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.

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.

Published: December 2025

Published: December 2025

Published: December 2025

Published: December 2025

Published: December 2025

1. Introduction

Generative AI tools like ChatGPT are changing how we think about writing in nearly every profession, including the legal field. For legal writing professors, this development presents both a challenge and an opportunity: how do we prepare students to write effectively in a world where AI can generate a full draft in seconds?