Legal Methods II: Methods of Statutory Drafting and Interpretation

Course Information

Course Number
L6130
Curriculum Level
Foundation
Areas of Study
Lawyering
Type
Lecture
Additional Attributes
Experiential Credit

Section 003 Information

Instructor

Jane Ginsburg 2025-2 Jane C. Ginsburg Morton L. Janklow Professor of Literary and Artistic Property Law

Section Description

This intensive course pursues two objectives: in addition to examining the methodologies of interpreting statutes, the course will principally focus on their drafting. In the traditional classroom component of the course, students will work their way through several examples of statutory text and legislative history, before addressing how courts and agencies have interpreted those statutes. The experiential aspect of the course will cast students in the roles of statutory drafters, implementers, and interpreters. Working in groups, students will first draft a proposed statute in response to a specified problem. The students next will be assigned the role of regulators ultimately tasked with the statutes' enforcement, and in that guise will anticipate issues in the implementation of the draft statutes in order to advise the drafters of potential problems, and to recommend solutions. The drafters then will rewrite the statute in light of agency feedback. Finally, the students will serve as judges called upon to interpret and apply the now-enacted statutes to specific fact scenarios. By immersing students in different actors' perspectives on the statutory drafting process we aim not only to promote students' drafting skills, but also to enable students to perceive and appreciate concerns that arise throughout the process - concerns that after-the-fact judicial review may mute. Caselaw and selected secondary authorities on statutory drafting and interpretation complement the students' first-hand experience at drafting and applying statutory text.

School Year & Semester
January 2025
Dates
January 13 - January 17
Location
WJWH 207
Schedule
Class meets on
  • Monday
  • Tuesday
  • Wednesday
  • Thursday
  • Friday
10:00 am - 1:00 pm
Dates
January 13 - January 17
Location
WJWH 207
Schedule
Class meets on
  • Monday
  • Tuesday
  • Wednesday
  • Thursday
  • Friday
2:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Points
1
J.D Writing Credit?
No

Course Limitations

Instructor Pre-requisites
None
Instructor Co-Requisites
None
Requires Permission
Yes
Recommended Courses
None
Other Limitations
None

Additional Section for Legal Methods II: Methods of Statutory Drafting and Interpretation

Section 007

School Year & Semester

January 2025

Instructor

Location

WJWH 208

Schedule

Class meets on
  • Monday
  • Tuesday
  • Wednesday
  • Thursday
  • Friday

Points

1

Section 008

School Year & Semester

January 2025

Instructor

Location

WJWH 311

Schedule

Class meets on
  • Monday
  • Tuesday
  • Wednesday

Location

WJWH 311

Schedule

Class meets on
  • Monday
  • Tuesday
  • Wednesday

Points

1

Section 001

School Year & Semester

January 2025

Instructor

Location

TBA TBA

Schedule

Class meets on
  • Monday
  • Tuesday
  • Wednesday
  • Thursday
  • Friday

Points

1

Section 005

School Year & Semester

January 2025

Instructor

Location

WJWH L104

Schedule

Class meets on
  • Monday
  • Tuesday
  • Wednesday
  • Thursday
  • Friday

Location

WJWH L104

Schedule

Class meets on
  • Monday
  • Tuesday
  • Wednesday
  • Thursday
  • Friday

Points

1

Section 002

School Year & Semester

January 2025

Instructor

Location

WJWH L107

Schedule

Class meets on
  • Monday
  • Tuesday
  • Wednesday
  • Thursday
  • Friday

Location

WJWH L107

Schedule

Class meets on
  • Monday
  • Tuesday
  • Wednesday
  • Thursday
  • Friday

Points

1

Section 006

School Year & Semester

January 2025

Instructor

Location

TBA TBA

Schedule

Class meets on
  • Monday
  • Tuesday
  • Wednesday
  • Thursday
  • Friday

Location

TBA TBA

Schedule

Class meets on
  • Monday
  • Tuesday
  • Wednesday
  • Thursday
  • Friday

Points

1

Section 009

School Year & Semester

January 2025

Instructor

Location

WJWH 310

Schedule

Class meets on
  • Monday
  • Tuesday
  • Wednesday
  • Thursday

Location

WJWH 310

Schedule

Class meets on
  • Monday
  • Tuesday
  • Wednesday
  • Thursday

Location

WJWH 310

Schedule

Class meets on
  • Friday

Location

WJWH 310

Schedule

Class meets on
  • Friday

Points

1
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