Page 2 - Lawyering Skills and Strategies Brochure

Lawyering Skills and Strategies

Law school teaches students to think like lawyers. As a result
of this training, students can write more precisely, analyze
more rigorously and advocate more persuasively.
At its essence, legal writing is one of the most important
things lawyers do; it is about effective communication. On
a daily basis, an attorney might communicate with a fellow
attorney, a client, a judge or a panel of judges, or the public.
The University of Houston Law Center is committed to
providing students with the tools they need to be successful
communicators through a required, two-semester course on
Lawyering Skills and Strategies.
In the fall semester, students learn essential legal research, analysis, and communica-
tion skills and practice writing legal memoranda, professional emails, and client letters.
In the spring semester, students learn persuasive writing techniques, are introduced to
contract drafting, and practice writing various motions and contract provisions, all while
broadening their legal research skills.
Small class sizes allow students to receive individualized feedback on a regular basis
from one of eight full-time clinical professors. These professors bring extensive legal
experience and knowledge into the classroom and are actively involved with the Legal
Writing Institute, the Association of Legal Writing Directors, and the Association of
American Law Schools.
The Law Center’s Lawyering Skills and Strategies faculty is committed to enhancing the
University of Houston Law Center’s reputation in the legal community in the nation and
around the world, for developing highly-trained and practice-ready attorneys. We aim
to create one of the nation’s top legal writing programs.
Over the past four years, the Law Center has hired six new Lawyering Skills and
Strategies professors. They are excellent!

Dean Leonard M. Baynes