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First Assignment Fall 2020

Legal Writing, Research and Advocacy

LAW 504 Section 3, 4

Claire C. Robinson May


Assignment details

Professor Claire C. Robinson May (Prof. May/ she/ her /hers)

Office: LL 212A

Email: c.c.maynull@csuohio.nulledu

Phone: 216-875-9842

Welcome to my Legal Writing sections 3 & 4 for Fall 2020! I'm looking forward to a great year with all of you. Please read this complete post. I will see everyone during Orientation, as our class during Orientation week is a required part of the course.

We will meet remotely over Zoom, and we will use a Blackboard course site for this course. I am still in the process of setting up our Blackboard course pages (one for each section), so they may not be available to you yet. I anticipate a mix of synchronous and asynchronous course activities. Please plan on being available for synchronous sessions during the regular meeting time of your section during the year, unless I inform you otherwise for a particular week. I will provide a Zoom link before our first class in Orientation, so please check your CSU email regularly. 

Textbooks: There are 3 required books and 1 optional one. In addition, we will be using my own materials, What Are You Trying to Say? A Guide to First-Year Legal Writing, that I will make available to you electronically. The books listed below may not be available from the CSU Bookstore right away; you may purchase most of them from online sellers including the publishers. I don’t recommend buying the Bluebook online from sellers other than the CSU Bookstore or the publisher because of reported issues with counterfeit copies in the past (really). 

1) The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, 21st EditionREQUIRED, ISBN 978-0-578-66615-0 NOTE: The Bluebook just came out in a new edition; even recently used Bluebooks will have notable differences from the current edition. If you choose to purchase a used copy of the previous edition, you will be primarily responsible for keeping track of the differences. This is a citation manual you will use throughout law school and your legal career. 

2) Interactive Citation Workbook for the Bluebook, 2020 EditionREQUIRED, ISBN: 9781522185550 Note: Please make sure you purchase the 2020 Edition for the Bluebook (Not the ALWD version). This book often comes out late, so don’t worry if it isn’t available in time for the start of classes. Please do not purchase an older edition, as this book accompanies online exercises that change every year.

3) Amy Sloan, Researching the Law: Finding What You Need When You Need ItSecond EditionREQUIRED (ISBN for 2nd Edition: 978-1-4548-8649-5) Note: Here, I prefer you buy a used copy from online sellers. The new edition is very expensive.

4) Richard Wydick, Plain English for LawyersRECOMMENDED (ISBN for 6th Edition: 978-1-5310-0699-0) Note: This is a great, affordable resource. I recommend any edition, new or used.

FIRST CLASS ASSIGNMENT: For our Orientation class, please read What Are You Trying to Say? (WAYTTS) Part 1: Orientation to the Study of Law (attached here) and Researching the Law, Chapter 3. There is some duplication of the court system material (and you probably covered it somewhat in Jump Start too!), so if your research textbook is not in yet, you will still be able to participate in class. Your answers to the questions in WAYTTS do not have to be turned in, but please give them some thought. 

Please feel free to contact me by email with any questions or concerns. I look forward to meeting all of you soon.

Best wishes,

Prof. May