Download or read book Thinking and Writing about Law written by Kevin Bennardo and published by Carolina Academic Press LLC. This book was released on 2021-07 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "While Thinking and Writing About Law is primarily geared toward law students, it should be accessible for anyone who wants to improve their abilities in legal analysis and communication. Written in an approachable, no-nonsense style, the book is divided into two parts. The first part guides readers toward an understanding of legal analysis in our common-law system. Properly conceptualizing our system of law is the most fundamental-and overlooked-component in the process of legal analysis. To that end, the book walks the reader step-by-step through the analytical process and then reinforces the reader's understanding by introducing a novel technique for visualizing legal analysis. The second part guides readers toward successful communicating their analyses to both inform and persuade. It draws upon the author's experiences as both a legal writing professor and a supreme court justice to bring a distinctive blend of academic expertise and judicial practicality to the subject"--
Download or read book Thinking Like a Writer written by Stephen V. Armstrong and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 510 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Thinking Like a Lawyer written by Frederick F. Schauer and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2009-04-27 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This primer on legal reasoning is aimed at law students and upper-level undergraduates. But it is also an original exposition of basic legal concepts that scholars and lawyers will find stimulating. It covers such topics as rules, precedent, authority, analogical reasoning, the common law, statutory interpretation, legal realism, judicial opinions, legal facts, and burden of proof. In addressing the question whether legal reasoning is distinctive, Frederick Schauer emphasizes the formality and rule-dependence of law. When taking the words of a statute seriously, when following a rule even when it does not produce the best result, when treating the fact of a past decision as a reason for making the same decision again, or when relying on authoritative sources, the law embodies values other than simply that of making the best decision for the particular occasion or dispute. In thus pursuing goals of stability, predictability, and constraint on the idiosyncrasies of individual decision-makers, the law employs forms of reasoning that may not be unique to it but are far more dominant in legal decision-making than elsewhere. Schauer’s analysis of what makes legal reasoning special will be a valuable guide for students while also presenting a challenge to a wide range of current academic theories.
Download or read book Thinking Critically About Law written by Amy R. Codling and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-01-31 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: So you’ve arrived at university, you’ve read the course handbook and you’re ready to learn the law. But is knowing the law enough to get you the very best marks? And what do your lecturers mean when they say you need to develop critical and analytical skills? When is it right to put your own views forward? What are examiners looking for when they give feedback to say that your work is too descriptive? This book explores what it means to think critically and offers practical tips and advice for students to develop the process, skill and ability of thinking critically while studying law. The book investigates the big questions such as: What is law? and What is ‘thinking critically’? How can I use critical thinking to get better grades in assessments? What is the role of critical thinking in the work place? These questions and more are explored in Thinking Critically About Law. Whether you have limited prior experience of critical thinking or are looking to improve your performance in assessments, this book is the ideal tool to help you enhance your capacity to question, challenge, reflect and problematize what you learn about the law throughout your studies and beyond.
Download or read book The Pre writing Handbook for Law Students written by Laura P. Graham and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Intended primarily for use in the first few weeks of the first-semester legal writing course, The Pre-Writing Handbook for Law Students takes a systematic approach to the process of learning legal analysis. The Handbook is designed to help students focus on and become competent in the process of legal analysis that precedes their work on early legal writing products such as memos, case briefs, and other documents. This book teaches a new approach to learning legal analysis through the introduction of a series of repeatable steps that students can apply to any legal scenario. By practicing and internalizing these analytic steps, students will experience a smoother writing process that translates into a better written product. Each chapter of the Handbook contains several useful features: Frequent metacognitive "checkpoints"--text boxes that prompt students to pause or stop in their pre-writing work and assess their own efficiency and effectiveness. Concrete examples of how the steps in the pre-writing process actually work in two fully developed recurring legal scenarios. End-of-chapter recaps that summarize the desired results of the student's work during each step of the pre-writing process. Independent Practice Exercises. The Teacher's Manual includes advice on how to incorporate this book's new approach into an existing first-semester legal writing course; complete keys to all of the book's exercises; and complete samples of objective memos, a trial brief, an opinion letter, and a demand letter for use with the recurring scenarios and the independent exercises. The thorough content of the Teacher's Manual should enable professors to use the Handbook effectively with minimal additional preparation. "The Handbook hits the nail on the head! It centers on exactly what is missing from all the other legal writing books: the deep thinking that is necessary before pen hits paper." -- Joi Montiel, Faulkner University School of Law "Writing professors have claimed for years that learning to write is learning to think; legal writing professors have claimed for years that learning legal writing entails learning legal analysis. This book makes good on both claims and provides a welcome and useful tool for anyone trying to master legal writing." -- J. Christopher Rideout, Professor of Lawyering Skills and Associate Director of the Legal Writing Program, Seattle University School of Law "You need to crawl before you can walk, walk before you can run, and run before you can fly. Professors Graham and Felsenburg will have fledgling students flying in no time." -- Louis J. Sirico, Jr., Professor of Law and Director, Legal Writing Program, Villanova University School of Law
Download or read book Logic for Lawyers written by Ruggero J. Aldisert and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book tackles the basics of legal reasoning in twelve chapters, including the principles of classic logic, deductive and inductive reasoning, application of the Socratic method to legal reasoning, and formal and material fallacies.
Download or read book Legal Writing by Design written by Teresa J. Reid Rambo and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The second edition of Legal Writing by Design remains unique in demonstrating how to transform thoughts into writing by explaining the link between thinking and writing. It doesn't just tell the reader to "argue by analogy" or to "apply the rule" -- it explains the design of the thinking involved in those processes and shows how to transform that design into writing. Through easily understandable hypotheticals, outlines, graphics, exercises, and writing samples, many garnered during the authors' combined forty-plus years of teaching legal writing and appellate advocacy to law students, Legal Writing by Design comprehensively demonstrates how to transform ideas into exceptional writing. It demystifies the writing process by explaining the design of (1) deductive and inductive reasoning, (2) analogical thinking, and (3) relevancy. Once that design is understood, writing becomes easy. Writing with liberal doses of humor, the authors provide clearly readable charts, examples, and templates throughout this second edition. All chapters include a chapter review, and many also provide writing prompts. In addition to chapters explaining the fundamentals of writing legal memos and briefs, Legal Writing by Design contains sections on (1) clear and effective writing; (2) the appellate process, including an easily understandable explanation of standards of review; (3) oral argument techniques and practice; (4) the writing and editing process; (5) case briefing; and (6) professionalism in the practice of law. Exercises corresponding to the principles explained are included throughout most chapters, with answers provided in a separate Teacher's Manual. Successfully used for over ten years by thousands of law school students, Legal Writing by Design is the perfect tool for anyone -- attorneys, legal assistants, pro se litigants, undergraduate students, or the public -- who seeks the ideal way to analyze issues, to write clearly, and to write persuasively.
Download or read book Thinking Like a Lawyer written by Colin Seale and published by . This book was released on 2025 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Critical thinking is the essential tool for ensuring that students fulfill their promise. But, in reality, critical thinking is still a luxury good, and students with the greatest potential are too often challenged the least. This bestselling book introduces a powerful but practical framework to close the critical thinking gap, gives teachers the tools and knowledge to teach critical thinking to all students, empowers students to tackle 21st-century problems, and teaches students how to compete in a rapidly changing global marketplace. Colin Seale, a teacher-turned-attorney-turned-education-innovator and founder of thinkLaw, uses his unique experience to introduce a wide variety of concrete instructional strategies and examples that teachers can use in all grade levels. Individual chapters address underachievement, the value of nuance, evidence-based reasoning, social-emotional learning, equitable education, and leveraging families to close the critical thinking gap. In addition to offering examples for Math, Science, ELA, and Social Studies, this timely, updated second edition adds a variety of new examples and applications for Physical Education, Fine Arts, Foreign Language, and Career and Technical Education"--
Download or read book Legal Writing in Plain English written by Bryan A. Garner and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2013-08-26 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “This easy-to-follow guide is useful both as a general course of instruction and as a targeted aid in solving particular legal writing problems.” —Harvard Law Review Clear, concise, down-to-earth, and powerful—all too often, legal writing embodies none of these qualities. Its reputation for obscurity and needless legalese is widespread. For more than twenty years, Bryan A. Garner’s Legal Writing in Plain English has helped address this problem by providing lawyers, judges, paralegals, law students, and legal scholars with sound advice and practical tools for improving their written work. The leading guide to clear writing in the field, this indispensable volume encourages legal writers to challenge conventions and offers valuable insights into the writing process that will appeal to other professionals: how to organize ideas, create and refine prose, and improve editing skills. Accessible and witty, Legal Writing in Plain English draws on real-life writing samples that Garner has gathered through decades of teaching. Trenchant advice covers all types of legal materials, from analytical and persuasive writing to legal drafting, and the book’s principles are reinforced by sets of basic, intermediate, and advanced exercises in each section. In this new edition, Garner preserves the successful structure of the original while adjusting the content to make it even more classroom-friendly. He includes case examples from the past decade and addresses the widespread use of legal documents in electronic formats. His book remains the standard guide for producing the jargon-free language that clients demand and courts reward. “Those who are willing to approach the book systematically and to complete the exercises will see dramatic improvements in their writing.” —Law Library Journal
Download or read book Introduction to Law for Paralegals written by Katherine A. Currier and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 824 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Legal Reasoning Writing and Other Lawyering Skills written by Robin Wellford Slocum and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rev. ed. of: Legal reasoning, writing, and persuasive argument. c2006.
Download or read book The 48 Laws of Power written by Robert Greene and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2023-10-31 with total page 481 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive, this multi-million-copy New York Times bestseller is the definitive manual for anyone interested in gaining, observing, or defending against ultimate control – from the author of The Laws of Human Nature. In the book that People magazine proclaimed “beguiling” and “fascinating,” Robert Greene and Joost Elffers have distilled three thousand years of the history of power into 48 essential laws by drawing from the philosophies of Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, and Carl Von Clausewitz and also from the lives of figures ranging from Henry Kissinger to P.T. Barnum. Some laws teach the need for prudence (“Law 1: Never Outshine the Master”), others teach the value of confidence (“Law 28: Enter Action with Boldness”), and many recommend absolute self-preservation (“Law 15: Crush Your Enemy Totally”). Every law, though, has one thing in common: an interest in total domination. In a bold and arresting two-color package, The 48 Laws of Power is ideal whether your aim is conquest, self-defense, or simply to understand the rules of the game.
Download or read book Minding the Law written by Anthony G. AMSTERDAM and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2009-06-30 with total page 467 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this remarkable collaboration, one of the nation's leading civil rights lawyers joins forces with one of the world's foremost cultural psychologists to put American constitutional law into an American cultural context. By close readings of key Supreme Court opinions, they show how storytelling tactics and deeply rooted mythic structures shape the Court's decisions about race, family law, and the death penalty. Minding the Law explores crucial psychological processes involved in the work of lawyers and judges: deciding whether particular cases fit within a legal rule ("categorizing"), telling stories to justify one's claims or undercut those of an adversary ("narrative"), and tailoring one's language to be persuasive without appearing partisan ("rhetorics"). Because these processes are not unique to the law, courts' decisions cannot rest solely upon legal logic but must also depend vitally upon the underlying culture's storehouse of familiar tales of heroes and villains. But a culture's stock of stories is not changeless. Amsterdam and Bruner argue that culture itself is a dialectic constantly in progress, a conflict between the established canon and newly imagined "possible worlds." They illustrate the swings of this dialectic by a masterly analysis of the Supreme Court's race-discrimination decisions during the past century. A passionate plea for heightened consciousness about the way law is practiced and made, Minding the Law/tilte will be welcomed by a new generation concerned with renewing law's commitment to a humane justice. Table of Contents: 1. Invitation to a Journey 2. On Categories 3. Categorizing at the Supreme Court Missouri v. Jenkins and Michael H. v. Gerald D. 4. On Narrative 5. Narratives at Court Prigg v. Pennsylvania and Freeman v. Pitts 6. On Rhetorics 7. The Rhetorics of Death McCleskey v. Kemp 8. On the Dialectic of Culture 9. Race, the Court, and America's Dialectic From Plessy through Brown to Pitts and Jenkins 10. Reflections on a Voyage Appendix: Analysis of Nouns and Verbs in the Prigg, Pitts, and Brown Opinions Notes Table of Cases Index Reviews of this book: Amsterdam, a distinguished Supreme Court litigator, wanted to do more than share the fruits of his practical experience. He also wanted to...get students to think about thinking like a lawyer...To decode what he calls "law-think," he enlisted the aid of the venerable cognitive psychologist Jerome Bruner...[and] the collaboration has resulted in [this] unusual book. --James Ryerson, Lingua Franca Reviews of this book: It is hard to imagine a better time for the publication of Minding the Law, a brilliant dissection of the court's work by two eminent scholars, law professor Anthony G. Amsterdam and cultural anthropologist Jerome Bruner...Issue by issue, case by case, Amsterdam and Bruner make mincemeat of the court's handling of the most important constitutional issue of the modern era: how to eradicate the American legacy of race discrimination, especially against blacks. --Edward Lazarus, Los Angeles Times Book Review Reviews of this book: This book is a gem...[Its thesis] is easily stated but remarkably unrecognized among a shockingly large number of lawyers and law professors: law is a storytelling enterprise thoroughly entrenched in culture....Whereas critical legal theorists have talked among themselves for the past two decades, Amsterdam and Bruner seek to engage all of us in a dialogue. For that, they should be applauded. --Daniel R. Williams, New York Law Journal Reviews of this book: In Minding the Law, Anthony Amsterdam and Jerome Bruner show us how the Supreme Court creates the magic of inevitability. They are angry at what they see. Their book is premised on the conviction that many of the choices made in Supreme Court opinions 'lack any justification in the text'...Their method is to analyze the text of opinions and to show how the conclusions reached do not always follow from the logic of the argument. They also show how the Court casts its rhetoric like a spell, mesmerizing its audience, and making the highly contingent shine with the light of inevitability. --Mitchell Goodman, News and Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina) Reviews of this book: What do controversial Supreme Court decisions and classic age-old tales of adultery, villainy, and combat have in common? Everything--at least in the eyes of [Amsterdam and Bruner]. In this substantial study, which is equal parts dense and entertaining, the authors use theoretical discussions of literary technique and myths to expose what they see as the secret intentions of Supreme Court opinions...Studying how lawyers and judges employ the various literary devices at their disposal and noting the similarities between legal thinking and classic tactics of storytelling and persuasion, they believe, can have 'astonishing consciousness-retrieving effects'...The agile minds of Amsterdam and Bruner, clearly storehouses of knowledge on a range of subjects, allow an approach that might sound far-fetched occasionally but pays dividends in the form of gained perspective--and amusement. --Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn, Washington Times Reviews of this book: Stories and the way judges-intentionally or not-categorize and spin them, are as responsible for legal rulings as logic and precedent, Mr. Amsterdam and Mr. Bruner said. Their novel attempt to reach into the psyche of...members of the Supreme Court is part of a growing interest in a long-neglected and cryptic subject: the psychology of judicial decision-making. --Patricia Cohen, New York Times Most law professors teach by the 'case method,' or say they do. In this fascinating book, Anthony Amsterdam--a lawyer--and Jerome Bruner--a psychologist--expose how limited most case 'analysis' really is, as they show how much can be learned through the close reading of the phrases, sentences, and paragraphs that constitute an opinion (or other pieces of legal writing). Reading this book will undoubtedly make one a better lawyer, and teacher of lawyers. But the book's value and interest goes far beyond the legal profession, as it analyzes the way that rhetoric--in law, politics, and beyond--creates pictures and convictions in the minds of readers and listeners. --Sanford Levinson, author of Constitutional Faith Tony Amsterdam, the leader in the legal campaign against the death penalty, and Jerome Bruner, who has struggled for equal justice in education for forty years, have written a guide to demystifying legal reasoning. With clarity, wit, and immense learning, they reveal the semantic tricks lawyers and judges sometimes use--consciously and unconsciously--to justify the results they want to reach. --Jack Greenberg, Professor of Law, Columbia Law School
Download or read book The Legal Analyst written by Ward Farnsworth and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2024-05-31 with total page 714 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There are two kinds of knowledge law school teaches: legal rules on the one hand, and tools for thinking about legal problems on the other. Although the tools are far more interesting and useful than the rules, they tend to be neglected in favor of other aspects of the curriculum. In The Legal Analyst, Ward Farnsworth brings together in one place all of the most powerful of those tools for thinking about law. From classic ideas in game theory such as the “Prisoner’s Dilemma” and the “Stag Hunt” to psychological principles such as hindsight bias and framing effects, from ideas in jurisprudence such as the slippery slope to more than two dozen other such principles, Farnsworth’s guide leads readers through the fascinating world of legal thought. Each chapter introduces a single tool and shows how it can be used to solve different types of problems. The explanations are written in clear, lively language and illustrated with a wide range of examples. The Legal Analyst is an indispensable user’s manual for law students, experienced practitioners seeking a one-stop guide to legal principles, or anyone else with an interest in the law.
Download or read book How to Think Like a Lawyer and Why written by Kim Wehle and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2022-02-22 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A law professor and author teaches non-attorneys how to think like a lawyer to gain advantage in their lives—whether buying a house, negotiating a salary, or choosing the right healthcare. Lawyers aren’t like other people. They often argue points that are best left alone or look for mistakes in menus “just because.” While their scrupulous attention to detail may be annoying, it can also be a valuable skill. Do you need to make health care decisions for an aging parent but are unsure where to start? Are you at crossroads in your career and don’t know how to move forward? Have you ever been on a jury trying to understand confusing legal instructions? How to Think Like a Lawyer has the answers to help you cut through the confusion and gain an advantage in your everyday life. Kim Wehle identifies the details you need to pay attention to, the questions you should ask, the responses you should anticipate, and the pitfalls you can avoid. Topics include: Selling and buying a home Understanding employment terms Creating a will and health care proxy Navigating health concerns Applying for financial aid Negotiating a divorce Wehle shows you how to break complex issues down into digestible, easier-to-understand pieces that will enable you to make better decisions in all areas of your life.
Download or read book Legal Analysis written by David S. Romantz and published by Carolina Academic Press LLC. This book was released on 2020 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book teaches students the critical skills of legal reasoning. This popular book is a practical and clear guide that explains the many ways lawyers analyze the law. The authors demystify legal analysis by examining the foundations and methodology of legal problem solving and by discussing the different levels of critical thinking necessary to develop effective legal arguments. The book emphasizes the importance of applying the law as opposed to relying excessively on formulaic methods of analysis. New to the second edition, the book examines rule-based reasoning and the implicit rule; deductive analysis and resolving statutory ambiguity; case-law reasoning and inductive analysis; the role of policy in legal argument; and the structure and variations of legal argument and CREAC. New examples and exercises are also included"--
Download or read book The Common Law written by Oliver Wendell Holmes and published by . This book was released on 1909 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
