Law Talk: Speaking, Writing, and Entering the Discourse of Law

Abstract

The author suggests talking about the legal writing process with first-year legal research and writing students, as they are learning and actively writing, and advocates for students' experiencing "being the audience" of legal writing, as part of their education. This Article reviews three academic schools of thought regarding the relationship between speech and writing. This Article argues for change in the typical legal writing pedagogy, meaning more student interaction and teacher intervention, to effectively enable students to engage in discourse communities of law.