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PACIFIC McGEORGE SKILLS HOUR SERIES

LEGAL SKILLS FOR LAW SCHOOL & LEGAL PRACTICE By Professor Courtney Lee Associate Professor of Lawyering Skills & Director of Academic Success

Professor Tim Naccarato Principal Assistant Dean for Academic & Student Life

University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law 3200 Fifth Avenue • Sacramento, CA 95817

                                            

LEGALSKILLSFORLAWSCHOOL&LEGALPRACTICE  Therearetenbasiclegalskillsthateverylawyermustmastertobesuccessful.Notsurprisingly,law schoolsteachtheseskills.However,lawstudentsareoftensooverwhelmedwiththevolumeand substanceoftheircourses,especiallyinthefirstyear,thattheydonotrealizetheimportanceoftheten basicskillstotheirsuccessinlawschoolandlaterintheirlegalpractice.  Thepurposeofthismaterialistoemphasizetheimportanceofthesetenlegalskillsandtohighlightthe nexusbetweenlawschoolandlegalpractice.  Thetenskillsare:  1. Criticalthinking 2. Criticalreading 3. Criticallistening 4. Casebriefing 5. Notetaking 6. Outlining 7. Writingskills 8. Organizingforsuccess 9. Maintainingbalance 10. Collaborating&leading  Atfirstyoumaythinkalloftheseskillsareforlawschoolonlyandthistalkofanexusbetweenlaw schoolcoursesandprivatepracticeispurefantasy.Infact,thetenskillsmentionedaboveareused virtuallyeverydaybylawyersinalltypesoflegalpractice.  1.CriticalThinking.  Manylawstudentsbelievethatexamwritingisthemostimportantskillneededforsuccessinlaw school.Beforeyoucanwritelikealawyer,however,youmustbeabletothinklikealawyer.  Therelevantdictionarydefinitionoftheword“critical”isAexercisingorinvolvingcarefuljudgmentor judiciousevaluation.”Inthiscontext,lawstudentsmustlearntoquestionandanalyzewhattheyhear, whattheysee,whattheyread,whattheyfeel,andwhattheythink.Firstimpressionsareoftenwrong andfrequentlychangeaftermorethoughtfulanalysis.  ManylawschoolclassesusetheSocraticmethodofquestioningstudentsaboutthecasestheyhave read.Thisprocessisreferredtoas“activelearning.”Thatis,itisdesignedtoengagethestudentsin analyzingthefactsandlawpresentedinthecaseratherthanhavetheprofessortalkwhilestudentssit asidlespectators.TheSocraticmethodrequiresthestudentstothinkaboutthefactsandlawandthen explainwhetheracourt’sdecisioniswellreasoned.Itisanexerciseincriticalthinking,asarethe hypotheticalspresentedbyyourprofessors.Theyaredesignedtostretchyourthinking.Itiscommon forsomestudentstobelievethattheirprofessorsare“hidingtheball”whentheydonotgiveananswer toeachandeveryhypo;butinreality,theremaynotbeananswer.Hyposaredesignedtoexerciseyour criticalthinkingskillsastowhatapossibleanswermightbeinthefuture(eitherbeforeanappellate courtoronafutureexam).  Criticalthinkingoftenincludesdeductivereasoning–thatis,reasoningfromageneralruletoaspecific conclusion.Mostlawschoolexamsrequirestudentstoidentifyissues,statethegenerallegalrulesthat

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apply,andthenanalyzethefactsinlightoftherulestoformulateconclusions.Applyingageneralrule toasetoffactsisanexampleofdeductivereasoning.SherlockHolmeswasfamousforusingdeductive reasoningtosolvemysteries.RememberthecaseofthedogthatdidnotbarkinthestorySilverBlaze? Acrimetookplaceinthestableswhereadogsleptneartwostableboys.Becausethedogdidnotbark andwaketheboys,Holmeswasabletodeducethatthedogwasfamiliarwiththemidnightvisitortothe stables.  Reasoningfromthespecifictothegeneraliscalledinductivereasoning.Lawyersandjudgesoftenuse inductivereasoningwhentheyanalyzeaseriesofspecificcasestodevelopagenerallegalrule.  Anotherformofcriticalthinkingisreasoningbyanalogy.Thisprocessisbasedontheconceptthat similarfactsorprinciplesshouldleadtosimilarconclusions.Lawyersoftenlookforanalogiesinother casesorfieldsoflawtomakeargumentsthatarebeneficialtotheirclients.Forexample,ifanemployer isnotliablefortheintentionaltortsofheremployees,thenbyanalogy,anemployershouldnotbeliable forthecriminalconductofheremployees.Theelementofintentissimilarinbothcases,thustheresult shouldbesimilar.Whenacaseisvirtuallyidenticaltothefactsandlawofyourcase,itissaidtobe“on allfours”withyourcase.  Inthesamevein,lawyerslookfordistinctionsinthefactsorlawwhiletheyarguethatadversecasesdo notapplytotheirclient’scircumstances.Beingabletodistinguishacaseisjustasimportantasmaking ananalogy.  Inprivatepractice,clientswilloftencometoyouroffice,giveyouahandfulofdocumentsandalong stringofdisjointedfacts,andaskyouiftheyhaveacase.First,youmustunderstandthefactsas thoroughlyaspossible.Thenyoumustresearchthelawandthinkthroughhowthefactsandlawrelate. Onlythenareyouinapositiontoformacompetentconclusionforyourclient.Thesameprocess appliesinalawschoolexamwhereyouaregivenasetoffactsandaskedtoapplythecorrectlegalrules toreachconclusions.Inbothcases,criticalthinkingisthekey.  Theonlysignificantdifferencebetweenlegalpracticeandlawschoolexamsisthetimeavailableto respond.Unlessadeadlineisimminent,younormallyhaveseveraldaysorweeksinlegalpracticeto gatherthefactsandresearchthelaw.Notsointhetypicalessayexam.Youoftenhaveonlyonehour toformulateyouranswer.Sowhatgives?Onepracticalreasonforone‐hourexamsinlawschoolisthat theCaliforniaBarExamcontainssixone‐houressayexamquestions.Thusonepurposeistoprepare youforthebarexam.Moreimportantly,anotherpurposeistoprepareyoutothinkquickly,aswellas critically.Lawyersmustbeableto“thinkontheirfeet”duringtrials,arbitrations,mediations, negotiations,communicationswithopposingcounsel,andevencommunicationswithyourownclient.  Youknowyouaresucceedinginyourcriticalthinkingskillswhenyoudissectandanalyzeevery statementorrequestfromyourparents,spouse,orroommates.“Washthecar?Oh,youmeanourcar? Today?Usingourwater?”   2.CriticalReading.  Criticalreadingisalogicalextensionofcriticalthinking.Whileyouread,youquestiontheuseofkey words,phrases,andsentences.Youthinkabouttheorganizationofthematerialandwhetheritis logicallysequenced.Eventhepunctuationshouldnotescapeyourscrutiny.Justasimportantly,you shouldthinkaboutwhatisnotsaid.Forexample,“Idon’tdisagree”doesnotnecessarilyequateto,“I agree.”Thissoundslaborious,butitbecomessecondnaturewithpractice.Whetheryourealizeitor

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not,mostlawstudentsduringtheirfirstsemesterbegintoanalyzeeverythingtheyreadinmuchmore detailthanincollege.  Lawyersareexpectedtobewordsmiths.Clientsexpectlawyerstobeexpertsincommunicatingboth orallyandinwriting.Lawyersareexpectedtoknowandexplainthemeaningofwordsinlawssuchas statutes,ordinances,andregulations,andinlegaldocumentssuchascourtopinions,contracts,deeds, andwills.Criticalreading,alongwithagooddictionary,advancesyourskillasawordsmith.  Asalawstudentandalawyer,youmustthinkaboutwhycertainlanguagewasused.Whywasa particularwordchosen?Isitatermofartwithaspecialmeaning?Shouldthecommondictionary definitionbeapplied?Doesthewordhavelegalsignificance?Forexample,inaContractspracticeexam thatwasusedinthefallSkillsHourprogramforseveralyears,studentswerepresentedwiththe followingsentenceandhadtodecidewhetheritconstitutedanoffer:  “Cal:Ihavelookedatthecabin.Icantearitdownandremovethedebrisfor$7,000.”  Indecidingwhetherthesetwosentencesconstitutedanoffer,studentshadtoanalyzewhetherCal manifestedanintenttobebound.Oneimportantkeywastheuseoftheword“can.”Caldidnotsay,“I willtearitdown”–clearwordsofpromise.Instead,Calusedtheword“can,”whichcommunicates capability,butnotnecessarilyapromisetoteardownthecabin.Theword“can”wasspecificallyusedin theexamtospurdiscussionofwhetherCalsufficientlymanifestedintent;yetmanystudents,newtothe artofcriticalreading,passedrightoverthisissue.  Otherstudentsignoredthefirstsentence,“Ihavelookedatthecabin.”Thissentencehighlightedthe factthatHarryandCalhadmetbeforeanddiscussedthecabin,andthenCalinspectedtheproperty. Aftertheinspection,hemadethephonecalldescribedabove.Tobetterunderstandtheintentbehind theword“can,”itwasimportanttounderstandthecontext,thatis,Calusedthewordinaphonecall afterheconductedhisinspection.Thismadethecallsoundverymuchlikeabidoroffer,eventhough heusedtheambiguousword“can.”  Oftenlawyersinprivatepracticewillarguethatastatuteorcaseappliesordoesnotapplyby emphasizingthespecificlanguageusedbythestatuteorthecourt opinionandtheintendedmeaningof thatlanguage.Manycaseshavebeenwonorlostbasedonwhetherastatuteiswordedusingthe conjunctive(“and”)ordisjunctive(“or”).  Finally,lawstudentsmustcriticallyreadthecallofthequestionandthefactsonallexams.Oneofthe mostcommoncomplaintsfromlawprofessorsandbargradersisthatthestudentorapplicantdidnot answerthespecificquestionaskedinthecall.Readcriticallyanddonotfallintothattrap.   3.CriticalListening  Justascriticalreadingisimportanttothewrittenword,criticallisteningisimportanttothespoken word.Peoplecanlistenataratefourtimesfasterthanpeoplecantalk.Yetfewlistenershavetrained themselvestolistencarefullyandanalytically.Duringclass,non‐criticalstudentlistenersbecomelazy andbored.TheydoodleorsurftheInternet.Whiledoodlingdoesnotnormallybotherotherstudents, usingalaptopfornon‐classpurposesisdistractinganddisrespectfultootherstudentsandthe professor.Moreover,itindicatesthatyouarenottrainingyourselftobeacriticallistenerbydigesting andanalyzingeverywordandsentence. 

3

Forinstance,asdefensecounselattheendofalongtrial,askyourselfwhytheDistrictAttorneysaidin hisclosingargumentthat“thepeoplebelievethedefendantcommittedthemurder,”ratherthan simply,“Thedefendantcommittedthemurder.”Seemslikeaninnocuouspoint.Butisit?Isthe evidenceweak?Isthereaholeinthecase?Thecleverdefenseattorneywhoislisteningcloselycan exploittheuseoftheword“believe”andchallengethegovernment’sproof.Shemightarguethatthe DAdidnotsay,“Thepeoplebelievebeyondareasonabledoubtthedefendantcommittedthemurder.” BeliefbeyondareasonabledoubtisthestandardandtheDAsomuchasadmittednosuchbeliefexists basedonthewordschosenforhisclosingargument.ShemustonlyconvinceonejurorthattheDA’s caseisweaktohangupthejury.QuotingbacktheDA’sinartfullanguagemaydoit.  Triallawyerswilltellyouthatlisteningcarefullyattrialissoimportantthattheyhavesystemsfortheir co‐counselsandparalegalstocommunicatewiththemwhenwitnessesaretestifyingoropposing counselismakinganopeningstatementorclosingargument.Thesystemusuallyinvolveswrittennotes soasnottodistractthetriallawyerfromhearingandevaluatingeverywordandphrase.Critical listeningiscrucialtomakingtimelyobjectionsandcounterarguments.  Initially,criticallisteningrequiresseriousconcentration;butlikeotherskills,itbecomeseasierover time.Trainyourselfineachclasstobeacriticallistener.Testyourselfinyournextclassbytryingto listentoeachwordandmakinganoteeachtimeyourmindwanders.Youmaybesurprisedhowoften youarenotlistening.  4.CaseBriefing.  Lawschoolshavebeenusingcasesastheprimaryvehicletoteachlawfordecades.Itmakessense; courtopinionsdealwithasetofreal‐worldfacts,discusstheapplicablelawandthecourt’srationalefor applyingthelawtothefacts,andthenreachaconclusion.MostcourtopinionsareonebigIRAC exercise(issue,rule,analysis,conclusion)oraseriesofIRACdiscussions.Caselawprovidesan interestingandinformativecontextforthegeneralrulesoflaw.Canyouimaginenotreadingcases,but tryingtolearnthelawbyreadingstatutes?TheFederalstatuteshave50different“titles”covering thousandsofpages.TheCaliforniaCodehas31differentcategoriesofstatutesalsocoveringthousands ofpages.Ifstatuteswerethemodeforlearninglaw,ourschoolwouldbenamed“ThePacificInstitute fortheBoredandInsane.”  Caselawiscriticallyimportanttoalllawyers.Everylargecityhasalegalnewspaperthathighlightsthe latestcases(Sacramento’sisTheDailyRecorder).Thesenewspapersarewidelycirculatedthroughout lawfirms.WestlawandLexisNexisadvertisehowquicklytheypostthelatestcasesandoffercase notificationservicesbyemail.Lawyersusetheseresourcestostayontopofthecaselaw.  Tomanyfirst‐yearlawstudents,courtopinionscanbefrustratingattimesbecausestudentsarenewto theprocessofidentifyingkeyfactsandlaw,aswellasunderstandingthedistinctionsmadeinthe opinion.Thisiswheregoodcasebriefinghelps.Acasebriefsummarizesthekeyfacts,law,and holdings.Forlawschoolpurposes,agoodbriefshouldbenomorethanapage,andoftencanbe shorter.Forallbutthelongestopinionsinatypicalcasebook,afirst‐yearlawstudentshouldbeableto readandbriefacaseinabout30minutes.Manystudentssaytheyspendonetotwohoursbriefinga singlecase,andarethereforestrugglingtokeepupwithdailyclasspreparationandoutlining.The solutionistobecomemoreefficientatcasebriefing,i.e.,identifyingthekeyfactsandrulesoflawthat werethebasisforincludingthecaseinthebook.Thewrong“solutions”are:1)stopbriefingcases altogether;2)relysolelyoncommercialbriefs;and3)relysolelyonbookbriefs.Reallearningoccurs duringthewrittensummarizationprocess.Donotshortcutthisprocess!!Itisfinetousecolorful highlightersorbookbriefacaseaslongasyoualsoprepareawrittensummary.

4

Thereisnosinglerightwaytobriefacase.Findthemethodbestforyou.ManyuseaFIRACmethod: facts,issue,rule,analysis,andconclusion.InFIRAC’ingthecase,thinkaboutthecaseinthreestages:1) thefactsthatbroughtthecasetocourt;2)theactionsbythetrialcourtandthemistakesallegedagainst thetrialcourt;and3)theactiontakenbytheappellatecourtandwhy.  Under“facts,”includetheproceduralposturethatbringsthecasebeforetheappellatecourt.The proceduralpostureoftenwilldictatethestandardofreview.Forexample:  JuryVerdict:Basedonthelawprovidedbythejudge,thejurydecidedthefactsandwhowon.Inorder toappeal,thelosingpartymustallegeerrorsbythejudge,e.g.,wrongdecisiononamotiontoexclude evidenceorerroneousinstructionstothejury.Lookfortheseallegationsoferrors.Theywillbethekey totheappellatecourt’sopinion.  MotiontoDismissorDemurrer:Thismotionisusuallymadebyadefendantafterreviewingthe pleadings.Ifgrantedtothedefendant,thetrialcourtfoundthatevenifallofthefactsinthecomplaint weretrue,theplaintifflosesanyway.Forexample,theremayhavebeeninsufficientfactstostatea causeofactionorthestatuteoflimitationshadrun.  MotionforSummaryJudgment:Thismotionisusuallymadeafterreviewingthepleadingsand conductingsomediscovery.Ifgranted,thetrialcourtfoundnodisputesofmaterialfactsandviewing theevidenceinthelightmostfavorabletothenon‐movingparty,ruledasamatteroflawfora particularparty.Onappeal,thelosingpartywillnormallyallegemanydisputesofmaterialfacts.  MotionforJudgmentasaMatterofLaw(formerlyMotionforaDirectedVerdict):Thismotionisusually madeaftertheplaintiffhaspresentedhis/hercase.Ifgrantedonthedefendant’smotion,thetrialcourt foundthatnoreasonablejurycouldhavefoundagainstthedefendant,sothecourtdecidedthecase withoutsendingittothejury.Thismotionisoftenmade,butseldomgranted.Notallowingthejuryto decidethecaseisratherunusual.Itwillbereviewedverycloselyonappeal.  MotionforJudgmentNotwithstandingtheVerdict:Obviouslythismotionismadeafterthejuryhas rendereditsverdict.Thelosingpartyallegesthatthejury’sverdictisagainsttheclearweightofthe evidence.Inotherwords,thejurycametothewrongdecision.Ifgranted,thetrialcourthas substituteditsjudgmentinplaceofthejury.Thisisanothermotionthatisoftenmade,butseldom granted.Itwillalsobereviewedverycloselyonappeal.  The“issue”partofthecasebriefmayneedtoremainopenuntilyouhavereadtheentirecase.Ideally, youshouldreadthecasethroughbeforebriefing;however,youmaybeabletobriefsectionsofthecase asyouread,e.g.,thefacts.Ifyoubriefasyouproceedsectionbysection,leavetheissueblankuntilyou canformulateacorrectstatementoftheissue,whichisusuallyrelatedtothelegalruleforwhichthis caseisincludedinyourbook.  The“rule”summaryisveryimportant.Inmostinstances,thecasebookauthorselectedthecaseforthe ruleitpropounds.Lookforaclearstatementoftheruleandcopyitverbatiminyourbrief;butalsotry tosayitinyourownwordstoensurethatyoutrulyunderstandit.  The“analysis”portionofthebriefshouldincludeatightsummaryofthecourt’srationalealongwiththe keyfacts.Thisisoneofthemostimportantpartsofanopinion,andoftenincludesexamplesofthe courtusingthecriticalthinkingmethodsdiscussedabove.Payattention,becauseyouwilldothesame thingonexamsandinpractice. 

5

The“conclusion”statestheholdingofthecaseandactiontakenbytheappellatecourt,e.g.,affirmed, reversed,orremandedtothetrialcourt.Itshouldanswerthequestionaskedbytheissue.  Studentsshouldhaveawrittenbriefforeachcasetobediscussedinclass.Ifproperlyprepared,the briefcanbeusedtorecitethefacts,explainthecourt’srationaleandholding,andgivethedispositionof thecase.Thesearethebasics.(Ifyourprofessorwantsadetailedlistoffacts,eitherincludeinyour brieforhighlightinyourbookasasupplementtoyourbrief.)Briefshelpensurethatastudentcan respondeffectivelyinclassifcalleduponbytheprofessor.  Ideally,eachstudentshouldtakefiveminutesaftercompletingthebriefandthinkaboutwhetherthe court’sopinionwouldchangeifthefactswerechangedjustslightly.Inotherwords,testthecourt’s rationalewithyourownhypos.Considerwhyacasewasincludedinthecasebookandthenplaywith thefactstoseewhetherthecourt’srationaleholdsup.Ifyouareinastudygroup,playingthehypo gamewiththepastweek’scasesandthenextweek’scaseswillpaydividendsatexamtime.Alsothink abouthowthecaseissueswillcomeup–thatis,h...