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Learning Outcomes

By the end of the first year...

students will develop analytical, research, writing, and oral advocacy skills to engage in predictive and persuasive legal analysis and argument. The following are the Learning Outcomes of Brooklyn Law School's 1L Legal Writing Program.

Professional Identity

  • Consider one’s professional identity as a student, colleague, writer, Brooklyn Law School ambassador, scholar, advocate, and lawyer
  • Interact with others regarding legal concepts with thoughtfulness, clarity, logic, and respect
  • Recognize and respect the importance of legal research and writing throughout the law school experience and throughout law practice
  • Recognize the importance of professionalism in the study and practice of law including honesty, timeliness, courtesy, and quality of work product
  • Recognize the importance of compliance with the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct
  • Context within the Legal System
    • Understand the basic differences between representing a client in a civil matter and in a criminal matter
    • Understand the basic differences between representing a client in a transactional context and in a litigation context
    • Understand the basic progression of a client representation in a litigation context
    • Understand the basic progression of a client representation in a transactional context
    • Identify the different types of legal documents that lawyers write while representing a client
    • Understand the overall structure of the American legal system, on the federal and state levels
    • Understand the doctrine of stare decisis and the role of precedent
    • Understand the interplay between statutes and case law
  • Objective Legal Analysis
    • Gather and review facts to understand a client’s circumstances
    • Identify the precise legal issue(s) affecting a client’s circumstances
    • Carefully read a statute and extract one or more legal rules
    • Carefully read a case (a judicial opinion), identify its key component parts, and extract the legal issue(s), the applicable rule(s), and the court’s holding (decision on the legal issue)
    • Identify the court’s reasoning in a case and analyze its relevance to a client-centered problem
    • Synthesize a legal rule from statutes and multiple cases
    • Identify legally significant client facts
    • Analogize and distinguish case law facts and client facts
    • Apply a legal rule to the legally significant client facts
    • Identify strengths and weaknesses of a client’s legal position
    • Identify legally viable alternative arguments
    • Evaluate public policy considerations and their role in the formation and application of rules
    • Assess facts and law to solve legal problems and make client-centered recommendations as expected of new attorneys
    • Understand the importance of adherence to instructions (substantive content, formatting, length, deadlines, and other expectations) given by a supervising attorney
    • Structure and draft a logical and objective written analysis of a legal issue
    • Identify logic gaps and assumptions in a piece of objective legal writing
    • Edit and proofread a piece of objective legal writing
  • Persuasive Legal Analysis
    • Understand the roles of logic, emotion, and ethics in legal persuasion
    • Understand the importance of adherence to procedural court rules and formatting requirements governing submissions of legal writing to a court
    • Learn rhetorical techniques for framing legal issues and arguments to persuade a court
    • Understand the difference between a trial-level brief and an appellate brief
    • Understand the basics of appellate “standards of review” of trial court decisions
    • Structure and draft a logical, persuasive, written analysis of a legal issue
    • Identify logic gaps and assumptions in a piece of persuasive legal writing
    • Evaluate and present arguments in a client-centered context
    • Edit and proofread a piece of persuasive legal writing
    • Prepare and present an oral argument
    • Prepare for and conduct a negotiation
    • Draft a basic negotiation term sheet and a legal agreement
    • Develop an ethical appreciation for the tenets of good advocacy consistent with the Model Code of Professional Responsibility and the highest standards of professionalism
  • Legal Writing Skills
    • Understand methods of communicating predictive and persuasive legal analysis using contemporary “best-practices” used by attorneys in today’s legal marketplace
    • Employ effective written organizational techniques including large-scale (thesis paragraphs, issues organization, conclusions) and small-scale (thesis/topic sentences, examination and application of relevant case law, presentation of opposing arguments) organizational principles
    • Craft effective topic sentences and transitions
    • Structure effective paragraphs (exhibiting unity and coherence)              
    • Use principles of good grammar, syntax, and punctuation
    • Use proper legal terminology and vocabulary
    • Properly cite to sources of law in a piece of legal writing using The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, and adhere to jurisdictional legal citation rules
    • Develop tone and diction appropriate to a targeted legal audience
    • Develop an overarching writing ethic emphasizing clear and concise legal writing, using plain English
  • Legal Research Skills
    • Understand the hierarchical structure of the law and the difference between binding and persuasive authority
    • Understand the difference between primary sources of law and secondary sources
    • Strategize and identify effective research methodologies
    • Understand how to find statutes, regulations, case law, and treatises (and other secondary legal research sources) on a specific legal issue in the proper jurisdiction
    • Understand how to ensure that the primary sources of law are up-to-date
    • Understand the fundamentals of using electronic legal research tools: Westlaw, Lexis, and Bloomberg Law
    • Conduct legal research in a cost-effective manner using an assortment of print, fee-based, and free computer resources
  • Self-Assessment and Collaborative Learning
    • Learn to give and be receptive to critical feedback in a professional, supportive manner
    • Incorporate and apply feedback and critique in the legal drafting and editing process
    • Reflect on personal strengths and challenges in the legal writing classroom
    • Learn to self-edit and to critically evaluate one’s own work
    • Manage time to accomplish legal research and writing assignments in a thorough and timely manner, while balancing other law school responsibilities
Brooklyn Law School - Director of Legal Writing Program Heidi Brown

Meet the new Director of Legal Writing and Associate Professor of Law Heidi K. Brown

Have questions? We have answers.

Heidi K. Brown
Director of Legal Writing and Associate Professor of Law
250 Joralemon Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Telephone: (718) 780-7519
Email: heidi.brown@brooklaw.edu