DUANE MORRIS LLP LEGAL WRITING PROGRAM
Legal employers rate writing as one of the most important skills for new hires. Villanova Law and the Duane Morris LLP Legal Writing program immerses students in three rigorous semesters of legal writing courses to provide them with the skills to write everything from a client-advising email to a legal brief.
Our full-time professors of law have extensive teaching experience and are committed to helping students hone the written and verbal skills needed for success in legal practice. Each year, the legal writing faculty create new and innovative exercises to introduce various writing skills and are committed to working with students inside and outside of the classroom to help meet their needs and goals. Our writing specialist provides individualized coaching and small group writing workshops to reinforce the concepts introduced in class and improve students’ overall writing ability.
One critical component of effective legal writing is research. At Villanova Law, students are taught the essential skill of legal research by expert legal research faculty who help students develop research strategies to meet the widely varied needs of modern legal practice.
In addition to the comprehensive curriculum provided through the Duane Morris LLP Legal Writing program, students are required to take upper-level writing courses and are given opportunities to work on three published journals to help them develop additional legal writing skills.
“I was the only 1L in my summer internship class. After seeing my work product, the administrative judges I worked for trusted me enough to draft orders and opinions on their behalf, a task typically reserved for the upperclassmen. I owe this all to the legal writing program at Villanova Law.”
– Steve Bertil '16