Welcome to your first year of law school at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and to my Legal Writing section. The following information will help you prepare for our first class session during Orientation. Legal writing class during Orientation is mandatory, so be sure to attend.

The following four required textbooks should be available from online merchants such as Amazon and at the CSU bookstore. You may be able to find some of the books for sale used. We will also be using some selections from my own legal writing text, What Are You Trying to Say? A Guide to First-Year Legal Writing. I will put those readings online as I assign them.

Please purchase the editions listed of the following required texts:

• Richard K. Neumann, Jr., et al., Legal Writing (3rd Edition 2015)

• Amy E. Sloan, Researching the Law: Finding What You Need When You Need It (2nd Edition 2017)

*The above two books can be purchased as a bundle from the CSU bookstore at substantial savings from the individual prices for these books new. You may also save by buying them individually at Amazon or other online merchants. The first edition of the Sloan research text (available online new or used) is also acceptable for the course; the two editions are very similar in content, though the new edition has online enhancements you might like to have.

• The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (20th Edition)

• Tracy L. McGaugh, et al., Interactive Citation Workbook for The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (2017 Edition) -Please make sure to purchase the Bluebook version, not ALWD of the Interactive Citation Workbook.

For our first class meeting during Orientation, please read Neumann, Chapter 1, Sloan Chapter 2, and Part I of What Are You Trying to Say?, which is linked to this notice. You do not have to write out any of the exercises in the reading, unless I specify otherwise. However, please go through them on your own and be prepared to discuss them in class.

***UPDATE: Since my books are on back order at the bookstore, I have made copies of the Neumann and Sloan chapters. You may pick them up at the Student Services Desk on Tuesday, August 15. They are also attached in PDF here.***

I look forward to meeting you soon. If you have questions, please contact me at c.c.maynull@csuohio.nulledu or 216-875-9842.

Sincerely,

Claire C. Robinson May

Legal Writing Professor of Law