“Know your audience.” It’s evergreen legal writing advice. And it’s advice to remember when addressing the very specific audience for the bench memo in an oral argument simulation: a fake judge. 

I. Navigating uncertainty in legal writing

In the world of legal writing instruction, we’re in a transition not unlike the one agricultural workers faced when they moved from animal-powered to steam-powered farming equipment. In the pre-industrial era, many humans had agricultural jobs that involved significant physical labor. Some built muscles and motor memory naturally as they guided a horse-drawn plow. Then the industrial and technological revolutions arrived.

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.