Intended primarily for use in the first few weeks of the first-semester legal writing course, The Pre-Writing Handbook for Law Students takes a systematic approach to the process of learning legal analysis. The Handbook is designed to help students focus on and become competent in the process of legal analysis that precedes their work on early legal writing products such as memos, case briefs, and other documents. This book teaches a new approach to learning legal analysis through the introduction of a series of repeatable steps that students can apply to any legal scenario. By practicing and internalizing these analytic steps, students will experience a smoother writing process that translates into a better written product. Each chapter of the Handbook contains several useful features: Frequent metacognitive "checkpoints"--text boxes that prompt students to pause or stop in their pre-writing work and assess their own efficiency and effectiveness. Concrete examples of how the steps in the pre-writing process actually work in two fully developed recurring legal scenarios. End-of-chapter recaps that summarize the desired results of the student's work during each step of the pre-writing process. Independent Practice Exercises. The Teacher's Manual includes advice on how to incorporate this book's new approach into an existing first-semester legal writing course; complete keys to all of the book's exercises; and complete samples of objective memos, a trial brief, an opinion letter, and a demand letter for use with the recurring scenarios and the independent exercises. The thorough content of the Teacher's Manual should enable professors to use the Handbook effectively with minimal additional preparation. "The Handbook hits the nail on the head! It centers on exactly what is missing from all the other legal writing books: the deep thinking that is necessary before pen hits paper." -- Joi Montiel, Faulkner University School of Law "Writing professors have claimed for years that learning to write is learning to think; legal writing professors have claimed for years that learning legal writing entails learning legal analysis. This book makes good on both claims and provides a welcome and useful tool for anyone trying to master legal writing." -- J. Christopher Rideout, Professor of Lawyering Skills and Associate Director of the Legal Writing Program, Seattle University School of Law "You need to crawl before you can walk, walk before you can run, and run before you can fly. Professors Graham and Felsenburg will have fledgling students flying in no time." -- Louis J. Sirico, Jr., Professor of Law and Director, Legal Writing Program, Villanova University School of Law

The Legal Scholar’s Guidebookdemystifies academic legal writing by providing concrete advice on topic selection, research strategies, and analytical frameworks. It is an essential resource for any serious legal scholar. Nascent scholars will find it a reassuring guide through a demanding process and experienced scholars will find it a source of encouragement. Wherever you are on your scholarly journey, the Guidebook is your compass. Scholars will benefit from: Chapter Brainstormsthat contain Questions guiding entry into stages of the research and writing process. Squelch the Impostor tips that include advice to manage stress inherent at each stage of the research and writing process. Specific assignments to methodically guide the scholar through each stage. Examples, Guides, and Checklists that provide samples to help the scholar understand expectations at each stage.

Buy anew versionof this Connected Casebook and receiveaccessto theonline e-book,practice questionsfrom your favorite study aids, and anoutline toolon CasebookConnect, the all in one learning solution for law school students. CasebookConnect offers you what you need most to be successful in your law school classes – portability, meaningful feedback, and greater efficiency. The Aspen Handbook for Legal Writers, a brief and accessible reference on mechanics and style, is a useful companion to any legal writing text. Targetedat the needs of legal writers, the text initially focuses on the rules of grammar, style, and usage—with plenty of examples. A section on Legal Documentsoffers strategies to improve legal writing, with sample letters, memorandum, case brief, trial brief, and appellate brief. Numerous, helpful examples showcaseboth good and bad writing. This practical approach helps law students with common problems and dilemmas: substitutions for “legalese,” lists of commonly used legal idioms, spellingtips, advice on organization and the legal writing process, proofreading, and document design. Modeled after handbooks used at the undergraduate level,the Handbook features a small trim size, comb-binding, clear organization, two-color printing, and helpful design elements to highlight importantinformation. Distinctive features designed with the student in mind include Websites for each topic addressed, Tips and Strategies to highlight key topicssuch as breaking writers’ blocks, meeting deadlines, communicating by email and text messaging, ethics notes, and Challenge Exercises in each chapterto test mastery. A brief Table of Contents on the inside front cover and Style Sheet on the inside back cover offer quick reference. Key Features: For all writers, pragmatic and useful information is given on beginning the writing process, tips to meet deadlines, common legal conventions or traditions, common blunders made by legal writers, and proofreading and document design. The fundamental features of legal writing (accuracy, readability, clarity, and brevity) are covered in depth. Quiz or ‘Challenge’ questions test readers’ comprehension of the material and showcase methods to improve writing. Sample documents are provided for the most common types of legal writings, including: Sample demand letter Sample opinion letter Sample legal memorandum Sample trial court brief Sample appellate brief (which includes a table of authorities) Sample case brief Sample litigation document (a complaint for breach of contract) Sample transactional document (a joint venture agreement) Electronic communications are covered–twenty tips for using email in a professional setting are given, along with tips for web conferences, texting, and communicating through social media. The Handbook also includes an Appendix on English as a Second Language, which should be helpful to students and new attorneys whose language of origin is not English. CasebookConnectfeatures: ONLINE E-BOOK Law school comes with a lot of reading, so access your enhanced e-book anytime, anywhere to keep up with your coursework. Highlight, take notes in the margins, and search the full text to quickly find coverage of legal topics. PRACTICE QUESTIONS Quiz yourself before class and prep for your exam in the Study Center. Practice questions fromExamples & Explanations,Emanuel Law Outlines,Emanuel Law in a Flashflashcards, and other best-selling study aid series help you study for exams while tracking your strengths and weaknesses to help optimize your study time. OUTLINE TOOL Most professors will tell you that starting your outline early is key to being successful in your law school classes. The Outline Tool automatically populates your notes and highlights from the e-book into an editable format to accelerate your outline creation and increase study time later in the semester.

Offers one hundred rules that every first year law student should live by “Dear Law Student: Here’s the truth. You belong here.” Law professor Andrew Ferguson and former student Jonathan Yusef Newton open with this statement of reassurance in The Law of Law School. As all former law students and current lawyers can attest, law school is disorienting, overwhelming, and difficult. Unlike other educational institutions, law school is not set up simply to teach a subject. Instead, the first year of law school is set up to teach a skill set and way of thinking, which you then apply to do the work of lawyering. What most first-year students don’t realize is that law school has a code, an unwritten rulebook of decisions and traditions that must be understood in order to succeed. The Law of Law School endeavors to distill this common wisdom into one hundred easily digestible rules. From self-care tips such as “Remove the Drama,” to studying tricks like “Prepare for Class like an Appellate Argument,” topics on exams, classroom expectations, outlining, case briefing, professors, and mental health are all broken down into the rules that form the hidden law of law school. If you don’t have a network of lawyers in your family and are unsure of what to expect, Ferguson and Newton offer a forthright guide to navigating the expectations, challenges, and secrets to first-year success. Jonathan Newton was himself such a non-traditional student and now shares his story as a pathway to a meaningful and positive law school experience. This book is perfect for the soon-to-be law school student or the current 1L and speaks to the growing number of first-generation law students in America.

Up to fifty percent of financial forensic services are performed in divorces, or in family law business valuations. Providing the first definitive publication on family law for accountants, this book addresses topics unique to family law accounting, tax, valuation and practice. The coverage begins with pre-engagement of the client and proceeds through to trial and preparation and presentation. Sample checklists, work papers, and trial exhibits are included. CPAs and attorneys will benefit from this handbook’s tips on providing financial services in the family law arena.