Making Students Practice Ready: Standalone Email and Summary Email Simulations DOWNLOAD PDF

I. Introduction

Legal research and writing (“LRW”) curricula emphasize the importance of efficient and effective communication, traditionally providing students with the opportunity to hone this skill through two lengthy and formulaic assignments: a predictive memo and a persuasive brief. These prompts miss key opportunities to engage students in the practice of thinking and writing like lawyers outside the confines of this formal structure. This is a problem because email research memoranda have become the primary mode of communication at firms among junior-level lawyers.¹ This shift has largely been driven by client and supervisor demands for greater efficiency and concision, and will likely only continue to gain momentum as client demands for efficiency grow with the prevalence of artificial intelligence. Yet despite the ever-rising importance of email communication, some first-year legal writing programs have been slow to adopt email research memorandum explicitly into their curriculum.²

Law schools continue to emphasize making their students “practice ready,” and 1L legal writing programs are often the champions of this crusade. This article advocates for the need to include some form of email simulation as part of the fall semester 1L curriculum to comply with our “practice-ready” mandate, and showcases two different examples of real-world simulations: (1) the Standalone Email, which requires applying new facts to an unfamiliar area of the law; and (2) the Summary Email, which is offered in connection with a prior assignment.

II. Email Etiquette and the Email Assignment

Often overshadowed in the fall 1L curriculum by the memoranda, email instruction generally falls into two forms: (1) email etiquette and (2) email assignments.³ Email etiquette includes lectures on issues of professionalism, email security, and tone.⁴ These skills are increasingly important as law firm hiring timelines shift to be earlier in the first year of law school.⁵ Students are expected to use email to appropriately request informational interviews, thank attorneys for their time, and follow up on outstanding applications. However, without any etiquette instruction, students may do so without ever having created an email signature or thinking about what a subject line should look like.

Email assignments, on the other hand, are separate writing assignments designed to evaluate how students draft emails, focusing on the content and form over just etiquette.⁶ As of 2024, an estimated 40% of programs failed to dedicate a separate assignment for emails.⁷ Those that do introduce a separate assignment take two main approaches: the “Standalone Email” or the “Summary Email.”⁸ The Standalone Email has students complete limited independent research and write a response on an unfamiliar legal issue. This may require students to apply newly researched law to a particular fact pattern (the substantive approach) or merely summarize the newly researched law without applying it to particular facts (the procedural approach). In contrast, the Summary Email is offered in connection with a longer memo or brief that students have already researched or written, requesting that they summarize the information communicated in the more complex research or writing task.

Email assignments offer an opportunity for students to engage with writing paradigms in a new context, encouraging creativity, recall, and flexibility—skills that will benefit students’ legal education and performance on the bar exam. In addition to the core writing skills taught to first-year students, writing emails reinforces key principles and provides an opportunity to reinforce or introduce lessons on email etiquette.

Moreover, email assignments can help 1Ls in their increasingly early job hunt. They teach the valuable skill of consolidating complex information into pointed, clear analysis—essential skills for short 20-minute screening interviews. Adding an email assignment to the fall curriculum not only teaches students these skills early in their legal careers but provides them with an additional conversation topic to use in interviews, which benefits students, especially those who never have held a legal job.

III. Two Approaches to the Email Simulation Assignment

Because students will be asked to write research emails in their summer internships after 1L and beyond, it is imperative that 1L LRW programs prepare accordingly. To assist LRW professors with this objective, below are two unique methods used at two different law schools which aim to capture what it means to be asked to write an email as a first-year associate or intern. The first is a Standalone Email simulation written by Visiting Professor Seth Reiner at Boston University School of Law, and the second is a Summary Email simulation created by Assistant Professor of Legal Writing Betsy Byra at Suffolk University School of Law.

A. Standalone Email Simulation Assignment

After learning the fundamentals of legal writing through a closed memo, and then adding research skills to an open memo, my semester ends with applying those principles to a real-world research email simulation. In at least two ways, I strive to make this assignment feel as real as possible. First, the subject matter of the assignment was a current legal issue that first-year associates were being asked to research across the country. The ability to work on current legal issues not only allows students to gain valuable experience in the types of questions they may face in their summer jobs but also gives them something to talk about in networking events and in interviews that are topical. Second, the process of the assignment—from the instructions to an oral research check-in with a teacher’s assistant (“TA”) acting as a mid-level associate—replicates the same process many will go through in practice. Each element is designed to prepare students for some of the most common assignments they will receive in practice as a new lawyer.

The following briefly summarizes the subject matter of, and my process for, the Standalone Email, along with my thoughts about future opportunities for the assignment.

i. The Subject Matter

This Standalone Email simulation, as the name suggests, does not connect to anything students had already done in the course. There are several benefits to making the simulation a standalone assignment: (1) these are the most common assignments junior associates will be asked to complete; (2) students are able to draft the email without having already drafted the content in IRAC or CREAC from their traditional memos, forcing them to think outside of the traditional memo structure; and (3) it provides an opportunity to additionally test students’ research skills on a discrete issue using skills that were not fleshed out in the closed and open memos.

The subject matter of the assignment relates to Massachusetts’ “Act Relative to Salary Range Transparency,” which went into effect on October 29, 2025, just two weeks before the students were given this research assignment. The law generally covers employers’ obligations to post salary ranges in job postings, among other things. The assignment asks students to evaluate a fake job posting for compliance with the law and provide recommendations that can be forwarded to the client after partner review.

With 15 states and counting having enacted these laws in the last five years,⁹ this subject can continue to be a springboard for topical assignments in states across the country. I can personally attest that this specific type of question is one which first-year associates are asked to research and provide guidance on throughout the country.¹⁰

Another benefit of having an assignment from such recent legislation is that it forces students to use their judgment when solving a problem. There are no specific cases on point for such a new law, and regulatory guidance can often be vague, nonexistent, or even contradictory. Associates will regularly be asked to use their judgment without constant feedback from their supervisor, so forcing students to make judgment calls where there is limited precedent will serve them well when they enter practice.

ii. The Process

The process for the Standalone Email simulation follows a similar trajectory for most junior associate assignments: (1) the partner emails the assignment, (2) the junior associate has an oral check-in with a mid-level associate prior to drafting a research email, (3) the junior associate asks any questions they may have to the senior partner after touching on the research, and (4) the junior associate drafts and sends the research email directly to the partner (no prior drafts are reviewed or submitted).

The Initial Email. The initial assignment is a short email from the partner, giving the associate some background information about the client, the specific question they need answered, instructions to check in with a mid-level associate after starting the research, and a deadline. The assignment also attaches a copy of the fake job posting that the students will have to evaluate.

The Check-In. Because this assignment deals with research skills the students have not explored yet in class (searching regulatory guidance, such as Attorney General FAQs), the assignment has a built-in check-in with a TA serving as a “mid-level associate” to ensure students are not going off track. This provides an added benefit of the students practicing their oral presentation skills by verbally summarizing their research in a 10-minute meeting. While this type of check-in may not be typical of such a small assignment, junior associates frequently need to present their research to mid-level associates instead of directly to the partner, and this simulation gives them the opportunity to practice this skill while providing some guardrails for the assignment.

My Role as Senior Partner and the Q&A. To make the assignment more realistic, I played the role of the senior partner who assigned the task throughout the life cycle of the assignment and for a Q&A class. In this role, when students asked questions seeking an answer to the research question instead of guidance, I was able to explain that I did not know the answer, which is why I assigned it to the junior associate in the first place. Playing the role of senior partner also reinforces one of the above-mentioned objectives of this type of assignment: teaching students to use their judgment. By limiting the types of questions that can be asked (and not providing any feedback on drafts), students were forced to truly do this assignment on their own and exercise their own judgment.

The Email. Finally, students were asked to submit an email with a strict 725-word count limit. Students were expected to incorporate lessons learned from class lectures that are concurrent with this assignment’s timeline (10 days). These lectures cover various topics over two classes, including:

• Leading with conclusions;
• Effective use of headings;
• Effective use of lists and bullet points;
• Audience;
• How to effectively hyperlink to sources;
• Offering to follow up with further research if there are any questions;
• Flagging where they may need more information from the client; and
• Proper formatting.

This assignment is graded based on a rubric that combines the student’s ability to identify and resolve the key legal issues, with email etiquette and professionalism. It is worth 10% of the students’ fall semester grade.

iii. Future Opportunities and Advancements

In the future, I would like to explore having my Q&A class immediately after assigning the assignment rather than waiting until after their research has been mostly completed to better simulate practice. Additionally, for a shorter assignment, I would consider having students research local procedural rules and filing requirements, which is another common research task often faced by first-year associates.

B. Summary Email Simulation Assignment

In creating this Summary Email simulation, one of my primary goals was to encourage students to critically engage with CREAC structure and demonstrate a fundamental understanding of the subject matter underlying their open memo. I was regularly seeing students who understood how to regurgitate this writing paradigm but could not grasp why each component of the memo was important and what larger purpose it served. This simulation pushes students to engage with the underlying “why” and reimagine their analysis by “quizzing” them on which components fit the prompt.

In addition to this flexible application of memo structure, the simulation is limited by rigid time constraints. This quick turnaround offers students low-stakes insight into final exams, bar prep, and practice, where they must sometimes embrace completion over perfection.

The Summary Email simulation, including a detailed look at the process and thoughts on future opportunities, is detailed below.

i. The Subject Matter

The simulation is given in the penultimate class of the semester, after students have completed their final open memo and before they take their final exam, which is a timed closed memo. The class begins with a lecture on email etiquette, covering topics like navigating honorifics, organizing by bullet points, and hyperlinking and document accessibility.

The first part of the Summary Email assignment asks students to summarize the research and analysis that they completed for the open memo. In the past, topics have included negligent infliction of emotional distress and false imprisonment. To further engage with the basics of email etiquette, I ask students to attach either a copy of their full memo or the case law that they have referenced.

Additionally, I pair the summary with a research question that delves into an unfamiliar area of law, demonstrating how this memo might transform into litigation and what next steps would look like. This component also integrates email etiquette, in the form of hyperlinking to an external source, and it requires students to articulate their research process.

ii. The Process

In contrast to the Standalone Email simulation described above, the process for the Summary Email is more succinct and less involved but also mirrors what students will see in their day-to-day practice. The Standalone Email also offers an independent research opportunity.

The Initial Email. After a brief lecture on email etiquette, students are given an email from their “supervising attorney.” This email does not include a subject line and is sent from the partner’s iPhone, requiring the “associate” to consider their responsive subject line and their professional tone. Students are given a specific deadline to respond, always at the end of class. In past semesters, the response time frame has varied; students may have anywhere from ten to thirty minutes to formulate their responses. Before drafting their responses, students are told that they are the only associate assigned to this case and the partner is in a meeting, so any questions must be independently resolved.

Most recently, this is the email students received:

Hi:

We’re meeting the client at 1:50, and I won’t have time to read your full memo beforehand. Please send a summary of key points and a copy of relevant cases.

I also have a client meeting for a separate matter right after—can you send me the rules for filing a complaint in the Northern District of California?

Thx.

The Response Email. Students respond to this prompt by emailing me directly, as though I were their supervisor. I have also previously used a prompt that required students to write an email addressed to the client that the partner then forwards to the client. Although this is an ungraded assignment, there are several iterations of what I consider the “perfect” response.

If the student can complete their response in the given time frame, their email should:

• Include an appropriate subject line and email signature;
• Follow a clear organizational structure and maintain professional tone;
• Succinctly and correctly summarize their memo;
• Appropriately title and attach accessible versions of the full memo and accompanying cases;
• Hyperlink and summarize the appropriate local rules or communicate questions that they have about finding those rules; and
• Include a sign-off that demonstrates initiative in taking next steps.

Most often, students are unable to complete the assigned task in the time given, which is expected. In that instance, I am looking for the student to create an action plan to take ownership of the project, professionally communicating that they need additional time and prioritizing urgent tasks.

Feedback. The final class is then reserved to show students the range of what proper responses may look like, discuss professionalism and research strategy, and reflect on some of the key email etiquette pitfalls. I include several anonymized examples from students, as well as a full response that I have drafted. Students are then able to compare their email to the sample given and use it as a template moving forward into their first year of law school and legal interviews.

For example, in this Spring 2026 semester, many students reported difficulty in summarizing their 12-page memo into a brief email. As a class, we were able to reflect on how an “umbrella paragraph” (sometimes called a thesis or roadmap paragraph) lends itself to summarizing an analysis and how it might be repurposed for this prompt. Our curriculum also incorporated AI earlier in the semester, and I walked students through my own drafting process, which includes using AI tools to summarize basic, nonconfidential components of the research in a digestible format. We discussed how to address a multi-part prompt, and what the supervising attorney might view as the most pressing task. Finally, students reflected on the litigation process as a whole: how might this memorandum lead to filing a complaint, and what next steps could they assist with?

iii. Future Opportunities and Advancements

In future semesters, I hope to incorporate a transactional element, such as asking students to locate a boilerplate agreement that a supervising attorney might use. I would also like to see a revision of the students’ initial email, to ensure that they are internalizing and applying the feedback provided in class. Finally, I plan to have students submit work over email more frequently, so that they can become more comfortable with this writing skill.

IV. Conclusion

Beyond reiterating email etiquette, Standalone Email and Summary Email simulations encourage students to use their established skills in thinking creatively about problem-solving, provide insight into areas of weakness in students’ writing, and open up broader conversations about what it takes to be an “effective attorney.” In doing so, students are better prepared for the fundamentals of what will likely be the most common types of assignments they get in their first internships or jobs. We have found our respective simulations both enjoyable and easy to implement and recommend that all writing faculty incorporate either a Standalone Email or Summary Email simulation into their fall curriculum to ensure their students are “practice ready.”