Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction to the process of law -- Rules of law and legal reasoning -- The life of a case, state and federal court systems, and jurisdiction -- Determining the rule from a single case or other authority -- Determining the applicable rule through statutory interpretation and analysis of multiple authorities -- Organization of legal writing -- The office memorandum and the client letter -- Editing and fine-tuning your writing -- Legal citation -- Introduction to legal research and printed sources of the law -- Federal and state reporters of cases -- Case finders and verification sources: digests, annotated law reports, and Shepard's citations -- Secondary sources of the law: encyclopedias, treatises, law reviews, and periodicals -- Court rules, local rules, and loose-leaf services -- Constitutions and federal, state, and municipal legislation -- Legislative history -- Federal regulatory and administrative law -- Computer assisted legal research -- Strategies for research and determining when you are finished -- Adversarial legal writing -- Pretrial motions -- Motions to dismiss -- Motions for summary judgment -- Appellate advocacy: appeals, writs, standards of review -- Appellate briefs -- Oral advocacy at pretrial, trial and appellate stages -- Strategies for moot court and beyond -- Appendixes. A. Preparing a case brief or case analysis for class ; B. Common errors in grammar and punctuation ; C. Preparing for and taking exams.