JJUA55074U Advanced Legal English: Common Law Language, Reasoning, and Rhetoric
The intention of this course is to provide knowledge of the core
concepts, terminology, and modes of reasoning used in British and
American common law in order to provide students with the necessary
linguistic and analytical tools for working with legal English at a
professional level in an international setting.
This course provides an overview of the modes of expression and
styles of argument used in the English and American common law
tradition. The course will focus on how common law reasoning and
rhetoric work and vary in different contexts and fields of law.
Students learn the basic concepts and interpretive methods used by
lawyers in the common law tradition and how to use them to craft
legal arguments that resonate with common law reasoning. In
addition to a theoretical background on interpretive method and
rhetoric, the course provides a hands-on approach by having
students read and analyze case law, statutes, contract provisions,
and other relevant legal documents and make arguments for and
against various interpretations of particular provisions or legal
issues in written and oral form.
Students will be expected to participate in class discussions based
on reading assignments. In addition, students will be required to
participate in moot court arguments based on fact scenarios related
to the reading assignments. There will also be short in-class and
out-of-class writing assignments. Among other things, the course
will focus on the following areas:
• Various tropes of argumentation and persuasion used in common law
reasoning
• Various common law theories of statutory construction and legal
interpretation and how to incorporate them into legal argumentation
• The characteristics of the common law system: the role of stare
decisis, the distinction between common law and equity, the
accusatorial v. inquisitorial approach to justice
• Core terminology in contracts, torts, company law, and criminal
law
• Core terminology in public international law
• Various rhetorical tropes in contracts, torts, company law,
criminal law, and international law
• The organization of the British and American court systems and
the roles various professionals such as judges, attorneys,
solicitors, and barristers play in the common law system as well as
the role of juries
• Differences in terminology and modes of expression in criminal,
civil, and appellate procedure and administrative
law
- Identify and explain various rhetorical tropes
frequently used in common law and formulate arguments based on
these tropes
- Identify and reflect critically on common law methods of
interpretation and use them in legal argument
- Analyze case law, contract provisions, and statutes and
reflect critically on their interpretation
- Identify the proper terminology depending on topic area
and legal tradition: the student should be able to identify the
relevant field of law and use language and terminology appropriate
to it
- Identify and explain the core concepts and terminology
used generally in British and American common law and in specific
areas of law such as contracts, torts, company law, and criminal
law
- Present an understanding of the British and American
legal traditions and explain the similarities and differences
between the two systems
- communicate and formulate her/his knowledge and arguments
professionally and in a linguistically-correct manner that is
structured and coherent
Frederick Schauer, Thinking Like a Lawyer: A New Introduction to
Legal Reasoning (2009)
And materials assembled by instructor (approx. 500
pages).
- Category
- Hours
- Preparation
- 241
- Seminar
- 34
- Total
- 275
Enrolling as a Single Master Level/ Credit Student:
For Single Master Level Courses – click here!
For Single-subject credit students - click here!
For further
information
- Credit
- 10 ECTS
- Type of assessment
- Oral defence, 20 minOral exam based on synopsis, 20 minutes
- Marking scale
- 7-point grading scale
- Censorship form
- External censorship
- Exam period
December 7-11, 2015 (preliminary dates)
Course information
- Language
- English
- Course code
- JJUA55074U
- Credit
- 10 ECTS
- Level
- Full Degree MasterFull Degree Master choice
- Duration
- 1 semester
- Placement
- Autumn
- Schedule
- C1
- Continuing and further education
- Price
DKK 10.000
- Study board
- Law
Contracting department
- Law
Course responsibles
- Anne Lise Kjær (14-6e7b7b723b797680723b7877727f4d77827f3b78823b7178)
Lecturers
Ekstern lektor Russell L. Dees