Hamline University
First Year Program
Hamline provides student-centered instruction from full-time, experienced faculty. Weekday program students take two, two-credit semesters of Legal Research and Writing. Each semester, students meet with their instructor in collaborative, feed-forward tutorials as they draft and revise assignments. Students also receive extensive written feedback and may opt to meet with instructors for additional feedback after submitting assignments and to work with upper-level law student peer tutors. Fall semester classes cover objective analysis and writing, include an intensive semester-long research lab taught in coordination with Law Library faculty, and culminate in a mediation simulation organized by Hamline's nationally-ranked Dispute Resolution Institute. Spring semester classes cover client communication and persuasive advocacy, culminating in mock appellate arguments. Current curriculum revision work is focused on a three-semester model to integrate even more skill-learning opportunities.
Students in the innovative Weekend program take three, two-credit semesters of Legal Research and Writing. Students meet with instructors in intensive class sessions supplemented by frequent electronic feedback on assignments. First semester covers objective analysis and writing, and research; second semester continues objective analysis and introduces persuasive advocacy; and third semester focuses on persuasive advocacy.
Upper Level Programs and Courses
Hamline students are required to participate in a rigorous upper-level seminar writing experience. In addition, students are offered multiple opportunities to increase and reinforce their writing skills through elective offerings in advanced research, written advocacy, and oral advocacy skills; general and specialized legal drafting; writing in the alternative dispute resolution context; and numerous clinical and practicum experiences offering real-life legal writing opportunities.
Faculty
Hamline's Legal Writing Department consists of six full-time and one half-time faculty members. Their collective experience teaching legal writing totals nearly sixty years. Department faculty also have a wealth of other professional experiences, which include work in the corporate and legal services settings; work at small, mid-size, and large law firms; law librarian experience; work in legal research services development; and judicial clerkship experience. Department faculty work in a highly collaborative, supportive model. Most department faculty are on or will soon be eligible for long-term, rolling contracts. The director of the department is on tenure track and holds the rank of Associate Professor.
Web Links
Law school: http://law.hamline.edu. The department web site is currently under reconstruction. Faculty publication information: http://law.hamline.edu/professors
and http://law.hamline.edu/legal_research_and_writing/legal_writing_tips.html
Other Information
Hamline?s Academic Success Program is run by a full-time director and staffed with experienced tutors. Hamline students participate in a wide range of moot court competitions, earning Hamline a national reputation for excellence. Teams have won over 30 Best Brief and Best Oralist awards, including awards at the regional, national, and world levels. In addition, students have the opportunity to participate in the Hamline Law Review or the Hamline Journal of Public Law and Policy, and may serve as editorial assistants for the international Journal of Law and Religion, published at Hamline.
Contacts
Director: Mary B. Trevor, mtrevor@hamline.edu, 651-523-2487