LEGAL WRITING

1st Semester, AY 2016-2017

Course description:

An introduction to legal writing techniques; it involves applied legal bibliography, case digesting and
reporting analysis, legal reasoning and preparation of legal opinions or memoranda.

Course Objectives:

The course on Legal Writing has the following primary objectives for students to:

1. Develop a working knowledge of the foundational skills in legal writing, namely the case brief
and case synthesis
2. Explore different areas of practice available to future lawyers
3. Develop the necessary legal writing skills in these different areas of practice
4. Develop a holistic approach to analyzing legal issues
5. Strengthen and enhance their basic research and writing, as well as oral skills

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

I. PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS
A. Overview of the Philippine Legal System
1. History
2. Branches of Government
3. Civil and Common Law
B. Sources of Law
1. Statutes
2. Jurisprudence (Case law)
3. Agency issuances, rulings, circulars
4. Secondary sources law journals, commentaries, etc.

II. ON WRITING, IN GENERAL

A. Composition
B. Style
C. Structure
D. Grammar
E. Editing and Proofreading
F. Practical Dos and Donts

Danielle Pineres. Ten Tips for Transitioning to Legal Writing. Available <
https://www.law.georgetown.edu/academics/academic-programs/legal-writing-scholarship/writing-
center/upload/Ten-Tips-for-Transitioning-to-Legal-Writing-Danielle-Final.pdf> 2011.
Richard Wydick, Plain English for Lawyers. Vol. 6, Issue No. 4, Article 3. California Law Review
(1978) Available < http://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=2362&context=californialawreview>

III. LEGAL WRITING

A. Definition and Concept
B. Guiding Ethical and Professional standards
1. Towards members of the profession
2. As an officer of the court

Required Reading:

In The Matter Of The Charges Of Plagiarism, Etc., Against Associate Justice Mariano C. Del
Castillo (A.M. No. 10-7-17-SC, October 12, 2010)
Dissenting Opinion, J. Sereno, A.M. No. 10-7-17-Sc, October 15, 2010.
 Resolution In The Matter Of The Charges Of Plagiarism, Etc., Against Associate Justice Mariano
C. Del Castillo (A.M. No. 10-7-17-SC, February 8, 2011)

C. Components or Essential Elements

1.Purpose
2.Audience/Reader
3.Theory of the Case
4.Form
a.) Instrument or Document
1. Pleadings and Motions
See: Rules of Court
Efficient Use Of Paper Rule. (A.M. No. 11-9-4-SC, 2013)
2. Contracts
3. Letters
4. Inter-office memorandum
5. Decisions
6. Affidavits and Judicial Affidavits
b.) Proper citations
See: Feliciano, M. Philippine Manual of Legal Citations. UP College of Law. 1999.
5. Substantive Law
a) Hierarchy of laws
b) Statutory construction
c) Interpretation of rules and contracts
d) Procedural requirements
D. Application/Examples and Practical Exercises

SUGGESTED REFERENCES

Any legal forms book

Santos, A. A Guide to Philippine Legal Information: An Introduction to Legal Bibliography,
Legal History, Legal System, Legal Philosophy, Legal Research, Legal Profession, 2013.
Waga, R. and Amistad, E. Handbook on Contract Drafting and Philippine Contract Issues,
2002.
Rodriguez, R. Legal Research. 2002 Edition.
Dujunco, R. 2016 MCLE Lecture Notes on Legal Writing. Delivered on May 2016 at Capiz.
Feliciano, M. Philippine Manual of Legal Citations, 1999.

GRADING:

Writing exercises (treated as quizzes) 30%

Class participation (graded recitation) 20%
Attendance 10%
Major exams (can be a sit down exam or writing project) 40%
TOTAL 100%

An overall average of 75 (equivalent of 3.0) is needed to pass the subject. Chronic and unexcused
absenteeism or tardiness will impact class participation and the overall final grade.

METHODS OF INSTRUCTION:

We will employ different methods of instruction such as individual writing exercises, group work, role
playing, simulation and class discussions. Occasional lectures will be given as well. You are expected to
come to class adequately prepared so that you can actively participate in classroom activities.

Outside of class, you are encouraged to maximize the online and physical resources available to you. It is
assumed that since you are aware of the expected outputs of this class, you will, on your own, look at the
suggested references and do your own research to see a wide range of models you can analyze and
emulate. As far as practicable, our class time will be broken down as follows:
SESSIO ACTIVITY OUTPUT
N
1 Introduction to the Course/Overview and Diagnostic Inter-office Memorandum on
Writing Exercise 1 Playing Pokemon Go in the
workplace
2 Diagnostic Writing Exercise 2 Letter-response to a show cause
order from HR re: Playing
Pokemon Go
3-4 Lecture/Discussion on Overview of the Philippine Legal None
System
5-6 Introduction to Legal Writing Proper and tips on Case Digest + Case Synthesis;
Composition and Style, discussion re: article on Plain Writing Exercise
English and Transitioning to Legal Writing; Preparation
of a Case Digest and Case Synthesis; Answering Exam
Questions
7-8 Guiding Ethical Principles of Legal Writing: Discussion Memorandum of Agreement
of cases on plagiarism and exercise on negotiating and
drafting a MOA
9 Midterm Exam (or its equivalent)
10 Discussion and class activity on drafting pleadings and Affidavit and Motion or other
simple legal forms (affidavits) equivalent document
12 Simulation activity on corporate secretary work Secretarys certificate, minutes
of the meeting
13 Contract drafting and Contract review, preparation of a Simple contract; memorandum
legal opinion and corporate communication or letter to client
14-15 Judicial writing and advocacy work: using legal writing Decision
from all sides
16 Final Exam or its equivalent
Sessions may be adjusted from time to time should the need arise.

GRADING GUIDELINES

In general, your written submissions will be graded as follows:

CRITERIA INDICATORS POINTS

1) Substance 1) Adequate discussion and analysis of laws and Maximum of 40

jurisprudence as applied to the facts
2) Legal issue/s is/are stated clearly and concisely
3) Legal analysis is properly applied to the facts
2) Form 1) The appropriate form is used based on the Maximum of 20
requirements of the assignment or exercise
2) Laws and cases are cited properly according to
accepted standards
3) Facts, issues and resolutions are clearly laid out
3) Style and 1) The language used is clear and easy to understand, Maximum of 30
Clarity of Writing and appropriate
2) The tone is appropriate for the type of document
and audience
3) Use of legalese (jargon) or verbosity is minimal to
none at all
4) Minimal or no grammatical errors
5) A non-lawyer will be able to grasp the essential facts
and issues after reading the text
4) Coherence 1) There is a clear overall theme in the written output Maximum of 10
2) The instructions, requirements and parameters of points
the assignment or exercise were followed
3) There are no inherent contradictions in the
arguments or premises
TOTAL 100 points

For your graded work, your final grade on your written output will be the average of your initial grade
(as submitted), intervening drafts (if any) and final grade (after revisions). Please note that the comments
and suggestions on your written work are meant to guide you in preparing your revised work, which
you may choose to adopt or rewrite completely. Please take note of corrections pertaining to your
grammatical errors, spelling mistakes and typos.

At the end of the semester, you will submit a compilation of your written output, as revised, the format
and requirements of which shall be announced during the semester.

For take home assignments, PLEASE DO NOT LIFT WORK FROM THE INTERNET, SUCH AS CASE
DIGESTS AND MAKE IT APPEAR THAT YOU WORKED ON THEM YOURSELF. Plagiarism in any
form or manner will be punished severely in this subject.

Other class policies will be taken up with you accordingly.