Legal Writing and Legal Education

Erika Abner, Postgraduate Medical Education Office, and Shelley M. Kierstaed, Osgoode Hall Law School, have published Text Work as Identity Work for Legal Writers. Here is the abstract.

The authors conduct a conduct analysis of a number of first year and practitioner legal writing texts in order to examine whether and how these texts focus on the development of a legal identity; in particular, through creation of a personal, professional, or discoursal voice. The question of creation of a legal identity is significant, in part, because of the increased focus on teaching and learning professionalism and professional behaviors, both within law schools and in practice. The authors conclude that there is a limited focus within the texts on the identity work inherent in learning to write with authority under conditions of uncertainty. The social practice of writing tends to be under-emphasized.

Download the paper from SSRN at the link.