By Mike Scott
Legal News
The ability to write well is of particularly importance to new attorneys who are launching their legal careers.
With that in mind, a number of University of Detroit Mercy Law School students appear to be well on their way to success.
Several of them recently were recognized for a number of writing awards on a range of topics from limited liability corporations to health care law.
The time required to successfully write on these papers requires a high level of motivation, said Professor Karen Henning, a former practicing litigator who worked with the students and is director of the law school’s Writing for Publications Program.
“Whether a student is going to be a litigator or corporate attorney they need to think clearly about legal issues,” Henning said. “One way to work on these skills is through a writing competition because through that type of activity students are forced to delve deeply into topics that interest them.”
Participating in these writing contests is not required by most law schools because the time commitment is significant, Henning said.
And since practicing lawyers are generally the judges for these competitions, student papers are validated by attorneys who are often looking for a practical discussion, rather than a law school professor who may be asking for something more scholarly in nature.
“Because judges are practicing attorneys, our students get feedback confirming that their paper was a quality piece of work in the legal profession,” Henning said.
One of the students recognized is Brian Sweigman, a third-year J.D./LLB student from Toronto, who wrote a position paper on how limited liability corporations are treated by U.S. law.
He placed second in the James E. Beckley Securities Arbitration and Law Writing Competition sponsored by The Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association.
“LLCs are somewhat new,” Sweigman said. “There is not a lot of case law on how they are treated. I wrote a position paper on how I think they should be treated.”
The assistance and encouragement from Henning and Carol Clark, a distinguished visiting professor at UDM, were instrumental in his success with the contest, Sweigman said.
He is interested in corporate law and writing this paper forced him to think clearly and carefully about a specialty that he wants to make part of his career.
“My professors were extremely helpful both with the practical and substantive issues,” said Sweigman, who spent several months working on the paper.
Eric Westenberg, who will be clerking for Judge Marianne Battani in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, placed first in the George Hutchinson Writing Competition sponsored by the Federal Circuit Bar Association.
Entering the contest was important to him because it gave Westenberg an opportunity to hone his legal writing skills beyond what is required in law school.
“A lawyer’s product is basically their written word and the competition helped me increase the quality of my product,” Westenberg said. “Having my writing ability recognized by a nationwide panel of practicing lawyers and judges was a welcomed vote of confidence which further convinced me that I made the right career choice.”
One of Henning’s main roles in helping her students with their written work is to recast the final product in a practical way, she said. Students must organize their thoughts and express their message in a clear and concise way.
“No matter what profession you are in being a great writer will have tremendous benefits,” Henning said. “Even if you are a lawyer who never sees the inside of a courtroom, you will need to make presentations at some point and be able to effectively express your thoughts.”
Harold Gallick, a practicing cardiovascular surgeon for more than 20 years, won for his piece on the value of voluntary disclosure of medical errors as a way for community hospitals to improve quality assurance programs and patient safety without incurring financial or legal liability.
The competition he entered was sponsored by the Michigan Bar Association’s Health Care Law Section.
“I can't tell you how many revisions we went through before the final paper was submitted,” Gallick said. “I can tell you I was gratified by the response to my paper and the invitation to attend the Health Care Bar Section's annual conference where I received my award.”
Henning said the effort to teach UDM students good writing techniques begins with the first-year writing course, but also extends beyond that to all classes that incorporate a writing assignment as part of the school’s writing across the curriculum plan. At Detroit Mercy, she teaches a first-year legal writing course along with some upper-level advocacy classes.
“We do have a terrific first-year writing program,” she said. “But that program is supported by our writing across the curriculum requirements and by the willingness of our entire faculty to work with students to help them gain the substantive knowledge required to write these award-winning submissions.”
Law firms expect recent law school students to be good writers once they enter the workforce, Henning said.
“Our philosophy is that clients don’t want to pay for training,” Henning said. “Being a good writer is one skill of graduates that firms expect. It’s an expectation to be practice ready.”
Alanna O’Rourke said it was only after prodding from Henning that she decided to enter the Bert W. Levit Essay Contest, which she ultimately won with her essay on the implied waiver of attorney-client privilege. For her efforts, O’Rourke received a $5,000 cash prize and a free trip to Miami, Fla. She also has a better appreciation for legal malpractice and professional responsibility issues.
“I found the topic not only fascinating but also relevant to the future practice of law,” said O'Rourke. “I was exposed to an area of law about which I had little experience or familiarity prior to the competition.”
Most students will start a competitive writing project from a seminar paper but there are clear benefits if they are recognized for their work: namely monetary awards, as in the case of O’Rourke, and the opportunity to be published. But if nothing else, the experience will help the student become a more effective lawyer.
“The more you research and write, the better you get,” Henning said.
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