph should state the overall issue and break it down into its main components (usually by stating a legal rule), providing the reader with a road map of the rest of the Discussion section.

On a smaller scale, the first paragraph of your analysis of a complex issue can do the same thing: identify the issue and break it down into its components, each of which will be addressed in turn. (Think of this as a "mini" thesis paragraph, if that helps.)

These brief articles describe what goes into an effective thesis paragraph:
Susan Duncan, Thesis Paragraphs
http://ssrn.com/abstract=990435
K.K. DuVivier, Road Maps
http://law.du.edu/images/uploads/Lawyering_Process_/Duvivier_articles/jan%201993.pdf

(Both Chapter 6 in the textbook and, to a lesser extent, the above articles suggest that you ought to do more in a thesis paragraph than just identify the issue and state a rule that maps it out -- they say you should also describe how the rule applies to the issue and then offer a conclusion. I don't think those last two parts are essential; use your judgment in deciding how much to include.)

Questions Presented

2008-09-02T14:00:00.001-05:00

The Questions Presented section of a memo tells the reader what overall issue or issues you will address in the rest of memo. Here is a short article that you may find helpful as you work on this part of the memo:

David E. Sorkin, Make Issue Statements Work for You
http://ssrn.com/abstract=1100023

Plagiarism

2008-08-30T09:00:00.006-05:00

In addition to the discussion in the Course Rules and Ethics Guidelines, here are some additional materials about plagiarism that you may find helpful:

David E. Sorkin, Practicing Plagiarism
http://ssrn.com/abstract=1100323
This is a short column about plagiarism that I wrote for the Illinois Bar Journal several years ago.

Judith D. Fischer, Avoiding Plagiarism in Legal Documents
http://ssrn.com/abstract=992332
K.K. DuVivier, Nothing New Under the Sun--Plagiarism In Practice
http://law.du.edu/images/uploads/Lawyering_Process_/Duvivier_articles/may%202003.pdf
These short articles (from Kentucky and Colorado's state bar journals) also discuss plagiarism in the practice of law.

Richard A. Bales, Quotations
http://ssrn.com/abstract=919303
This article is about the use of quotations in legal writing, but it includes a brief discussion of plagiarism. (Professor Bales's view on direct quotes seems to be similar to mine: Don't use them unless you have a very good reason.)

Also, the Legal Writing Institute offers a collection of materials on plagiarism.

Questions and rules

2008-08-28T14:45:00.000-05:00

In chapter 7 of the writing textbook, take a look at Exercise 7-B (pages 187-188), regarding the Questions Presented section of a memo. We'll get to this next Tuesday (9/2).

Also on Tuesday, we will discuss Legal Rules: Elements, Alternatives, and Factors and the material on plagiarism in the Course Rules and Ethics Guidelines.

The legal memo

2008-08-26T14:06:00.004-05:00

This Thursday (8/28) we're going to talk about the legal memorandum. Please read Memorandum Format along with the assigned chapters in the textbook. There are also some sample memos linked from the Course Materials page. When we get to small-scall organization (chapter 5), we'll discuss the IRAC model; you may find this Brief Guide to IRAC helpful.

One more thing -- here is a link to the web page of John Marshall's Writing Resource Center.

Assignment for first class

2008-08-20T11:00:00.000-05:00

Our first class meeting is Thursday, August 21, 2008.

For that class, please read chapters 1 and 2 in Writing and Analysis in the Law. (You may skip over the exercises for now, although we may discuss some of them in class.)

The first several pages of chapter 1 are posted here, in case you don't yet have the textbook.

Welcome!

2008-08-20T10:17:00.002-05:00

Welcome to The John Marshall Law School, and to Lawyering Skills I.

Here is a short article that you may find helpful as you begin your legal studies:

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