J.D. students must fulfill an upperclass writing requirement by (1) successfully completing a seminar or clinic approved by the Legal Research and Writing Committee as meeting the legal writing requirement, or (2) completing a supervised research project that has been approved by the Chair of the Legal Research and Writing Committee. In order to “qualify” a seminar as meeting the legal writing requirement, a faculty member must submit to the Legal Research and Writing Committee a memorandum describing in detail the writing requirement and procedures for the seminar. Most writing requirement seminars are taught by full time faculty. Courses that meet the writing requirement meet for two hours each week but receive course credit for three semester hours.

If you are contemplating teaching a J.D. upperclass writing requirement seminar (“WR”), we encourage you to review the description of the WR requirement, particularly the technical requirements, in the Law Center’s Bulletin at http://www.law.georgetown.edu/registrar/bulletin/. If you are already teaching an approved WR seminar, we recommend that you review carefully in the first class the relevant deadlines for the submission of outlines, first drafts, and final drafts. You should also establish a calendar of meetings for providing feedback to students on their outlines, research plans, and drafts. If a student fails to meet one of the established deadlines or submits an outline or draft that is incomplete or inadequate, we recommend that you follow up immediately with the student in order to rectify the problem(s) early. It is much harder to address these problems later or at the end of the semester. We encourage you to contact Sarah Hulsey if you would like to consult on individual problems or for overall guidance on handling the WR process.

In the past, we have occasionally had problems with faculty telling students that their seminar was a writing requirement (“WR”) seminar, without being approved by the Legal Research and Writing Committee. This causes confusion both for the students and for the Office of the Registrar. If you wish to have your seminar designated as a “WR” seminar, please call Sarah Hulsey.

Students may also satisfy the upperclass writing requirement by undertaking a two-credit Supervised Research project. Under this option, a faculty member works one-on-one with a student on a topic for which there is either no existing course offering in our curriculum or on which the student wishes to do further research and writing than is possible in an existing course or seminar. Students must apply for permission to undertake a Supervised Research project through the Office of the Registrar. Further information on the Supervised Research requirements is in the Law Center’s Bulletin, available online at http://www.law.georgetown.edu/registrar/bulletin/.

J.D. Supervised Research projects are normally supervised by full-time faculty members because of the regular contact required between student and supervisor. Students may also ask an adjunct faculty member to supervise specialized topics. As an adjunct faculty member, a key consideration in determining whether to supervise a student’s WR paper through Supervised Research option is whether you have sufficient time to devote to meeting with the student, evaluate the various required drafts, and provide the type of individualized guidance that is contemplated for this type of project. As part of the application process, the student and faculty member must establish a calendar of mutually agreed upon meeting dates and deadlines for the submission of the outline, first draft, and final draft.

If you undertake to oversee a Supervised Research project, we recommend that you stay in close contact with your student and contact the Registrar’s Office or Sarah Hulsey, if you have any concerns about missed appointments, missing or late drafts, or other problems with the Supervised Research project.

A small honorarium is paid to adjunct professors who perform this service.

Revised November 14, 2006 (MC)