Table of Contents

Curriculum components Learning specific skills

Curriculum components

     The Federal Legislation Clinic is designed to teach students legislative lawyering skills. These skills include assessing a legislative problem, researching the problem, proposing solutions, drafting materials, and presenting materials orally. The parts of the Clinic curriculum designed to teach these skills are:

1. Professor-Led Sessions
   1. Lecture materials and case studies from the professors and guest lecturers
   2. Weekly meetings with the professor on issues raised by the fieldwork
2. Student-Led Sessions
   1. Presentations to class (may take various formats)
   2. Videotaped presentation to Clinic staff and/or alumnae
3. Fieldwork
   1. Coalition and strategy meetings outside the Clinic.
   2. Weekly staff meeting with the Teaching Fellow and the Client
   3. Individual meetings and interactions with the Teaching Fellow

 Learning specific skills

     Following is a list of the legislative lawyering skills and the sources of learning for each skill, listed in the order in which the most learning for that particular skill occurs within the Clinic.

1. Assess the problem

   1. Individual Supervision: Each student meets with his or her Teaching Fellow to discuss and assess each issue and problem. Issue discussion and assessment also takes place with the Director at the weekly meeting.

   2. Student Presentations to Class: Each student picks one issue for a presentation to the class and prepares materials for that class. The student decides whether to hold the class as a coalition meeting, as a presentation to staff people, or in some other format. The student draws on his or her classmates to articulate and assess the problem set forth in the materials.

   3. Professor Case Studies to Class: The case study on "direct threat" and the professor-led coalition meeting on ENDA require students to assess and discuss specific legal issues.

2. Research the problem

        Individual Supervision: Each student works with her or his Teaching Fellow to develop a research approach to a problem. The results of that research are manifested in the weekly meeting with the Director and in various written and oral products.

3. Propose solutions

        Note: This skill includes deciding whether a proposed solution should be embodied in statutory language or legislative history.

   1. Individual Supervision: Each student works with his or her Teaching Fellow to develop proposed solutions. Discussion of proposed solutions will also often take place in individual and weekly group meetings with the Director.

   2. Student Presentations to Class: During the student-led presentation, the student engages his or her classmates in proposing solutions to the problem presented. The realities of coalition and legislative politics, and the importance of text, are manifested in these discussions.

   3. Professor Case Studies to Class: The "direct-threat" case study and the ENDA coalition meeting are designed to elicit from the students proposed solutions to legal and political issues.

4. Describe issue and solution in written form

        Note: The written materials may include statutory language (proposed amendments or proposed substitute statutory language); legislative history (report language, colloquies, Congressional Record statements); talking points; fact sheets; testimony; and summaries of bills and amendments.

   1. Individual Supervision: Each student works with her or his Teaching Fellow to develop written materials that set forth an issue, provide background for the client's position, and describe proposed solutions. Most materials go through at least two revisions with the Teaching Fellow before the Director sees the draft. After those revisions, all drafts go through one, and sometimes two to five, revisions with the Director. The key elements taught in these sessions are: organization of material; clarity of writing; appreciation of intended audience; use of graphics (bolding, italics etc.); and understanding of what should never be committed to paper.

   2. Student Presentations to Class: The student includes in his or her class materials examples of documents the student has prepared. The documents are analyzed for the qualities described above.

5. Present issue and solution in oral form

   1. Individual Supervision: Each student presents to the Teaching Fellow her or his analysis of an issue and a proposed solution. These presentations will also often be made to the client during the weekly staff meeting with the client. Finally, the student may present his or her analysis to the Director in the weekly group meeting (or in an individual meeting).

   2. Student Presentations to Class: Depending on the format chosen by the student, a student may lead a coalition meeting, present an issue to staff people, or preside over a negotiation -- with his or her classmates playing assigned roles.

   3. Videotaped Presentation: The student assumes the role of a legislative lawyer presenting a specific issue to Clinic staff and/or alumnae. The presentation is videotaped and then analyzed with the student.

6. Negotiate solutions

   1. Role-modeling by Supervisor: During the supervised fieldwork, students participate in a range of meetings in which solutions are discussed and negotiated. The Teaching Fellow or Director may engage in such negotiations on behalf of the client, and subsequently deconstruct with the students the activity the supervisor has engaged in.

   2. Student Presentations to Class: A student may choose to lead a negotiation in class, assigning different roles to the students.

Revised June 26, 2003 (ML)