Legal Method and Writing

Ranked No. 4 in the nation for legal writing

U.S. News and World Report

The Legal Method and Writing program is an integral part of the JD curriculum at ASU Law. Our program is designed to ensure practice-ready students who are well-equipped to succeed when they begin externships, summer jobs, clerkships, and legal careers.

The Legal Method and Writing program includes two required first-year courses that lay the foundation for success in future writing experiences, including journals and moot court competitions. Indeed, ASU students have won numerous national writing awards. In addition to the first-year curriculum, the program offers a diverse selection of elective courses that enrich the writing experiences for students in their second and third years.

U.S. News and World Report currently ranks the ASU Legal Method and Writing program No. 4 in the nation. Our full-time faculty have more than 200 years of combined teaching experiences and our small class sizes facilitate in-depth instruction and individualized feedback.

Elective course offerings

Advanced Legal Research
Advanced Legal Writing: ADR Drafting
Advanced Legal Writing: Creating Legal Change
Advanced Legal Writing: Litigation
Advanced Legal Writing: Persuasion
Appellate Advocacy

Contract Drafting and Negotiating
Indian Legal Research
Intensive Legal Research and Writing
Writing for Judicial Clerks
Writing for Law Practice

ASU Legal Method and Writing Innovative Ideas for Advanced Legal Writing Workshops

Workshop #1: Friday, Sept. 16: Innovative Ideas for Advanced Legal Writing Courses. This workshop will features panelists that have created unique and innovative upper level writing courses.

Presenters:

Rosa Kim, professor of legal writing, Suffolk University School of Law
Mary Bowman, clinical professor of law, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University
Patricia Winograd, associate clinical professor of Law, Loyola Law School
Kim Holst, clinical professor of law, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University

Workshop #2: Friday, Oct. 21: Innovative Ideas for to Implement within Advanced Legal Writing Courses. This workshop features panelists that incorporate unique and innovative exercises or methods in traditional upper level writing courses.

Presenters:

Sarah Ricks, distinguished clinical professor of law, Rutgers Law School
Kirsten Davis, professor of law; co-director, Institute for the Advancement of Legal Communication; faculty director, Online Legal Education Strategies, Stetson University College of Law
Tessa Dysart, assistant director of legal writing and clinical professor of law, University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law
Susan Chesler, clinical professor of law, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University

Signature event

Judy Stinson smiling while sitting in chair

Judy Stinson Lecture

The Judy Stinson Lecture is an annual event featuring a legal scholar hosted by ASU Law. The lecture series is named after Judy Stinson, who retired in 2020 after teaching legal writing for 27 years. Our inaugural lecture, "Justice Sotomayor’s Rhetoric of Settings," was presented by Linda Berger, Professor of Law Emerita at UNLV, on March 25, 2021.