Legal Research and Writing

Chicago-Kent College of Law recognizes that legal research, analysis, and writing are the most critical lawyering skills taught in the law school curriculum and that these skills cannot be completely acquired in a single year. Consequently, the school requires that its students take five semesters of legal writing classes before they graduate. Chicago-Kent was the first law school in the United States with a three-year writing requirement.

Chicago-Kent's curriculum has served as a model for numerous other institutions. The emphasis on legal research and writing reflects the law school's commitment to training its graduates to be leaders in the profession by giving them the skills they will need to analyze and solve complex problems. The program recognizes that Chicago-Kent graduates will serve a wide variety of clients in a wide variety of roles, all of which require effective analytical, research, and communications skills.

Additionally, our Visiting Assistant Professor (VAP) program is a centerpiece of the legal writing program. The VAP program provides students with a faculty that has diverse academic interests and legal practice experience.