Ep. 30 - Simon & Cooney - Legal Style and the Case for Effective Legal Writing

Explicit content warning

04/16/24 • 69 min

We are back in the Lounge this week to have another discussion about legal writing. This week we tackle style, tone, grammar and more as it relates to the real-world consequences of poor legal writing. Professor Diana J. Simon of the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law and Professor Mark Cooney of Western Michigan University Cooley Law School, co-authors of The Case for Effective Legal Writing: Court Opinions, Commentary, and Exercises, talk about their own experiences with legal writing and the unique elements of their new, first of its kind, legal writing casebook. There are some laughs along the way as these authors explore the style and tone of legal writing and share tips for newer legal writers. Both professors also take a moment to reflect on teaching and how much working with their students means to them.

You can grab your own copy of The Case for Effective Legal Writing: Court Opinions, Commentary, and Exercises here.

You can learn more about Professor Diana J. Simon here.

You can read about Professor Mark Cooney here.

Don't forget to follow us on X and Instagram (@lawschoollounge), and if you could take a moment to leave a five-star review on any podcast platform, we would appreciate it. Thank you for listening!

**Disclaimer: This podcast and its episodes are for general information purposes only and do not constitute legal advice; listeners and audience members should contact an attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular legal matter, including whether to act or refrain from acting in conjunction with a legal matter. The creator and owner do not represent or warrant the accuracy or reliability of the content due to the constantly evolving nature of the law and legal education.

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You can grab your own copy of The Case for Effective Legal Writing: Court Opinions, Commentary, and Exercises here.

You can learn more about Professor Diana J. Simon here.

You can read about Professor Mark Cooney here.

Don't forget to follow us on X and Instagram (@lawschoollounge), and if you could take a moment to leave a five-star review on any podcast platform, we would appreciate it. Thank you for listening!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

Ep. 29 - O'Leary and Martin-Scott - Multicultural Lawyering (Part 2)

The conversation on Multicultural Lawyering continues this week here at the Law School Lounge. Professor Kimberly O'Leary and Dean Mable Martin-Scott of Western Michigan Cooley Law School are back with our host, Krystal Norton, to talk more about their experiences with multicultural lawyering while providing suggestions and tips for our listeners who are new to or continuing the journey. These two experts discuss measuring implicit bias, challenging bias, respectful discourse, and overcoming your assumptions. Throughout their conversation, both professors mention different resources and some are linked below for your continued learning about these incredibly important topics.

The "Five Habits of Cross-Cultural Lawyering" by Sue Bryant and Jean Koh Peters, along with resources, can be found here.
The full citation for the article mentioned by Professor O'Leary is as follows: Albert J. Moore, Trial by Schema: Cognitive Filters in the Courtroom, 37 UCLA L. REV. 273 (1989).
You can grab a copy of "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking" by Malcolm Gladwell here.
Please also check out Professor Kimberly O'Leary's and Dean Mable Martin-Scott's book, Multicultural Lawyering: Navigating the Culture of Law, the Lawyer, and the Client, here.

Don't forget to follow us on X and Instagram (@lawschoollounge), and if you could take a moment to leave a five-star review on any podcast platform, we would appreciate it. Thank you for listening!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

Ep. 31 - Ron K. L. Collins - The Story of the Infamous Emmett Till Murder Trial

**Listener discretion is advised for this episode.** Welcome back for another episode of the Law School Lounge! This week our host, Krystal Norton, is joined by author and scholar Ronald K. L. Collins. Ron Collins recently published Tragedy on Trial: The Story of the Infamous Emmett Till Murder Trial with Carolina Academic Press, and he is here to talk about this historical work. Whether this is your first time learning about Emmett Till or you have researched the topic, you can take something away from this discussion.

Ron explains his road to publication and his process for researching and writing the book. Ron considers why he wanted to share his research with others and what he hopes the book will achieve. There is also discussion throughout the episode about Emmett Till's case, including influential articles written about his death, how his mother, Mamie Till, shared his story with the world, and about the corrupt sheriff who went to such extremes to block justice in the case. The discussion covers a lot of ground related to the case directly and the context of the time.

If you would like to read more about Ron K. L. Collins, you can do so here.

If you're ready to grab a copy of Tragedy on Trial or any of Ron's other titles with Carolina Academic Press, you can do so here.

Don't forget to follow us on X and Instagram (@lawschoollounge). Thank you for listening!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.