Writing, Research & Analysis Courses

Refines and strenghthens the written and oral advocacy skils acquired in Appellate Advocacy, and prepares students to represent VLS in extramural moot court competitions.  Successful participants will become members of competing teams and/or members of VLS's Moot Court Advisory Board.

This course provides in-depth exposure to useful, efficient, and effective strategies and resources for environmental law research, including environmental news/alert services, specialized information sources, administrative law, legislative history, international environmental legal research, and non-legal environmental research including science and statistics. It is designed to prepare students to research all types of environmental legal materials.

Provides in-depth exposure to the most useful, efficient strategies and resources for environmental law research, including highly specialized information databases, advanced administrative law research, legislative history, and environmental news/updating services.

This seminar provides in-depth exposure to the most useful, efficient strategies and resources for environmental law research, including highly specialized information databases, advanced administrative law research, legislative history, and environmental news/updating services.  The course goes well beyond the basics taught in introductory legal research classes and is designed to prepare students to research all types of environmental legal materials for use while in law school as well as in practice.

This seminar will teach the most useful research strategies and resources for researching international, comparative and foreign law competently.  It will address relevant methods and sources, both print and electronic, to prepare students to research all types of international legal materials that they will use during their student years as well as in practice. The research project will be a research guide on an international, foreign, or comparative law topic.

Advanced Legal Analysis is a skills-development course designed to provide students with the analytical, test-taking, writing, and study skills that are critical to students' success on the bar exam and in the practice of law.  The course consists of an intensive substantive and analytical review of major multistate bar exam subjects and of numerous writing and practice assignments.  Course enrollment is limited to 30 students, who are selected on the basis of an application process.

This seminar builds on the first year legal research course by expanding students' knowledge about available resources and research strategies. The seminar will focus on statutory law including legislative history, administrative law, municipal law, and case law as well as secondary sources not covered in the introductory course. In the final weeks, the seminar will review specialized resources for topics such as international law, tax law, and interdisciplinary research.

During the second and third years, a student may undertake independent research projects in areas of law in which the student has a particular interest.  Such projects require intensive research and the completion of a major piece of legal writing.  The experience includes close work with a faculty sponsor who provides supervision in both the research and writing stages.  This opportunity is available to MELP students but not normally to LLM students.

Participation in the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law (VJEL) is by invitation, as well as students who submit anonymously a writing sample and are selected by the students writing ability. Limit is 30 students.