Apellate Advocacy

Appellate Advocacy - K. Matthews & G. Newland

• Course Number: LAW-517
• Course Type: Foundational and Experiential
• Credits: 2
• Enrollment Limit: Determined by the Registrar
• Description: This course will introduce upper-level students to the fundamentals of appellate practice. We’ll first emphasize the importance of developing a persuasive “theory of appeal” and discuss the research and brainstorming processes that lead to effective appellate storytelling.

Next, we’ll cover the foundations of good legal writing and oral argument. This section will include a comparative analysis of appellate briefs and oral arguments. We’ll review examples, good and bad, and discuss common elements of good briefs and arguments. Students will observe at least one appellate argument argued by counsel admitted to the bar and write a short reflection paper (1 page) on the quality of advocacy they observed. Around the halfway point of the course, students will also participate in a mock oral argument of a case that has been briefed by the attorneys

Finally, each student will brief and orally argue their own mock appeal. The briefs will be short (ideally 8-12 pages) and students will receive detailed written feedback on their writing. Briefs will be graded on the quality of the writing and analysis. For mock oral arguments, either the adjunct professors or other lawyers will act as the panel and the professors (and any judges) will give oral feedback immediately after the argument. Non-arguing students will be in the audience for their classmates’ oral arguments, so they will be able to observe and learn from their peers. Preparation and participation in oral arguments will factor into the students’ class-participation grades; students’ grades will not be reduced based on “performance” if sincere effort has been made to prepare.

We are working on developing an appellate practicum in which students are able to work on an appeal pending before an Oregon appellate court or the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. When that practicum is established, this course will be a prerequisite to participation.

Although this course is not a prerequisite for participating in an appellate moot court, it will also provide an excellent grounding for that experience.

• Prerequisite: none
• Evaluation Method: Oral Arguments
• Capstone: no
• WIE: yes