Legal Literacy and Communication Skills

Legal Literacy and Communication Skills: Working with Law and Lawyers is a first-of-its-kind text, designed expressly for students in Juris Master, Master of Jurisprudence, and Master of Legal Studies programs. This concise paperback empowers students whose professional background is outside of law with a foundational understanding of the U.S. legal system and insight into what lawyers do. The Second Edition offers a new chapter on understanding litigation documents and dockets, providing students with the tools to find and follow civil lawsuits relevant to their interests. The Second Edition also both expands and streamlines its approach to regulations and administrative adjudication. Developments in generative artificial intelligence are also expanded to foster critical exploration of AI in the legal field.

Legal Literacy and Communication Skills covers key concepts, including:

• Understanding the roles of legislatures, agencies, and courts;
• Recognizing and using basic legal vocabulary in context;
• Reading a variety of legal documents efficiently and effectively;
• Writing law-related reports and correspondence;
• Reading and understanding the function of primary sources of law, including statutes, regulations, and cases;
• Understanding the basic elements of a contract and participating in contracting processes;
• Understanding the general course and process of litigation and discovery from a client's perspective; and
• Recognizing and avoiding the unauthorized practice of law.

Students will develop skills to help them find and use legal information for themselves or as part of a collaborative project with attorneys. The text includes exercises built around an ongoing case study and contains helpful "Traditions and Trends" commentary, which puts today's legal landscape into a broader context.

An in-depth teacher's manual accompanies the text.