STUDY AND PRACTICE

ACADEMIC SUPPORT

The Academic Support program helps all students develop the skills necessary to succeed in law school. The Program is here to help you from the very beginning of your law school career to the end and beyond.

In the fall term of your 1L year, you’ll be invited to attend a series of lectures; topics include notetaking, outlining, essay writing, exam study techniques, and more. In the spring term of your 1L year, you can meet with the Academic Support staff to discuss a personalized support plan, catered to your individual needs.

After your 1L year, academic support continues to be available to help you succeed in your studies at the Law School.

A directory of online resources is available at: https://www.law.upenn.edu/academics/support/

These include:

• Resources for how to read judicial opinions • Information about how to write an effective exam answer • Resources on class notetaking

You’ll also find a repository of helpful lectures on a range of topics that you can use at any time.

LEGAL PRACTICE SKILLS

In Law School, you’ll learn to “think like a lawyer” — and that work begins in your year-long, six-credit course Legal Practice Skills class. Legal Practice Skills is a class in lawyering: legal analysis, writing, research, and oral advocacy. You will learn how to formulate a sustained and cogent legal argument, find the authority to support that argument, present that argument, and counter your opponent’s arguments in writing and orally. In Legal Practice Skills, you will also practice communicating formally, in legal documents and oral arguments, and informally, as all lawyers do on a daily basis, through email and in face-to-face meetings. Through a series of exercises designed to simulate actual law practice, Legal Practice Skills also exposes you to a range of other practice skills, including negotiations, contract drafting, effective oral advice techniques, client interviewing, and other skills.

The course urges students to think broadly about how different assignments and tasks fit together and how they contribute to the ultimate goal of representing a client. Through this interactive and hands-on class, students are able to engage in deep analysis, advocacy, and problem-solving and put their developing lawyering skills to practice.