Course description and syllabus
General description of the course:
This is a one credit intensive course in
legal writing and written advocacy, open to approximately 120 second and third
year law students. It is formally known as Law 633. In 2024, the class will be taught in MAC001.
Class policies:
There will be some classes where the students
will work briefly on writing exercises. There will be others where the classes
will be in lecture format, but with strong interaction with the students. High
quality participation is encouraged.
Please note that in order to pass this
course, you must attend every class, for the whole class. Attendance will be
taken and absences will be detected. Any absences must be explained with strong
reasons offered. If you plan to be away for any of the classes, or if you need
to leave early in any of them, do not enter this course. At the end of the January 13 class, you will be given two assignments to be completed and sent to dstratas@yahoo.com by January 19, 2024 at noon.
Course evaluation: students will receive a
"pass/fail" grade based on a take-home examination (see below).
Precedents and materials will be available online
and will be discussed in class. In order to participate, students must bring a
laptop computer to class in order to access the materials wirelessly.
The instructor:
Justice David Stratas (Federal Court of
Appeal) (bio).
We will have a guest
instructor on January 20, 2024, Queen's grad Robert Thomson (Queen's Law '13), a former prize winner in this class (top standing) and a well-known, provincial Crown
Attorney in Ottawa, now heading a very high level group combatting human trafficking. Rob will assist on an exercise concerning the Cornell case
that will be taken up in class on January 20, 2024. He will also deliver a lecture giving very practical written advocacy tips for young lawyers, particularly those practising criminal law.
Schedule and Syllabus (subject to change):
Saturday, January 13, 2024, 10 am - 4:00 pm
- General instruction on how to write clearly directly and briefly.
- Advanced techniques - ways of emphasizing and selling your ideas.
- Using Inclusive and Respectful Language - many thanks to Pam Hrick (Law '13) and former member of this class, now Executive Director of LEAF, for her assistance in reviewing the original version of this presentation.
- Writing up the facts.
- Assignments (both due at noon, January 19): (1) In groups of up to eight students, draft and organize the headings for the facts section of an appellant's or respondent's factum in the Cornell case; one person in the group should send the group's submission to dstratas@yahoo.com; (2) Using the lessons of the course, and with the aim of persuading a legally trained reader who knows nothing about the case, draft a review (positive or negative, 150-250 words) of any Supreme Court case of your choice; each student should send to dstratas@yahoo.com.
Saturday, January 20, 2024, 10 am - 4 pm
- Writing refresher.
- Taking up assignment (2).
- Taking up assignment (1).
- Advocacy for new calls (from a criminal law perspective) - a special presentation by Rob Thomson (Law '13).
- Writing the overview.
- Writing up the law.
Evaluation will be by way of a take-home examination. You can obtain the examination on January 29, 2024 at 3 pm EST through a link on this page. The examination must be submitted to dstratas@yahoo.com by 5 pm EST on February 9, 2024.
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