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Being a student always means having to deal with loads of homework. This statement is true for all students, regardless of their academic level or the major they choose to study. However, while the scope of homework is about the same for everyone, the types of assignments can slightly vary depending on the subject that you study.

In this article, we are going to tell you about the four main homework types facing law students, in particular. So, if you are a law student yourself, read on to learn what will be expected of you in a law school. 

Practice Homework

The first and the most common of the four main homework types is practice homework. The core goal of such assignments is to help students expand their knowledge and reinforce their newly-acquired skills by means of putting them to practice. This kind of homework is the one that makes the most of the academic program, which is why law students struggle with it the most.

The most common assignment that represents this type of homework is essay writing. Just like the rest of their peers, law students are being assigned dozens of essays and other academic papers every year. A load of such assignments is so huge that students often look for the write my essay online writing services and platforms. But, it is an integral part of the educational process, so there is no way to avoid academic writing.

Some other examples of practice homework that you can face in a law school can include:

• Memorizing local laws;
• Reading court records;
• Examining subject-related literature, etc.

Extension Homework

The second one of the four main homework types is extension homework. In a nutshell, this type of homework is used by professors to encourage their students to pursue knowledge individually and in ways that are more imaginative than simply reading a textbook. Also, extension assignments are used to help students connect what they learn in the classroom with real-life and apply their existing skills to expand their knowledge.

Common types of law assignments that represent this type of homework include:

• Writing literature reviews;
• Researching local law news;
• Compare and contrast events, etc.

Creative Homework

Despite the fact that law students spend most of their time studying complex and serious subjects, there is still a place for the next type of homework – creative homework in their curriculums. As you can guess from its name, this type of homework often takes different creative forms. The key goal is to help students develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills through completing creative projects.

There are plenty of examples of creative homework assignments that you can face in a law school. Basically, pretty much any type of individual project can be considered a creative homework assignment. However, to help you grasp the idea, here are a few examples of the most common law assignments of this type:

• Research projects;
• Photo essays;
• PowerPoint presentations, etc.

Preparatory Homework

Finally, the last of the four types of homework is preparatory homework. The key goal of such homework is to help students gain solid background on a specific unit of study in order to prepare them for future lessons. Simply put, preparatory homework is the type of homework that helps you collect initial knowledge on the subject you are studying. And it can also be called one of the most common types of assignments facing law and other students.

What assignments can be considered as preparatory homework? In fact, there are many. To name a few, here are some of the most common examples of this type of homework:

• Tests and exams;
• Completing exercises from the workbook;
• Reading textbook chapters to prepare for the next lesson, test, discussion, etc.

The Bottom Line

Whether you are just planning to enroll in a law school or are already a law student, knowing about different types of homework that you will have to deal with can empower you for better academic achievements.

After reading this article, you should have a better idea of different homework types that you can face studying in a law school. Hopefully, this will help you prepare for your academic path and ensure success.

Camilla Uppal

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How to Approach Law Assignments

UOLLB First Class Law Notes®

Law assignments are not merely academic exercises; they are opportunities to hone critical thinking skills, legal analysis, and effective communication. However, approaching a law assignment can be daunting for students. In this article, we ill explore a strategic guide on how to approach a law assignment, providing insights and techniques to help you tackle legal tasks with confidence.

Understand the Assignment Prompt

The first step in approaching any law assignment is to thoroughly understand the assignment prompt. Identify the specific legal issue or question posed, and take note of any guidelines, constraints, or requirements provided by your instructor. Clarity on the assignment prompt is crucial for framing your approach.

Research the Legal Context

Immerse yourself in the legal context surrounding the assignment. Familiarise yourself with relevant legal principles, statutes, case law, and scholarly articles. A solid understanding of the legal landscape is essential for crafting a well-informed and persuasive argument.

Identify Key Legal Issues

Break down the assignment prompt into its constituent legal issues. Clearly identify the primary questions or problems the assignment is addressing. This step helps you structure your analysis and ensures that you address all the relevant aspects of the legal problem.

Create a Structured Outline

Organise your thoughts and arguments by creating a structured outline. Divide your assignment into distinct sections, including an introduction, body paragraphs addressing each legal issue, and a conclusion. A well-organised outline provides a roadmap for your writing and enhances the coherence of your assignment.

Develop a Strong Thesis Statement

Craft a clear and focused thesis statement that encapsulates the main argument or position you will be advocating in your assignment. Your thesis should succinctly convey your response to the legal issues identified and guide the reader through your analysis.

Engage in In-Depth Legal Analysis

Move beyond surface-level understanding and engage in in-depth legal analysis. Delve into the nuances of relevant case law, statutes, and legal principles. Consider the historical context and judicial interpretations that may impact your analysis. Demonstrating a nuanced understanding of the law enhances the quality of your assignment.

Consider Policy Implications

Legal issues are often intertwined with broader societal and policy considerations. Consider the policy implications of your arguments and how they align with legal precedent. Addressing policy implications showcases a comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted nature of legal problems.

Anticipate Counterarguments

Strengthen your legal analysis by anticipating and addressing potential counterarguments. Acknowledge alternative viewpoints and present reasoned responses. Demonstrating awareness of opposing perspectives enhances the credibility of your argument and showcases critical thinking skills.

Provide Clear Citations

Accurate and clear citations are non-negotiable in legal writing. Ensure that you provide proper citations for all legal authorities and sources referenced in your assignment. Adhere to the specific citation style prescribed by your instructor or institution.

Revise and Proofread

A polished assignment is the result of careful revision and proofreading. Review your work for clarity, coherence, and grammatical accuracy. Consider seeking feedback from peers or mentors to gain valuable insights and make necessary improvements.

Approaching a law assignment requires a strategic and systematic approach. By understanding the assignment prompt, conducting thorough legal research, identifying key legal issues, creating a structured outline, developing a strong thesis statement, engaging in in-depth legal analysis, considering policy implications, anticipating counterarguments, providing clear citations, and rigorously revising and proofreading, you can navigate the intricacies of legal assignments with confidence and produce work that reflects your legal acumen and analytical skills.

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How to Write a First-Class Law Essay

Studying law at university entails lots of essay writing. This article takes you through the key steps to writing a top law essay.

Writing a law essay can be a challenging task. As a law student, you’ll be expected to analyse complex legal issues and apply legal principles to real-world scenarios. At the same time, you’ll need to be able to communicate your ideas clearly and persuasively. In this article, we’ll cover some top tips to guide you through the process of planning, researching, structuring and writing a first-class law essay with confidence. 

1. Start In Advance

Give yourself plenty of time to plan, research and write your law essay. Always aim to start your law essay as soon as you have the question. Leaving it until the last minute does not only create unnecessary stress, but it also leaves you insufficient time to write, reference and perfect your work.

2. Understand The Question

Do not begin until you fully comprehend the question. Take the time to read the question carefully and make sure that you understand what it’s asking you to do. Highlight key terms and annotate the question with definitions of key concepts and any questions that you have have. Think about how the question links back to what you’ve learned during your lectures or through your readings.

3. Conduct Thorough Research

Conducting thorough research around your topic is one of the most fundamental parts of the essay writing process. You should aim to use a range of relevant sources, such as cases, academic articles, books and any other legal materials. Ensure that the information you collect is taken from relevant, reliable and up to date sources. Use primary over secondary material as much as possible.

Avoid using outdated laws and obscure blog posts as sources of information. Always aim to choose authoritative sources from experts within the field, such as academics, politicians, lawyers and judges. Using high-quality and authoritative sources and demonstrating profound and critical insight into your topic are what will earn you top marks.

4. Write A Detailed Plan

Once you’ve done your research, it’s time to plan your essay. When writing your plan, you’ll need to create an outline that clearly identifies the main points that you wish to make throughout your article. Try to write down what you wish to achieve in each paragraph, what concepts you want to discuss and arguments you want to make.

Your outline should be organised in a clear, coherent and logical manner to ensure that the person grading your essay can follow your line of thought and arguments easily.  You may also wish to include headings and subheadings to structure your essay effectively This makes it easier when it comes to writing the essay as starting without a plan can get messy. The essay must answer the question and nothing but the question so ensure all of your points relate to it.

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5. Write A Compelling Introduction

A great introduction should, firstly, outline the research topic.  The introduction is one of the most crucial parts of the law essay as it sets the tone for the rest of the paper. It should capture the readers attention and provide the background context on the topic. Most importantly, it should state the thesis of your essay.

When writing your introduction, avoid simply repeating the given question. Secondly, create a road map for the reader, letting them know how the essay will approach the question. Your introduction must be concise. The main body of the essay is where you will go into detail.

6. Include A Strong Thesis Statement

Your thesis should clearly set out the argument you are going to be making throughout your essay and should normally go in the introduction. Your thesis should adopt a clear stance rather than being overly general or wishy-washy. To obtain the best grades, you’ll need to show a unique perspective based upon a critical analysis of the topic rather than adopting the most obvious point of view.

Once you’ve conducted your research and had a chance to reflect on your topic, ask yourself whether you can prove your argument within the given word count or whether you would need to adopt a more modest position for your paper. Always have a clear idea of what your thesis statement is before you begin writing the content of your essay. 

7. Present the Counter-argument

To demonstrate your deeper understanding of the topic, it’s important to show your ability to consider the counter-arguments and address them in a careful and reasoned manner. When presenting your counterarguments, aim to depict them in the best possible light, aiming to be fair and reasonable before moving on to your rebuttal. To ensure that your essay is convincing, you will need to have a strong rebuttal that explains why your argument is stronger and more persuasive. This will demonstrate your capacity for critical analysis, showing the reader that you have carefully considered differing perspectives before coming to a well-supported conclusion.

8. End With A Strong Conclusion

Your conclusion is your opportunity to summarise the key points made throughout your essay and to restate the thesis statement in a clear and concise manner.  Avoid simply repeating what has already been mentioned in the body of the essay. For top grades, you should use the conclusion as an opportunity to provide critical reflection and analysis on the topic. You may also wish to share any further insights or recommendations into alternative avenues to consider or implications for further research that could add value to the topic. 

9. Review The Content Of Your Essay

Make sure you factor in time to edit the content of your essay.  Once you’ve finished your first draft, come back to it the next day. Re-read your essay with a critical perspective. Do your arguments make sense? Do your paragraphs flow in a logical manner? You may also consider asking someone to read your paper and give you critical feedback. They may be able to add another perspective you haven’t considered or suggest another research paper that could add value to your essay. 

10. Proofread For Grammatical Mistakes

Once you’re happy with the content of your essay, the last step is to thoroughly proofread your essay for any grammatical errors. Ensure that you take time to ensure that there are no grammar, spelling or punctuation errors as these can be one of the easiest ways to lose marks. You can ask anyone to proofread your paper, as they would not necessarily need to have a legal background – just strong grammar and spelling skills! 

11. Check Submission Guidelines

Before submitting, ensure that your paper conforms with the style, referencing and presentation guidelines set out by your university. This includes the correct font, font size and line spacing as well as elements such as page numbers, table of content etc. Referencing is also incredibly important as you’ll need to make sure that you are following the correct referencing system chosen by your university. Check your university’s guidelines about what the word count is and whether you need to include your student identification number in your essay as well. Be thorough and don’t lose marks for minor reasons!

12. Use Legal Terms Accurately

Always make sure that you are using legal terms accurately throughout your essay. Check an authoritative resource if you are unsure of any definitions. While being sophisticated is great, legal jargon if not used correctly or appropriately can weaken your essay. Aim to be concise and to stick to the point. Don’t use ten words when only two will do.

12. Create a Vocabulary Bank

One recurring piece of advice from seasoned law students is to take note of phrases from books and articles, key definitions or concepts and even quotes from your professors. When it comes to writing your law essay, you will have a whole range of ideas and vocabulary that will help you to develop your understanding and thoughts on a given topic. This will make writing your law essay even easier!

13. Finally, Take Care of Yourself

Last but certainly not least, looking after your health can improve your attitude towards writing your law essay your coursework in general. Sleep, eat, drink and exercise appropriately. Take regular breaks and try not to stress. Do not forget to enjoy writing the essay!

Words by Karen Fulton

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How to Write a Law Assignment

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Mastering the Art of Writing Law Assignments

What types of law assignments exist, skills to succeed, how to write a law assignment stage-by-stage, pre-writing stage:, here is what your outline may look like:, let’s talk in detail about the exact process of law essay writing, how to avoid mistakes, additional sources.

Summary: Writing a law assignment involves a step-by-step process: introduction, body paragraphs, supporting evidence, counter-arguments, and conclusion. Proper citation, referencing, and proofreading are essential.

Legal studies were, are, and always will be an essential discipline for society and its development. Law students pursue a legal education to become lawyers, judges, advocates, or other legal professionals. They study various legal topics, including contracts, torts, criminal law, and constitutional law. Law students are typically required to complete various assignments as part of their coursework, including legal research papers, case briefs, law essay writing, and moot court arguments.

Law assignments are vital to legal education and are critical in helping students develop their skills. “The major law assignment styles aim to improve your analytical skills, your ability to apply legal principles and theory, and to write simply and concisely”. These tasks will for sure help in your future career. Therefore, it is important to understand how to write a law assignment properly.

This blog post provides tips and guidelines to help you confidently approach your law assignments and produce high-quality work that meets the standards of the legal profession. AssignmentBro is ready to help you understand how to write a clear and effective law assignment or can write your assignment for you.

There are a wide variety of law assignments. It all depends on the discipline and other details of your specific studies. Here are some examples:

• Case briefs involve analyzing and summarizing a specific legal case. Students are required to identify the key issues, relevant facts, applicable laws, the reasoning of the court, and the final decision.
• Research papers demand law students to delve deep into a specific legal topic or issue. They involve extensive research, analyzing relevant statutes and case law, and presenting arguments based on scholarly sources. Research papers often require a thesis statement, literature review, methodology, analysis, and conclusion.
• Essays in law focus on exploring and presenting arguments on a particular legal question or issue. Essays allow students to showcase their understanding of legal principles and ability to analyze and argue a position critically.
• Moot court briefs simulate the preparation of written arguments for a hypothetical appellate court case. Students must study the legal concerns, create compelling arguments, and reference pertinent legal sources to defend their position.
• Legal memoranda or legal analysis must contain a detailed analysis of the applicable laws and their application to the case. Memoranda are frequently used in legal studies, particularly for public law assignments.
• Case comments are when students are expected to summarize the key aspects of the case, discuss its implications, and provide their insights on the topic.

Sounds huge. No worries, though! AssignmentBro is right here to provide you with all the information you need to succeed in your law assignment writing and to provide you with law assignment writing help.

To work in law, you need different soft and hard skills to be a lawyer or an advocate. What about the specific skills for writing assignments? Let’s talk about them.

Writing and presenting excellent legal essays may require the following:

• Analytical Thinking: Law assignments require the ability to critically analyze legal issues, identify relevant facts, and apply legal principles to reach well-reasoned conclusions.
• Research Capabilities: Effective research capabilities involve using legal databases, understanding citation formats, and evaluating the credibility and authority of sources.
• Articulation of Arguments: Students should present their analysis and reasoning logically and coherently with excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Understanding of Legal Concepts: A solid understanding of legal concepts and principles is crucial for writing law assignments.
• Legal Writing Style: Adherence to a specific writing style that is concise, precise, and authoritative is vital. Proper citation of legal sources using recognized citation formats (such as Bluebook citation style, APA, or MLA) is also essential.
• Critical Analysis of legal arguments, evaluating strengths and weaknesses, and offering balanced assessments are often involved in law tasks.
• Attention to Detail: Careful attention to detail enhances the credibility and professionalism of the assignment.
• Time Management: The quality of the final submission is ensured by sticking to deadlines, leaving enough time for revisions and editing.

By honing these skills and applying them consistently, any student can improve their ability to write a law assignment more effectively.

The legal task must go through several critical stages to be well-structured and successful. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to write a law assignment:

• Carefully read and comprehend the assignment instructions provided by your lecturer or professor. Pay attention to the requirements, word limit, formatting guidelines, and specific questions or prompts.
• Choose your assignment subject. If you struggle with choosing the right one, glance at the law topics we created.
• Before starting the writing process, begin background research to become familiar with the subject and find pertinent legal statutes, cases, and theories. You can use this to develop a solid knowledge base to support your arguments.
• As you research, take notes! Record key points, relevant quotations, and references to legal authorities.
• Create a clear thesis statement or argument based on your initial research and grasp of the subject. It will be your writing’s direction. The thesis should present your main point or position on the discussed legal issue.

Create an outline to structure your thoughts and provide a roadmap for your assignment. 

An outline ensures a logical flow and allows you to arrange your thoughts. Include the main sections or headings you plan to cover, sub-points, and supporting evidence for each. Here are the elements that should be part of an outline:

• Hook or attention-grabbing statement to engage the reader.
• Background information on the topic to provide context.
• A thesis statement/main argument to clearly state your position/main points.
• Break down your main argument or topic into sub-points.
• Evidence, examples, or relevant legal authorities should support each main argument.
• Under each main argument or point, reference supporting evidence, such as legal precedents, case studies, or relevant legal theories.
• Include an analysis of the evidence, explaining how it supports your argument and strengthens your position.
• Address potential counterarguments or opposing viewpoints related to your main arguments.
• Refute counterarguments with solid reasoning, evidence, or alternative interpretations.
• Summarize the main arguments or points you have discussed throughout your assignment.
• Provide a sense of closure by reflecting on the significance of your findings.

Remember, the outline serves as a guide, and you can adapt it based on your assignment’s specific requirements and the topic’s complexity.

Let’s imagine that you write a criminal law assignment .

I. Introduction

• Definition and overview of criminal law.
• Purpose of the assignment.
• Thesis statement or main argument.

II. Elements of a Crime

• Actus reus: Discussing the physical act or conduct required for a crime.
• Mens rea: Explaining the mental state or intent necessary for criminal liability.
• Causation: Analyzing the causal link between the act and the harm caused.
• Concurrence: Discussing the requirement that the act and intent coincide.

III. Classification of Crimes

• Felonies: Explaining the characteristics and examples of felony offenses.
• Misdemeanours: Discussing the characteristics and examples of misdemeanor offenses.
• Infractions: Explaining the characteristics and examples of minor offenses.

IV. Criminal Defeses

• Justifications: Exploring defenses such as self-defense, necessity, and defense of others.
• Excuses: Discussing defenses like duress, insanity, and intoxication.
• Procedural Defenses: Analyzing defenses related to the rights of the accused, such as unlawful search and seizure, Miranda rights, etc.

V. Criminal Procedure

• Arrest and Search: Discussing the requirements and limitations for lawful arrest and search.
• Due Process: Exploring the constitutional rights of the accused, such as the right to counsel, the right to a fair trial, etc.
• Trial Process: Analyzing the steps involved in a criminal trial, including jury selection, opening statements, presentation of evidence, etc.
• Sentencing: Discussing the factors considered in determining an appropriate sentence for a convicted offender.

VI. Notable Criminal Law Cases

• Analyzing significant criminal law cases that have shaped legal principles or influenced the interpretation of criminal statutes.
• Discussing the impact of these cases on the development of criminal law jurisprudence.

VII. Contemporary Issues in Criminal Law

• Exploring current debates or challenges in criminal law, such as emerging technologies, cybercrimes, or criminal justice reform.
• Analyzing the potential implications and future developments in the field.

VIII. Conclusion

• Summarizing the main points and arguments presented.
• Assessing the effectiveness and significance of criminal law in maintaining social order and protecting individuals’ rights.

It’s important to follow the structure of the assignment:

• Begin with an attention-grabbing opening sentence or hook to engage the reader.
• Provide relevant background information to set the context of the topic.
• Clearly state the purpose of the assignment and what you aim to achieve.
• Conclude the introduction with a concise thesis statement that outlines your main argument or position.
• Ensure your thesis statement is concise, specific, and directly addresses the main focus of your assignment.
• Each body paragraph should focus on a single main point or argument that supports your thesis statement.
• Provide evidence, examples, or legal authorities to support your arguments.
• Break down complex legal concepts or theories into understandable terms.
• Support your arguments with well-reasoned analysis and relevant legal authorities.
• Cite relevant legal statutes, case law, regulations, or academic sources to support your claims.
• Ensure you accurately and appropriately cite your sources using the required citation style (e.g., Bluebook, APA, MLA).
• Anticipate potential counterarguments and address them directly and objectively.
• Summarize the main points or arguments discussed in your assignment.
• Avoid introducing new information in conclusion.
• Create a bibliography of your resources. It will help to avoid plagiarism. AssignmentBro supplies you with an incredible citation generator tool if you have trouble with quotations.
• Allocate sufficient time for proofreading and editing to eliminate spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. This stage is crucial and should not be avoided!
• Review the overall structure, coherence, and clarity of your writing.
• Ensure consistency in formatting, citation style, and referencing.

We want to highlight that strategy changes depending on the provided requirements. For example, there is also such a thing as an ACT essay. For the ACT essay, you’ll need an introduction, two to three body paragraphs (at least one paragraph for each perspective), and a conclusion.

By following these guidelines, you can succeed in law school essay writing!

Receiving help with legal studies assignments is helpful for developing analytical skills, applying correct legal principles, and writing tasks concisely.

It is not a regular task to write a legal paper. Thus, it’s completely acceptable for some students to make mistakes. We are humans, and we learn through making mistakes. However, it is best to avoid mistakes most students experience to succeed in your assignment.

The next common errors are highlighted:

• Writing in the passive;
• Using ambiguous pronouns;
• Unnecessary wordiness;
• Over-using legalese;
• Neglecting to proofread.

Other mistakes include: making an essay too long or short, drafting a legal essay without arguments, submitting an essay without a bibliography , fluffing the conclusion, etc.

The only way to eliminate mistakes is a dedication to your work and continuous practice! For this reason, It’s crucial to learn how to write a law assignment properly.

Learning more is never too late. Below, we added a few extra resources to help you learn more about legal writing:

• Many Birds, One Stone, Michael R. Smith;
• Legal Writing, Linda H. Edwards;
• Legal Writing in a Nutshell, L.Bahrych and J.Merino;
• Law Assignment Techniques.
• Writing Law Essays, M.Salter and J.Mason.

We hope it will ease your way to success in your legal education. Write a law assignment easily with AssignmentBro!

Our team can aid you with any kind of legal writing. Whether it is a contract law assignment, international law research, or any other kind of legal assignment, we are here to lend you a hand!

Law assignments help develop analytical skills, apply legal principles, and write concisely. They involve various types of writing, including case briefs, research papers, essays, and memoranda.

The pre-writing stage is vital. Even selecting a topic has a significant impact on your paper. For instance, topics in business Law can be really broad, so you should choose wisely.

Avoid mistakes by studying how to write a law assignment. AssignmentBro is always there to help you with any law task!

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10 Strategies For Writing Law Assignments Like A Pro

Are you a law student who’s struggling with writing law assignments? You’ve got a tough assignment coming up. You’re nervous, and you’re not sure how to write it.

Well, you’re not alone, most law students often struggle with law assignments and prefer to seek law assignment help . This is because law school assignments are quite different from other types of written work. They require in-depth research and a good understanding of the subject. Plus, you also need to present your ideas clearly and concisely in a way that made sense to the audience.

But don’t worry! We’ve got some great tips to help you write like a pro, no matter what type of law assignment you’re dealing with. Whether you’re learning about the law of torts, contract law, or property law, these strategies will help you tackle any type of legal assignment.

And best of all? They won’t take much time out of your busy schedule. So let’s start exploring proven strategies to write an outstanding law assignment!

How To Write Law Assignments Like A Pro?

Whether you’re a student or a lawyer, here are 10 strategies to help you write like a pro:

1.   Read, Take Notes, And Then Read Some More.

The first step in writing a law assignment is to read the question carefully. In order to write an effective answer, you need to understand the question first. Read it over and over again, looking at each word and phrase for meaning.

Look at the assignment instructions as well—are there any specific formatting requirements? What kind of format do you need to follow?

Read relevant case law, legislation, or other sources of information that might help make your argument stronger. It’s important to know where in these documents you can find what you need. So when it comes time for writing your own version of an argument, everything fits together nicely!

Take notes as you go along—this will help keep track of all those details about what was said where (and when). Then review those notes before moving on. Make sure they are clear enough so you can understand them without too much trouble too!

1.   Break It Down Into Steps And Set Yourself Deadlines.

In law school, assignments are often long and complicated. This makes it easy for us to get overwhelmed by the amount of work we have on our plates. To help stay organized and focused, break down your assignment into manageable steps and set yourself deadlines for each step.

Also, Be consistent with your writing style and tone. You don’t want your reader confused by whether they’re reading someone who’s trying really hard or someone who doesn’t care about their work or their audience at all.

2.   Use Different Sources And Be Critical Of Them.

If you’re writing a law assignment, it’s important to use multiple sources. This helps give you a balanced view of the material and makes sure that you get all sides of an argument. While this can sometimes feel like too much work, it will pay off in the long run by giving your reader access to an accurate representation of what happened in court cases or legislative debates.

You should also be critical when evaluating these sources: check their dates of publication. Make sure they were written by experts on their topic. Ensure they are unbiased (not taking sides). Determine if they’re credible (whether or not they have credibility within their field).

3.   Plan Your Essay Before You Start Writing.

When you’re writing an essay, it can be tempting to dive right in and start writing. But this is a mistake because it leads to writer’s block and procrastination. Instead, plan your professional law essay help before you start writing!

Planning helps you stay on track by giving your brain something familiar to focus on during the process of creating new sentences and paragraphs (instead of being stuck on one word). Planning also helps prevent writer’s block from happening. Once you have an outline for your paper or assignment, there are no more excuses for not being able to write anything else—you’re just doing what needs doing!

4.   Make A Schedule And Stick To It

Making a schedule and sticking to it is one of the most important things you can do when writing law assignments.

• Make sure that you set aside time each day for writing. It’s easy to get distracted by other things, so make sure your schedule includes breaks in between writing sessions!
• Don’t try to do too much at once—it’s more productive if you take breaks and spread out your workload over several hours or days instead of trying to complete everything all in one go (or even worse, procrastinating and ending up doing nothing).
• One of the best ways to stay organized is by using a planner or calendar. This will help you plan out your assignments so that you don’t get overwhelmed by all the work that needs to be done.
• It’s also important to make sure that your schedule takes into account any other commitments or responsibilities in your life—such as part-time jobs, etc.

5.   Take A Break And Come Back To It With Fresh Eyes.

You don’t have to keep writing until you finish the assignment. It’s fine if you take a break every few pages or so and come back with fresh eyes. There are many ways that taking breaks can help improve your writing.

First, it gives you time to think about what you’re doing and how it makes sense. Second, taking breaks allows writers to process information better than if they were just sitting behind their computers all day long trying desperately not to fall asleep.

When you’re writing, it’s easy to get distracted by social media or TV shows, but don’t make the mistake of thinking that these things will help you write better. Instead, use them as rewards after your work is done!

6.   Don’t Forget About The References!

References and citations are essential for your assignment. Make sure to format your references correctly and cite them correctly, too. Be sure to include citations in the body of the text, and use them correctly. For example, if you cite a case, put the citation in parentheses after the quote. If you cite an article, put it in square brackets after the quote.

The best way to avoid plagiarism is by following the proper citation method of author, title, page number(s), year published, and name of publisher or journal (if possible). For example: “Chapman & Hall Law Review article by Bhatia v. State of Texas (2016)”

The key is to ensure that when your reader looks at your paper they know where to find what you’re talking about. If ever you have any doubts about what a source says in its reference section then check it with another source first before quoting it directly.

7.   Proofread And Proofread Again.

Proofreading is the most important step in writing law assignments as a professional. It is a key part of writing and should be done before you submit your work for review

Make sure you have a good grasp of the material before proofreading and make sure to use a dictionary and grammar checker. If you’re not careful, your work could be riddled with errors that make it hard for the reader to understand what you have written.

You can ask a friend or family member to read your paper before your professor grade it. You can also pay someone else to do this work for you or maybe even hire an expert proofreader at an hourly rate!

8.   Know When To Ask For Help

If you’re struggling with an assignment, don’t hesitate to ask for help. It’s perfectly fine to reach out and ask your professor or classmates for assistance in completing the assignment. If there are no other options available, though, don’t hesitate to reach out to senior students who might have more experience than you do with this type of writing assignment.

Finally, think about taking advantage of resources outside of class. Library staff members will often feel happy simply by hearing from their peers that they need some extra help!

9.   Make Sure You Don’t Forget Your Priorities

It’s important to remember that you can’t always be writing . You also have to eat, sleep, and exercise—you need your body to be healthy so that it can do its job.

You should also make sure you’re not neglecting other important things like going out with friends or having fun!

If you find yourself struggling with writer’s block, don’t feel like it’s a sign of failure. It can happen to anyone, even professional writers. The most important thing is to remember that you’re not alone—and there are plenty of ways you can overcome it!

If possible, go back and check your research sources again before starting on your paper—you might find something new!

10. Turn Your Law Assignments From Nightmares Into Manageable Tasks.

The k step to turning your law assignments into manageable tasks is staying on top of things. You can do this by setting deadlines, sticking to them, and keeping everything organized—like your research material. As long as you keep focused and stay on top of things, you can turn your law assignments from nightmares into manageable tasks.

Here are some tips for managing your time effectively:

• Keep track of when you’re going to write each assignment. This will also help prevent procrastination from creeping up on you!
• If possible, try scheduling breaks during working periods instead of staring at a computer screen all day long. This will help keep your mind fresh and you can give proper attention to your task.

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Don’t Pull an All-Nighter for a Research Assignment

LAW SCHOOL SURVIVAL GUIDE

Don't pull an all-nighter for a research assignment.

Work smarter not harder: organize your thinking and research, and get some sleep.

We know you know not every lawyer goes into litigation – and if you don’t see yourself in a courtroom you might think you can skimp on legal research and writing. Don’t. Do. It.

Legal research and writing are crucial skills to be able to find, interpret and analyze the law, and to articulate a clear and persuasive response. Plus, you need these skills to pass your classes and the bar exam.

Raise the Question

Spotting the Issues

Knowing how to spot your issues is key to legal writing. Learn that your paramount task is to spot the issues the facts raise, and gain the skills to do this efficiently and effectively.

The CREAC Format

What Comes First: Rule or Application?

Maximize your writing by learning this legal writing formula: Conclusion, Rule, Explanation, Application, and Conclusion.

As you build out your research, remember these tips:

Update and expand your materials

Determine the end point of your research process

Think creatively about the research process

If your primary sources are duds, consider starting over with secondary sources

Learn about the different research tools and leverage them

Understand that there may not be a direct answer

If you're hitting a brick wall, consider consulting with a librarian, faculty member or Reference Attorney for advice

RESEARCH HELP

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Because neurodivergent people often need visual prompts or sensory tools, it is helpful to figure out what works best for you. Maybe you need a quiet fidget to use under your desk in class to help you focus. Maybe you need to incorporate the use of timers throughout your day. If you struggle with time blindness, you can use hourglasses to help you visualize time. Perhaps you struggle with extraneous sounds and need to use noise-cancelling headphones. More and more tools and gadgets are being made for neurodiverse individuals that can help you throughout law school.

Society can dictate when you are supposed to be most productive. See the traditional 9-5 work schedule. However, that model does not always work best for neurodiverse individuals. Some people are not morning people, and that is fine. Figure out when you have the most energy during your day to be your most productive self.

Find one system to use for organization and don’t change it. Trying too many organizational systems can become overwhelming. If your phone calendar works best, use that. If you are a list person, write all the lists. If you are a planner person, find the coolest one to use throughout the school year.

It would be nice to think that you can remember every task or deadline, but let’s be honest, that’s probably not true. Write down every deadline, every task, meeting, assignment, important date, etc. in the organizational system that you use.

Just like you can only put so much gasoline in a car, most neurodiverse individuals only have so much room in their focus tank. Figure out how long you can truly focus and apply yourself to a task before you need a break. That amount of time is typically shorter for neurodiverse individuals. If you can only truly focus for 20 minutes, study for 20 minutes, take a break, and then come back for another 20 minutes.

You may have started law school with your mind full of horror stories. Throw them out the window. Most of the people you attend law school with are genuinely kind and helpful people. Try to find a group or a couple of people that you can trust and lean on when necessary. Your law school friends can help you stay on task, body double, and even provide notes on the days you may be struggling. These friends can be one of your greatest assets throughout your law school journey.

Only discuss your neurodivergence with your professors to the extent that you are comfortable. If there are things you are concerned about related to your neurodivergence, it can be beneficial to make your professors aware at the beginning of the semester. Whether you are worried about cold calling or need a topic broken down, most professors love opportunities to discuss their area of law! They can’t know that you may need help if you don’t let them know. This is especially important if you aren’t successful in getting accommodations from your school’s Disability Services.

As a neurodivergent student, you may not fit the traditional mold of all the things a law student is “supposed to do” in order to be successful. You have been in school for years, and now is the time to trust yourself and not be afraid to be an “outside of the box” law student. There is no harm in trying new study methods, but never fear going back to your personal basics. If you need help figuring those out, see if your law school has a learning center or faculty member that can assist you.

Outlining with jury instructions.

• On your Westlaw Precision home screen, click on Secondary Sources and then Jury Instructions .
• On the Jury Instructions page, use the Jurisdiction filter to select your desired jurisdiction.
• Search for your cause of action. (Ex. elements of libel in Federal Jury Practice & Instructions )
• Open your relevant jury instruction and don't forget to check the related notes.
• To see more instructions, check out the table of contents to your left or click on View Full TOC.

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Black's Law Dictionary

Don't guess the meaning of a legal term. know it., by using black’s law dictionary, exclusively on westlaw , you’ll know the meanings of key terms that will help you understand your cases faster, be prepared for cold-calls and beef up your class notes. 1. access black's law dictionary on westlaw., 2. type your term into the dictionary term box. (ex. demurrer ) if your term contains multiple words, place the terms in quotes. (ex. "rule against perpetuities" ), 3. open up your desired term, copy it and paste it into your notes., looking for some inspiration here are a few legal terms to get you started contracts - collateral estoppel - consequential damages civil procedure - minimum contacts - in personam jurisdiction torts - negligence - invasion of privacy criminal law - mayhem - wobbler, where can i learn more about a firm so i can ask good questions in an interview, news is an excellent source for learning about a firm. you’ll see the clients and matters they represent along with the accolades they earned from their communities. 1. click on news under “specialty areas” on your westlaw edge home screen., 2. start by trying a plain language search for your firm. (ex. gibson dunn crutcher ), 3. to up your search game, consider running a terms & connectors search with an index field. (ex. gibson /2 dunn /s crutcher & in(law lawsuit legal) ), start writing your brief without starting from scratch, what is a brief, a brief is a summary of a case in your own words that includes the key facts, procedural history, issues addressed, along with the court's holdings. how can i find a case on westlaw, cases on westlaw contain a synopsis, a summary of the main facts, issues and holdings of a case, and headnotes, summaries of points of law organizes by topic. you can locate cases on westlaw in a variety of ways. find by citation: if you know your case's citation, just type one of the citations in the search box. (ex. 113 sct 2217 ), find by party name: if you know the names of your parties, just start typing them in the search box and select corresponding case from the drop-down menu. (ex. international shoe).

Note: If your case has common party names, you may need to enter more than one party.

Download your synopsis and headnotes: once you've pulled up your case, click on download under delivery options, select brief it under what to deliver and click on download..

The right search terms can make a difference. Here is an easy way to come up with smart search terms.

Rules, Codes & Restatements

Exporting tables of contents, exporting a table of contents is an easy way to get access to a list of rules, codes or restatements that you can reference on the fly and add to your outlines, as needed. locate your rules, codes or restatement: to export a toc (table of contents), you'll first want to locate your resource. restatement of torts restatement of contracts restatement of property federal rules of civil procedure ucc article 2 federal rules of evidence united states constitution, export your toc: click on download, select outline of current view under what to deliver and then click on download..

Strengthen Your Interview Discussions with News

• Search for a particular firm, attorney, or agency. (Ex. Kirkland and Ellis or Fourth Circuit )
• Or select a specific practice area (Ex. Mergers & Acquisitions )

American Law Reports

Your go-to secondary source, finding an a.l.r. (american law reports) article covering your topic is a great starting point for research. you'll get a quick summary of the legal issue you're researching and a table of cases, laws, and rules to see the law across all jurisdictions. you can also use annotations to find additional secondary sources, such as legal encyclopedias, treatises, and periodicals. no wonder they're nicknamed already done legal research see it in action: the legal discussion to compensate student athletes is heating up. check out this alr article to see how the legal picture for tomorrow’s student athletes comes together in one place., keycite graphical history, procedural history made easy, are you reading a case and not sure how you got there procedurally reversed, remanded or otherwise, we got you. just sign into westlaw and follow the steps below... 1. grab one of the citations you see in your case book and type it into the search box on westlaw . (ex. 480 u.s. 102), 2. click on your case in the drop-down menu., 3. click on the history tab to see your procedural history., keycite graphical history works best when you have a federal case and a complex issue. check out some additional examples from your classes below. contracts - koken v. black & veatch const., inc. - lamps plus, inc. v. varela civil procedure - national equipment rental v. szukhent - helicopteros nacionales de colombia, s.a. v. hall torts - palsgraf v. long island r. co. - kentucky fried chicken of cal., inc. v. superior court, law school resource center, flowcharts, overviews & more..

Step 1 - Create a New Class

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Love Your Lawyer Day

All the rules you need for class in one place.

Understand the procedural history of your case..

Don't guess the meaning of a term. Know it.

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Click on Copy Another Class

Go to the Knowledge Center and click on the Copy Another Class button.

Enter Your Copy Code

Enter your copy code in the Enter Class Copy Code box and click the Validate button.

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Change your course title, set your course dates and set your copy option to Assignments Only.

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Click on Copy Course and you're all set to share your course with students.

1. Copy the Code Below

2. click on copy another class, 3. enter your copy code, set your options, click copy course, determining whether a federal court has subject matter jurisdiction over a non-class action case..

If the case arises out of the U.S. Constitution, U.S. laws, rules or regulations, or a treaty signed by the U.S., and the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction, then the case must be litigated in federal court.

If the case does not arise out of the U.S. Constitution, U.S. laws, rules or regulations, or a treaty signed by the U.S., and there is not complete diversity between the plaintiffs and defendants (a.k.a they are both from different states or one is a citizen of a foreign country), then the case must be litigated in state court.

Restatement of Contracts 2d

Counter-offers.

(1) A counter-offer is an offer made by an offeree to his offeror relating to the same matter as the original offer and proposing a substituted bargain differing from that proposed by the original offer.

(2) An offeree’s power of acceptance is terminated by his making of a counter-offer, unless the offeror has manifested a contrary intention or unless the counter-offer manifests a contrary intention of the offeree.

Negligence Defined

Restatement (second) of torts 282.

In the Restatement of this Subject, negligence is conduct which falls below the standard established by law for the protection of others against unreasonable risk of harm. It does not include conduct recklessly disregardful of an interest of others.

Black’s Law Dictionary (10th ed.2014)

Demurrer: A means of objecting to the sufficiency in law of a pleading by admitting the actual allegations made by disputing that they frame an adequate claim. Demurrer is commonly known as a motion to dismiss.

(2) An offeree’s power of acceptance is terminated by his making a counter-off, unless the offeror has manifested a contrary intention or unless the counter-offer manifests a contrary intention of the offeree.

testing footnote

What is common law and is it written by the courts of law?

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Negligence defined

Restatement (second) of torts § 282.

Course Overview

First-Year Legal Research and Writing Program

1 North   Griswold Hall 1525 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge ,  MA 02138

Before you begin your studies in the First-Year Legal Research and Writing Program (LRW), it will help you to situate the course in the broader context of your legal education and your future law practice. To follow is a brief overview of the program, and an introduction to several themes that will recur throughout the year.

Program Overview

LRW uses a series of writing, research, and advocacy projects to engage you in the process of legal reasoning. The course instructs you in basic methods of legal analysis, effective written and oral communication of your analysis, and essential legal research tools and methodologies.

The first semester of LRW focuses on the writing of two predictive memos, in which you assess the arguments on each side of the issue and predict which side would prevail.  In the spring, you will learn how to write an appellate brief, in which you present your client’s best arguments to a court. For all three assignments, you will produce both a draft and a final version, the better to respond to feedback and hone your writing and analysis.  In practice, as in LRW, the writing process will help you take your internal understanding of an issue and make it external, so that you may hold it at arm’s length and examine it critically. As novice lawyers become expert lawyers, they develop greater ability to monitor their own level of understanding, and may resort somewhat less frequently (although not infrequently) to a formal written product like a predictive memo. Nevertheless, even when they eschew a formal written memo, they continue to apply the same analytical steps that are required to complete the writing assignments you will undertake in this course.

Lawyers cannot provide effective representation unless they master the necessary research skills. At a minimum, lawyers must be able to find and update the constitutional provisions, statutes, regulations, and cases that determine their clients’ rights and obligations. To that end, the legal research component of LRW will introduce you to core tools and methodologies that will be essential in your internships next summer, as well as in your future law practice. Indeed, without such skills you will have a difficult time satisfying your employers and competing with fellow students in summer practice and the early years of law practice. More advanced research instruction is available in upper-level elective courses.

LRW’s learning model depends on the substantial feedback that we provide on your work. LRW will likely be the first law school course in which you receive any feedback on written work, and it will be the course in which you receive the most individual feedback by far. Keep in mind that our goals for your achievement are quite high, in keeping with your potential. Our feedback will naturally focus on areas for improvement, so you ought not interpret this emphasis negatively. Our feedback is intended not to discourage you, but to facilitate your learning.

LRW meets weekly in the fall and spring semester of your first year. LRW is graded Honors, Pass, Low Pass, and  Fail.

In the fall semester, you will complete two major writing assignments. The first is a  “Closed Memo,” in which you write a predictive memo based on a set of research materials that are provided for you. The second is an “Open Memo,” in which you must research the applicable law and write a predictive memo based on your own research.

In the spring semester, the major course assignment is the First-Year Ames Moot Court Program. Working in pairs, you will research and draft an appellate brief concerning a simulated case set in a federal or state appeals court. At the end of the semester, you will argue your case before a three-judge panel. Judges are drawn from Harvard Law School faculty, practicing lawyers, and upper-level law students. With this course overview in mind, we turn next to a discussion of several recurring themes in LRW.

The Conventions of Legal Discourse

Any discourse community has its own discourse conventions, and lawyers have done a particularly thorough job of developing theirs. LRW is intended to familiarize you with these discourse conventions.

LRW introduces you to the generally accepted modes of legal reasoning: rule-based reasoning; analogical reasoning; and policy reasoning. As you progress through the course assignments, you will see the interdependence among these three modes of legal reasoning. When LRW turns to advocacy, you will learn how lawyers use narrative devices to complement the conventional modes of legal reasoning and make their arguments more persuasive.

Discourse conventions govern not only the modes of argument, but also the authorities that frame the argument. You will learn what types of materials constitute acceptable sources of authority in legal discourse, as well as the different hierarchies within which those authorities exist.

Most concretely, LRW will introduce you to two basic forms through which lawyers communicate their legal reasoning. You will learn the conventions applicable to a predictive memo and an appellate oral argument.

Of course, you will be learning the conventions of legal discourse in all of your first-year courses, indeed in all of law school. LRW, however, is intended to focus very specifically on the conventions themselves, more so than in your other courses.

Legal Reasoning and Judicial Discretion

Throughout your legal education, you will encounter a debate over the role of judicial discretion in adjudication. At the extremes, some would suggest that adjudication is rationally constrained by the available legal authorities, while others would argue that adjudication is effectively constrained only by the judge’s own beliefs and values. LRW is not intended to resolve that debate. Nevertheless, your work in this course should illustrate several different concepts about the degrees to which legal authorities can constrain judicial discretion.

Over the course of the year’s projects, you should see that a series of authorities applying the same rule can restrict–at least to some degree–the decision in a future situation governed by that rule. For example, if a statute says “No vehicles in the park,” and the state’s highest court interprets the statute to mean no “motor vehicles,” you can be pretty sure that the statute won’t prohibit you from riding your elephant through the park.

One might think that the ever-increasing number of decisions necessarily increases the degree of constraint. That may be so in some situations, but several factors can have a destabilizing influence. One such factor is the contingent nature of language. You may have seen in other contexts, and you will surely see in your legal career, that saying more about a topic often creates more uncertainty, not less. Each new opinion creates the potential for misstatement and misunderstanding, enabling future lawyers to reinterpret the pre-existing rule. A second destabilizing factor is the social context of our legal system. Authorities rest on a foundation of policy, of societal goals and values, even if those values are not always stated explicitly. As societal goals and values shift, a body of law resting on the discarded goals and values may become obsolete, and eventually reoriented in support of a new rule.

Finally, you should recognize that the limits on judicial discretion are often less substantial than they might seem at first. Each of the major projects in LRW should demonstrate that, with regard to a given legal problem, there is usually more than one possible outcome, even if one outcome seems more likely than the others. Skilled lawyers read authorities with a critical eye, constantly on the lookout for the gap of ambiguity within a seemingly solid wall of legal authorities.

Tension Between the Abstract and the Concrete

To complete any substantial task of legal analysis, the lawyer must at some point bridge the boundary between the abstract and the concrete. Rules rarely, if ever, cover every situation imaginable. For example, the “No vehicles in the park” statute could simply list every make and model of car and truck in existence, to clarify that they are all prohibited from the park. But the rule would be unmanageably long, and new makes and models would come into existence after the rule’s enactment. So the drafters would instead choose a term to describe the category of situations to which their rule was addressed. Rules that denote categories rather than specific situations necessarily involve a degree of abstraction, whether a moderate degree (e.g., “motor vehicle”) or a substantial degree (e.g., “best interest of the child”).

Fortunately for us, this inherent uncertainty is one of the things that makes law practice a creative endeavor. For example, if the vehicles in the park statute referred to “motor vehicles,” would that include airplanes? Mopeds? Golf carts? The “Segway” personal scooters? Lawyers and judges would try to use the policies underlying the rule and analogies to prior decisions to decide each example. But the jump from abstract to concrete would involve a measure of uncertainty, and it is this uncertainty that allows lawyers to make plausible arguments on both sides of a case.

Your Audience

In the oral and written communications that you undertake in this course, you must focus not only on the substantive ideas that you try to communicate, but also on the way in which your audience will receive those ideas. Communication is a two-step process, and even brilliant arguments suffer if the audience is distracted by substandard prose. That is why the feedback in this course will consider the form and style of your writing.

Additionally, you must recognize that your audience has a particular task before it, and will be using your communication (i.e., your memo, brief, or oral argument) as an instrument in completing that task. The audience’s task will often be to decide how to advise a client or rule in a case. To be effective, your communication must be suited to your audience’s needs. So in a memo addressed to an attorney who must decide how to advise a client, simply stating your prediction is not enough. You must also help the attorney understand the applicable legal standard and its likely application, as well as any plausible counter-arguments and the reasons why those arguments would not prevail. Only then will your communication allow the attorney to make an informed decision about how to advise the client.

You are at the start of a fascinating journey. We in the First-Year Legal Research and Writing Program wish you great success and enjoyment as you begin your legal education.

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Four Ways to Brief Cases in Law School Faster

Last Updated: Aug 28, 2024

As you may have already discovered, your speed-reading abilities may not carry over as much as you would like in law school. You must now carefully and critically analyze, question and reason every paragraph, sentence and word. Here’s how to get the most out of your preparation for class and your reading of assigned cases.

1) Use a “road map” for reading assignments

It’s always a good idea to know where you’re going. Before you start reading the assigned cases, look at the chapter headings and the table of contents in the casebook. These will tell you the topic to which the assigned cases relate and where this topic fits in the overall course.

2) Keep a good law dictionary on hand

When a word you don’t understand is used, or when a word is used in some unusual sense, stop immediately and look it up. You’ll be spinning your wheels mentally until you absorb the correct meaning. A good way of making sure you remember the meanings of legal terms is to use them in your case briefs (and outlines). You’ll better recall the context in which you used the word, and its meaning will stay with you.

3) Create a briefing system

Briefing cases is indispensable in “learning to think like a lawyer.” Once mastered, you’ll be able to distill the facts and reasoning of a case down to manageable size. The use of a briefing system will force you to dissect a case sufficiently for analytic purposes. Try a format of breaking down the essential elements: Facts, Trial Court decision, Issues, Rules and Rationale.

4) Keep your briefs  brief

The sole purpose of a brief is to help you recall the case in sufficient detail to discuss during class and to integrate it into your class notes. Rather than attempt a detailed restatement of the entire case, simply try to capture the gist of the facts and the court’s reasoning in as few words as possible.

Learning how to brief cases is something you can master with practice. And once you know the art of case briefing, you’re likely not forget it. You don’t need to commit yourself to briefing every case in every class throughout law school. It’s better to commit yourself to briefing cases until you’re good at it, which for most students means throughout 1L year.  Learn more about law school case briefs .

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Checklist: Getting the Assignment

February 9, 2023

[This document is part of a series focused on core litigation skills. Bloomberg Law subscribers can access the full Core Litigation Skills Toolkit with practical guidance on key aspects of litigation practice. Not a subscriber? Request a demo .]

Receiving an assignment can be challenging, especially if you aren’t familiar with the client’s case and/or the area of the law. Consider the following before going into a meeting to get a research assignment .

Think ahead, come prepared

Think ahead about questions to ask to make sure you fully understand the assignment. If it is not provided, always ask about background case information, logistical issues such as the deadline, the client/matter number, and billing instructions.

Take a lot of notes

Be ready to take a lot of notes when receiving the assignment and don’t assume you will remember it all later when you start the assignment. Make sure you know whom to contact if you have questions or need your memory refreshed.

Do you understand what is being asked of you?

Confirm your understanding of the question being asked. When the assigning attorney is finished with their initial explanation of the assignment, repeat back to them what they want you to research.

Ask questions

Don’t be afraid to ask questions.

Understand the context

If the assignor doesn’t tell you, ask why they need to know the answer to the research question. Where does it fit into the overall case? What is the best answer for the client? Is there a second-best answer? What if you find the opposite of what they want you to find? These pieces of information can be important in knowing what strands of the research are more relevant, help you know when to stop researching, and make you a more efficient researcher.

What are the key facts of the case?

Knowing the key facts will enable you to keep an eye out for case law that is factually analogous to yours. There may be an existing document or filing that lays out the facts in more detail. If so, that document should be your first stop when you have questions.

What is the jurisdiction?

Be sure to pinpoint the relevant jurisdiction. If it is a pending case, the court where it is pending will tell you that. Also be sure to get the docket number from the assignor. If the research question is for a case that is not yet filed, be sure to ask where the case would be filed. If there is a choice of where to file, determine whether the assignor wants information to compare jurisdictions.

Confirm the final work product

What final product does the assignor want from you? A formal memo for the client? A memo for the file? An email that pinpoints the relevant cases? An oral summary? This is very important, especially for time management.

How will the research be used?

Is the research to be used for a pending motion? If you are helping with a motion for summary judgment, for example, your goal is to find cases that are in the same procedural posture as yours and come out favorably for your side (i.e., if your client is the one filing the motion, try to find cases where a motion for summary judgment was granted, not denied). Keep in mind the burden of proof for different kinds of motions.

How much time?

Ask for an estimate of how much time/money the assignor expects this to take or is willing to initially authorize. Keep track of the estimate, and as soon as it looks like it might be insufficient, check back in with the assignor for more instructions. Do they want you to go past the estimate? Stop with what you know now? Modify to a narrower track?

How does the assignor like to be contacted?

Ask for the best times and method (email, phone call, office visit, etc.) to reach the assignor if you need clarification or have follow-up questions. Knowing how and when your assignor should be contacted is core to building and maintaining a positive and successful working relationship.

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• 5 tips from a law school librarian for assigning…

5 tips from a law school librarian for assigning research projects to interns

By Matthew Flyntz

March 28, 2022, 8:39 am CDT

Matthew Flyntz.

As a law school reference librarian, I field a lot of questions from law students working at internships, externships and summer jobs. Over the years, I’ve seen some recurring issues with the research assignments given to law students, and I thought it might be helpful to discuss some of them here.

Tip 1: Provide as much detail as possible.

Students sometimes come to the reference desk with very vague research questions. Things like, “I’ve been asked to research [insert broad topic],” or “I’ve been asked to find cases on [insert broad topic].” We will then ask clarifying questions to try to make the project more manageable, but students will often respond with “I don’t know.” Unfortunately, when this happens, we have to tell students to go back and ask for clarification. If assigning attorneys can provide a higher level of detail up front, this can save time for everyone.

Ideally, when a student comes to us for research assistance, they should be able to provide: 1) a brief summary of the case they are working on; 2) a concise statement of the specific issue to be researched; and 3) a clear understanding of what they are trying to find (e.g., If they are searching for cases, from which court(s)? If articles, how recent? And so on …).

Tip 2: Suggest a starting point.

Students sometimes say to me, “I’ve been given a research project, and I have no idea where to start.” We librarians are happy to help, of course, but assigning attorneys—as subject-matter experts—may know better than we do about the best starting places. If you know of a relevant treatise, practice guide or article, or you have a citation to a potentially useful statute or case, let the student know. In my experience, students sometimes struggle to find a way into a research project, but once they get a foothold, they have an easier time with it.

Tip 3: Consider setting time limits or check-in points.

Students visit the reference desk frazzled and say, “I’ve been spinning my wheels on this for eight hours, and I am so confused!” This is presumably not how you want your interns spending their time. When I assign research projects to my students, I generally say something like, “If you’ve put in two hours of good faith effort and are still confused, come talk to me.” I’ve also learned that students take significantly longer on research projects than I think they will. For example, if I assign something expecting it to take one or two hours, many students will spend more like three to four hours on it. Setting check-in times can help ensure students are spending a reasonable amount of time on each project.

Tip 4: Cultivate a culture where asking questions is encouraged.

Of course, in order for Tip 3 to work, there needs to be a culture of openness and psychological safety. Students need to feel safe in asking questions. In my experience, students seem very reluctant to go back to the assigning attorney to ask clarifying questions. Even in my classes, I can sense that students are sometimes reluctant to ask me questions. This may have something to do with law student psychology, where students are wary of seeming foolish in front of their peers, professors and employers. Regardless of where this tendency comes from, I think we all need to remind students that asking questions is expected—and even desirable—and that we will not judge them for doing so.

Tip 5: Try to avoid making students ‘prove a negative.’

I field a lot of questions from students like this: “My assigning attorney asked me to research [insert extremely specific topic]. They said they doubt there are any cases out there but have asked me to double-check.” This is essentially asking students to “prove a negative”—that is, they are not finding the law; they are proving that there is no law. I think these make poor research projects for student interns for at least three reasons. First, from a pedagogical standpoint, they don’t reinforce good research habits. Because there are no good secondary sources, and no cases or statutes to start with, students do not get practice using the essential research skills they are taught in law school. And indeed, the research process students are taught to follow essentially breaks down in these situations, and students end up taking a “kitchen sink” approach—frantically searching anywhere and everywhere for any morsel of relevant information.

Second, these assignments put a lot of stress and anxiety on students. In my experience, students are fearful of returning to their assigning attorney empty-handed, even though the assignment is essentially designed for them not to find anything. If this type of assignment must be given, I’d encourage supervising attorneys to make sure interns understand that they may very well find nothing, and that is OK.

Third, this type of research project takes a surprisingly long time to do well. I’ve already mentioned that students take longer than we expect to do most research projects, and this is doubly true with this sort of project. Proving a negative is much more difficult and time-consuming than proving a positive. I’d encourage supervising attorneys to consider if this is really how they want their interns to spend their time.

In conclusion

I love helping students with their research projects; I think most librarians do. It’s a big reason many of us became librarians! These tips are not meant to suggest that we do not want to help student interns or to off-load the burden of helping students with research onto someone else. They are meant to make the research process go more smoothly for everyone involved and to help make sure our students get the most meaningful experiences they can.

Matthew Flyntz is the research law librarian for instructional services at the University of California at Irvine School of Law, where he designs and teaches first-year and upper-level legal research courses. He has published articles on legal information, law librarianship and legal research instruction in Legal Reference Services Quarterly , Legal Information Review, The Second Draft and ABA Student Lawyer, among others.

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The Successful Law Student: An Insider's Guide to Studying Law (2nd edn)

• Acknowledgements
• Student Voices in The Successful Law Student
• 1. Introducing The Successful Law Student
• 2. Studying Law at University: Opportunities and Considerations
• 3. Preparing for Success
• 4. Learning and Studying Law
• 5. Making the Most of Your Classes in Law
• 6. Developing Legal (and Other) Skills
• 7. Finding and Using Legal Materials and Resources
• 8. Preparing for Assessments and Assignments
• 9. Assessments and Assignments in Law
• 10. Feedback, Reflection, and Looking Forward from Assessment
• 11. Study Abroad
• 12. Expanding Legal Skills— Mooting, Negotiation, and More
• 13. Volunteering, Paid Work, and Other Opportunities
• 14. Preparing to Move On
• 15. Career Pathways
• 16. A Successful Future

p. 249 9. Assessments and Assignments in Law

• Imogen Moore Imogen Moore Professor of Law and Director of Education in the Law School, University of Exeter
•  and  Craig Newbery-Jones Craig Newbery-Jones Associate Professor in Legal Education, University of Leeds
• https://doi.org/10.1093/he/9780198865650.003.0009
• Published in print: 28 February 2022
• Published online: September 2022

This chapter looks at some of the many different forms of assessment a law student may come across, depending on where they are studying and the subjects they choose. These include coursework, exams, multiple-choice tests, advocacy or other oral presentations, posters, and reflective reports. The chapter also considers dissertations and other research projects, and group work for assessment. The chapter gives advice on how to approach different types of assessment to enhance their chances of success. Specific guidance is also provided on responding to problem questions and essays, whether in coursework or exams including consideration of the IRAC and CEEO methods.

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• assignments basic law

Assignments: The Basic Law

The assignment of a right or obligation is a common contractual event under the law and the right to assign (or prohibition against assignments) is found in the majority of agreements, leases and business structural documents created in the United States.

As with many terms commonly used, people are familiar with the term but often are not aware or fully aware of what the terms entail. The concept of assignment of rights and obligations is one of those simple concepts with wide ranging ramifications in the contractual and business context and the law imposes severe restrictions on the validity and effect of assignment in many instances. Clear contractual provisions concerning assignments and rights should be in every document and structure created and this article will outline why such drafting is essential for the creation of appropriate and effective contracts and structures.

The reader should first read the article on Limited Liability Entities in the United States and Contracts since the information in those articles will be assumed in this article.

Basic Definitions and Concepts:

An assignment is the transfer of rights held by one party called the “assignor” to another party called the “assignee.” The legal nature of the assignment and the contractual terms of the agreement between the parties determines some additional rights and liabilities that accompany the assignment. The assignment of rights under a contract usually completely transfers the rights to the assignee to receive the benefits accruing under the contract. Ordinarily, the term assignment is limited to the transfer of rights that are intangible, like contractual rights and rights connected with property. Merchants Service Co. v. Small Claims Court , 35 Cal. 2d 109, 113-114 (Cal. 1950).

An assignment will generally be permitted under the law unless there is an express prohibition against assignment in the underlying contract or lease. Where assignments are permitted, the assignor need not consult the other party to the contract but may merely assign the rights at that time. However, an assignment cannot have any adverse effect on the duties of the other party to the contract, nor can it diminish the chance of the other party receiving complete performance. The assignor normally remains liable unless there is an agreement to the contrary by the other party to the contract.

The effect of a valid assignment is to remove privity between the assignor and the obligor and create privity between the obligor and the assignee. Privity is usually defined as a direct and immediate contractual relationship. See Merchants case above.

Further, for the assignment to be effective in most jurisdictions, it must occur in the present. One does not normally assign a future right; the assignment vests immediate rights and obligations.

No specific language is required to create an assignment so long as the assignor makes clear his/her intent to assign identified contractual rights to the assignee. Since expensive litigation can erupt from ambiguous or vague language, obtaining the correct verbiage is vital. An agreement must manifest the intent to transfer rights and can either be oral or in writing and the rights assigned must be certain.

Note that an assignment of an interest is the transfer of some identifiable property, claim, or right from the assignor to the assignee. The assignment operates to transfer to the assignee all of the rights, title, or interest of the assignor in the thing assigned. A transfer of all rights, title, and interests conveys everything that the assignor owned in the thing assigned and the assignee stands in the shoes of the assignor. Knott v. McDonald’s Corp ., 985 F. Supp. 1222 (N.D. Cal. 1997)

The parties must intend to effectuate an assignment at the time of the transfer, although no particular language or procedure is necessary. As long ago as the case of National Reserve Co. v. Metropolitan Trust Co ., 17 Cal. 2d 827 (Cal. 1941), the court held that in determining what rights or interests pass under an assignment, the intention of the parties as manifested in the instrument is controlling.

The intent of the parties to an assignment is a question of fact to be derived not only from the instrument executed by the parties but also from the surrounding circumstances. When there is no writing to evidence the intention to transfer some identifiable property, claim, or right, it is necessary to scrutinize the surrounding circumstances and parties’ acts to ascertain their intentions. Strosberg v. Brauvin Realty Servs., 295 Ill. App. 3d 17 (Ill. App. Ct. 1st Dist. 1998)

The general rule applicable to assignments of choses in action is that an assignment, unless there is a contract to the contrary, carries with it all securities held by the assignor as collateral to the claim and all rights incidental thereto and vests in the assignee the equitable title to such collateral securities and incidental rights. An unqualified assignment of a contract or chose in action, however, with no indication of the intent of the parties, vests in the assignee the assigned contract or chose and all rights and remedies incidental thereto.

More examples: In Strosberg v. Brauvin Realty Servs ., 295 Ill. App. 3d 17 (Ill. App. Ct. 1st Dist. 1998), the court held that the assignee of a party to a subordination agreement is entitled to the benefits and is subject to the burdens of the agreement. In Florida E. C. R. Co. v. Eno , 99 Fla. 887 (Fla. 1930), the court held that the mere assignment of all sums due in and of itself creates no different or other liability of the owner to the assignee than that which existed from the owner to the assignor.

And note that even though an assignment vests in the assignee all rights, remedies, and contingent benefits which are incidental to the thing assigned, those which are personal to the assignor and for his sole benefit are not assigned. Rasp v. Hidden Valley Lake, Inc ., 519 N.E.2d 153, 158 (Ind. Ct. App. 1988). Thus, if the underlying agreement provides that a service can only be provided to X, X cannot assign that right to Y.

Novation Compared to Assignment:

Although the difference between a novation and an assignment may appear narrow, it is an essential one. “Novation is a act whereby one party transfers all its obligations and benefits under a contract to a third party.” In a novation, a third party successfully substitutes the original party as a party to the contract. “When a contract is novated, the other contracting party must be left in the same position he was in prior to the novation being made.”

A sublease is the transfer when a tenant retains some right of reentry onto the leased premises. However, if the tenant transfers the entire leasehold estate, retaining no right of reentry or other reversionary interest, then the transfer is an assignment. The assignor is normally also removed from liability to the landlord only if the landlord consents or allowed that right in the lease. In a sublease, the original tenant is not released from the obligations of the original lease.

Equitable Assignments:

An equitable assignment is one in which one has a future interest and is not valid at law but valid in a court of equity. In National Bank of Republic v. United Sec. Life Ins. & Trust Co. , 17 App. D.C. 112 (D.C. Cir. 1900), the court held that to constitute an equitable assignment of a chose in action, the following has to occur generally: anything said written or done, in pursuance of an agreement and for valuable consideration, or in consideration of an antecedent debt, to place a chose in action or fund out of the control of the owner, and appropriate it to or in favor of another person, amounts to an equitable assignment. Thus, an agreement, between a debtor and a creditor, that the debt shall be paid out of a specific fund going to the debtor may operate as an equitable assignment.

In Egyptian Navigation Co. v. Baker Invs. Corp. , 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 30804 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 14, 2008), the court stated that an equitable assignment occurs under English law when an assignor, with an intent to transfer his/her right to a chose in action, informs the assignee about the right so transferred.

An executory agreement or a declaration of trust are also equitable assignments if unenforceable as assignments by a court of law but enforceable by a court of equity exercising sound discretion according to the circumstances of the case. Since California combines courts of equity and courts of law, the same court would hear arguments as to whether an equitable assignment had occurred. Quite often, such relief is granted to avoid fraud or unjust enrichment.

Note that obtaining an assignment through fraudulent means invalidates the assignment. Fraud destroys the validity of everything into which it enters. It vitiates the most solemn contracts, documents, and even judgments. Walker v. Rich , 79 Cal. App. 139 (Cal. App. 1926). If an assignment is made with the fraudulent intent to delay, hinder, and defraud creditors, then it is void as fraudulent in fact. See our article on Transfers to Defraud Creditors .

But note that the motives that prompted an assignor to make the transfer will be considered as immaterial and will constitute no defense to an action by the assignee, if an assignment is considered as valid in all other respects.

Enforceability of Assignments:

Whether a right under a contract is capable of being transferred is determined by the law of the place where the contract was entered into. The validity and effect of an assignment is determined by the law of the place of assignment. The validity of an assignment of a contractual right is governed by the law of the state with the most significant relationship to the assignment and the parties.

In some jurisdictions, the traditional conflict of laws rules governing assignments has been rejected and the law of the place having the most significant contacts with the assignment applies. In Downs v. American Mut. Liability Ins. Co ., 14 N.Y.2d 266 (N.Y. 1964), a wife and her husband separated and the wife obtained a judgment of separation from the husband in New York. The judgment required the husband to pay a certain yearly sum to the wife. The husband assigned 50 percent of his future salary, wages, and earnings to the wife. The agreement authorized the employer to make such payments to the wife.

After the husband moved from New York, the wife learned that he was employed by an employer in Massachusetts. She sent the proper notice and demanded payment under the agreement. The employer refused and the wife brought an action for enforcement. The court observed that Massachusetts did not prohibit assignment of the husband’s wages. Moreover, Massachusetts law was not controlling because New York had the most significant relationship with the assignment. Therefore, the court ruled in favor of the wife.

Therefore, the validity of an assignment is determined by looking to the law of the forum with the most significant relationship to the assignment itself. To determine the applicable law of assignments, the court must look to the law of the state which is most significantly related to the principal issue before it.

Assignment of Contractual Rights:

Generally, the law allows the assignment of a contractual right unless the substitution of rights would materially change the duty of the obligor, materially increase the burden or risk imposed on the obligor by the contract, materially impair the chance of obtaining return performance, or materially reduce the value of the performance to the obligor. Restat 2d of Contracts, § 317(2)(a). This presumes that the underlying agreement is silent on the right to assign.

If the contract specifically precludes assignment, the contractual right is not assignable. Whether a contract is assignable is a matter of contractual intent and one must look to the language used by the parties to discern that intent.

In the absence of an express provision to the contrary, the rights and duties under a bilateral executory contract that does not involve personal skill, trust, or confidence may be assigned without the consent of the other party. But note that an assignment is invalid if it would materially alter the other party’s duties and responsibilities. Once an assignment is effective, the assignee stands in the shoes of the assignor and assumes all of assignor’s rights. Hence, after a valid assignment, the assignor’s right to performance is extinguished, transferred to assignee, and the assignee possesses the same rights, benefits, and remedies assignor once possessed. Robert Lamb Hart Planners & Architects v. Evergreen, Ltd. , 787 F. Supp. 753 (S.D. Ohio 1992).

On the other hand, an assignee’s right against the obligor is subject to “all of the limitations of the assignor’s right, all defenses thereto, and all set-offs and counterclaims which would have been available against the assignor had there been no assignment, provided that these defenses and set-offs are based on facts existing at the time of the assignment.” See Robert Lamb , case, above.

The power of the contract to restrict assignment is broad. Usually, contractual provisions that restrict assignment of the contract without the consent of the obligor are valid and enforceable, even when there is statutory authorization for the assignment. The restriction of the power to assign is often ineffective unless the restriction is expressly and precisely stated. Anti-assignment clauses are effective only if they contain clear, unambiguous language of prohibition. Anti-assignment clauses protect only the obligor and do not affect the transaction between the assignee and assignor.

Usually, a prohibition against the assignment of a contract does not prevent an assignment of the right to receive payments due, unless circumstances indicate the contrary. Moreover, the contracting parties cannot, by a mere non-assignment provision, prevent the effectual alienation of the right to money which becomes due under the contract.

A contract provision prohibiting or restricting an assignment may be waived, or a party may so act as to be estopped from objecting to the assignment, such as by effectively ratifying the assignment. The power to void an assignment made in violation of an anti-assignment clause may be waived either before or after the assignment. See our article on Contracts.

Noncompete Clauses and Assignments:

Of critical import to most buyers of businesses is the ability to ensure that key employees of the business being purchased cannot start a competing company. Some states strictly limit such clauses, some do allow them. California does restrict noncompete clauses, only allowing them under certain circumstances. A common question in those states that do allow them is whether such rights can be assigned to a new party, such as the buyer of the buyer.

A covenant not to compete, also called a non-competitive clause, is a formal agreement prohibiting one party from performing similar work or business within a designated area for a specified amount of time. This type of clause is generally included in contracts between employer and employee and contracts between buyer and seller of a business.

Many workers sign a covenant not to compete as part of the paperwork required for employment. It may be a separate document similar to a non-disclosure agreement, or buried within a number of other clauses in a contract. A covenant not to compete is generally legal and enforceable, although there are some exceptions and restrictions.

Whenever a company recruits skilled employees, it invests a significant amount of time and training. For example, it often takes years before a research chemist or a design engineer develops a workable knowledge of a company’s product line, including trade secrets and highly sensitive information. Once an employee gains this knowledge and experience, however, all sorts of things can happen. The employee could work for the company until retirement, accept a better offer from a competing company or start up his or her own business.

A covenant not to compete may cover a number of potential issues between employers and former employees. Many companies spend years developing a local base of customers or clients. It is important that this customer base not fall into the hands of local competitors. When an employee signs a covenant not to compete, he or she usually agrees not to use insider knowledge of the company’s customer base to disadvantage the company. The covenant not to compete often defines a broad geographical area considered off-limits to former employees, possibly tens or hundreds of miles.

Another area of concern covered by a covenant not to compete is a potential ‘brain drain’. Some high-level former employees may seek to recruit others from the same company to create new competition. Retention of employees, especially those with unique skills or proprietary knowledge, is vital for most companies, so a covenant not to compete may spell out definite restrictions on the hiring or recruiting of employees.

A covenant not to compete may also define a specific amount of time before a former employee can seek employment in a similar field. Many companies offer a substantial severance package to make sure former employees are financially solvent until the terms of the covenant not to compete have been met.

Because the use of a covenant not to compete can be controversial, a handful of states, including California, have largely banned this type of contractual language. The legal enforcement of these agreements falls on individual states, and many have sided with the employee during arbitration or litigation. A covenant not to compete must be reasonable and specific, with defined time periods and coverage areas. If the agreement gives the company too much power over former employees or is ambiguous, state courts may declare it to be overbroad and therefore unenforceable. In such case, the employee would be free to pursue any employment opportunity, including working for a direct competitor or starting up a new company of his or her own.

It has been held that an employee’s covenant not to compete is assignable where one business is transferred to another, that a merger does not constitute an assignment of a covenant not to compete, and that a covenant not to compete is enforceable by a successor to the employer where the assignment does not create an added burden of employment or other disadvantage to the employee. However, in some states such as Hawaii, it has also been held that a covenant not to compete is not assignable and under various statutes for various reasons that such covenants are not enforceable against an employee by a successor to the employer. Hawaii v. Gannett Pac. Corp. , 99 F. Supp. 2d 1241 (D. Haw. 1999)

It is vital to obtain the relevant law of the applicable state before drafting or attempting to enforce assignment rights in this particular area.

Conclusion:

In the current business world of fast changing structures, agreements, employees and projects, the ability to assign rights and obligations is essential to allow flexibility and adjustment to new situations. Conversely, the ability to hold a contracting party into the deal may be essential for the future of a party. Thus, the law of assignments and the restriction on same is a critical aspect of every agreement and every structure. This basic provision is often glanced at by the contracting parties, or scribbled into the deal at the last minute but can easily become the most vital part of the transaction.

As an example, one client of ours came into the office outraged that his co venturer on a sizable exporting agreement, who had excellent connections in Brazil, had elected to pursue another venture instead and assigned the agreement to a party unknown to our client and without the business contacts our client considered vital. When we examined the handwritten agreement our client had drafted in a restaurant in Sao Paolo, we discovered there was no restriction on assignment whatsoever…our client had not even considered that right when drafting the agreement after a full day of work.

One choses who one does business with carefully…to ensure that one’s choice remains the party on the other side of the contract, one must master the ability to negotiate proper assignment provisions.

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