Curriculum
All foreign LL.M. students are required to take United States Legal Discourse. Students may also choose from an array of Advanced Writing Classes.
United States Legal Discourse (USLD) is a one-credit required class, which LL.M. students can take either in the summer in conjunction with Foundations of American Law and Legal Education or in the fall as part of their first-semester course work. In USLD, students learn how lawyers in the U.S. use written texts to create and interpret law. Students engage in careful analysis of legal discourse, criticizing legal arguments in cases, scholarly writing, and practice-related documents.
Advanced Writing Classes build on the concepts discussed in USLD. Advanced Writing Classes are offered in both the fall and the spring semesters.
- USLD II classes are small seminars of no more than 10 students that offer an intensive, practice-based introduction to legal writing in the U.S. and give students the opportunity to do independent research and to write about legal issues;
- Introduction to Contract Drafting gives students the opportunity to experience transactional practice in the U.S. Students adapt a form contract to a complex transactional deal and learn how to use and to interpret contract language effectively;
- Advanced Legal Research classes provide a practical approach to online and print research designed for foreign students; and
- Presentation Skills for Lawyers prepares students to give structured talks on legal topics.
