Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2016
Abstract
In a prior submission to The Law Teacher (“Reflection, Reality, and a Real Audience: Ideas from the Clinic"), I argued that the clinical education model provides some simple lessons that should inform all law teaching. One idea I advocated was that law teachers bring reality into the classroom whenever possible. Among other ideas, I suggested law teachers run in-class simulations based on "real world" transactions..
Over the past few years, I have had the opportunity to experiment more with this suggestion myself. At my institution, I teach a clinic course (which includes supervising students) and a transactional drafting course. I have a colleague who teaches a large-section, first-year contracts course (a five-credit course spread over two semesters in the first year). Three years ago, I approached my colleague about the possibility of creating an opportunity for his first-year students to get a small taste of transactional lawyering, and he enthusiastically embraced the idea.
The purpose of this article is to share one example of an exercise I designed with that colleague to give first-year contracts students a taste of client interviewing, drafting, and counseling.
Recommended Citation
Malkus, Dana, Taste This!: Experiencing Transactional Lawyering in First-Year Contracts. The Law Teacher, Fall 2016, Saint Louis U. Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2016-24.