045: Writing Effectively in Your Summer Legal Job

Welcome back to the Law School Toolbox podcast! Today we are talking about writing effectively in a summer legal job. Joining us as a guest is Doretta McGinnis, who has taught Legal Writing for many years and is now a Law School Toolbox tutor.

If you are working this summer in a legal context, tune in for tips on how to shine!

In this episode we discuss:

• How does writing in a legal job context compare to writing in law school?
• What will you be writing (and what you probably won't be doing)
• Handling things you may be asked to do but haven't seen in law school
• Getting guidance on your assignment and clarifying what you need to produce
• The importance of maintaining a record of what you do for research assignments
• What is an employer looking for in a summer employee?
• What should you be able to do in your summer job?
• What should your writing look like?
• Objective writing vs. persuasive writing
• The importance of asking questions
• Deadlines and how to meet them!
• How to anticipate the needs of your supervisor and why it's important to check in
• What to bring to meetings
• Getting the backstory on a case
• Is it ever OK to turn in an incomplete first draft?
• Behaving like a professional

Thanks for listening!

If you enjoy the podcast, we'd love a nice review and/or rating on iTunes. And feel free to reach out to us directly. You can always reach us via the contact form on the Law School Toolbox website (http://lawschooltoolbox.com/contact).

Enjoy! And best of luck at your summer jobs.

Alison & Lee

Resources:

How to Behave Like a Professional in the Legal Workplace (http://lawschooltoolbox.com/podcast-episode-25-behave-like-professional-legal-workplace/)