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Legal Communication and Research Skills
The University of Miami School of Law is committed to providing students with the skills necessary to become legal professionals. Our Legal Communication & Research Skills program provides comprehensive training in legal analysis, research, and writing.
Affectionately known as “LComm” on campus, the two-semester program uses simulated client cases to produce practice-ready students. Students learn to write an array of legal documents, including memoranda, motions, briefs, emails, and correspondence.
Staffed with 12 full-time faculty made up of lawyers with highly-regarded accomplishments of various professional backgrounds, the program is known for personalized attention. There are continuous opportunities for individualized feedback through low student-to-faculty classroom ratios and frequent one-on-one conferences. Small classes facilitate collaborative and respectful learning.
Students in the program develop:
Practice Readiness
Woven throughout both semesters is a strong emphasis on professionalism and practice readiness. Through realistic case simulations, students receive intensive training on what their future employers will expect. During the course of the year, students may be asked to act as a judicial clerk, a prosecuting attorney, counsel to a corporation, or another type of attorney. In addition to teaching legal analysis, writing, and research, the program also teaches the essential soft skills of successful attorneys, such as interpersonal relationships, collaboration, and professionalism.
Legal Research Skills
The best way to learn legal research is do legal research. To this end, professors use experiential learning techniques and assign short research exercises throughout the year in addition to the major research projects students complete in both the fall and spring semesters. Students learn to research using both print and online sources, with an emphasis on efficiency, accuracy, and cost. Time-sensitive assignments expose students to the fast pace of legal practice.
Learn More
STRAIGHT FROM STUDENTS
LComm Program Overview (Webisode #1): This video features students who took the program and discuss its benefits. LComm Professors Jill Barton and Christina Frohock moderate.
What Are Writing Assignments Like? (Webisode #2): In this Webisode, 1L students describe the steps they took to analyze a legal problem and write about it. This mock class is moderated by LComm professors Jill Barton and Christina Frohock.
THIRD DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
Third DCA at Miami Law
First-year law students have the opportunity each year to observe the judicial process when the Third District Court of Appeal holds oral arguments at the University of Miami. Read more
Third District Court of Appeal website
WRITING COMPETITIONS: A WAY TO TAKE YOUR WRITING TO A NEW LEVEL
Miami Law encourages students to showcase their writing skills by entering national writing competitions. Sponsoring organizations and law firms typically offer generous cash awards and resume-boosting recognition to top writers. Students can explore a diverse array of legal issues, from family law and criminal justice to intellectual property and national security. Click here for a list of other writing competitions.
