Introduction

Each Fall, legal writing professors introduce students to the structure and format of the interoffice memo. The memo, of course, is the product we ask students to create to show their mastery of producing a written legal analysis. Before the Discussion section of the interoffice memo, however—the section in which that analysis is communicated—there is the Statement of Facts. I have not spent much time instructing students on the Statement of Facts beyond providing them with strategies for organizing facts clearly and effectively.

We all know the mantra: writing is rewriting. When we teach students how to write, we help them develop an editorial sensibility, as much as a compositional one. Yet in an era where students read and write less (except for texting, of course) and increasingly depend on generative AI, revision is harder to master. If students struggle with how to even begin writing, how can we expect they will know how to “begin again”?

One of the most frustrating challenges for legal writing professors is preparing detailed feedback on a student’s draft, only to see the same problems pop up again in the rewrite. Not just similar problems.

Introduction

While my Spring semester of Lawyering Skills primarily focuses on transitioning from predictive to persuasive analysis, my first unit of the year is entitled “Reflection and Revision.” I take advantage of the fact that we have just “celebrated” the New Year’s holiday,[1] when many students are already reflecting and making resolutions. First, I ask students to reflect on their progress thus far in the course, as well as in law school.

In the summer of 2025, I was given the opportunity to create a new legal writing curriculum for the University of Hawaiʻi Richardson School of Law’s fully online J.D. program. In addition to developing materials used in the 1L Lawyering Fundamentals courses, I now teach in the program. The process has proven to be the most rewarding in my 23 years as a legal writing professor.

Introduction

I have taught legal writing for a long time. Some things I “got right” early on, and I use those teaching approaches perennially. Some things I have created and improved and tweaked over time. And some things I create in the moment to make class more effective for a specific group of students.[1] What follows are three recent “in the moment” teaching tips that I now share with you.

Introduction

Seeking student feedback in a tangible manner during the semester has inherent value.[1] Ongoing student feedback can help a professor gauge what is (and what is not) working in the classroom.[2] The professor can take the temperature of the class and get a decent read on how things are going.[3]

A first-year law student recently told me, “You’ve got to learn the rules in order to break them.” The comment struck me as a smart distillation of what legal writing is all about, and why we teach it the way we do. More than that, it offers a helpful framework students can return to as they move through the course, wrestle with the challenges of legal writing, and begin to develop their own voice as future lawyers.

A legal drafter’s constant challenge is choosing language that captures the parties’ or legislative body’s intended meaning without being over precise or too vague. The drafter must shape language, striving for that elusive “perfect” word or phrase that will allow the contract or law to remain effective and reasonably flexible into the future. This technique takes practice.