Amicus Advocacy (Lindell)
Faculty
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| Karen Usselman Lindell Senior Lecturer lindellk@law.upenn.edu |
Additional Information
Experiential CourseYes
Skills Training
Oral Presentations
Team Projects
Drafting Legal Documents
Expository Writing
Other Professional Skills:
Grading
20% Participation,
50% Paper,
30% Other (Research memo/outline (15%) and a final oral presentation (15%))
No
Class meets in person.
Course Continuity
Students are encouraged to stay home if you are ill or experience flu-like symptoms. If you miss a class for any reason, it is still your responsibility to make up the work missed.
I offer the following to students who miss class due to illness:
- Class sessions are regularly recorded. If you are absent due to illness or some other unavoidable circumstance, email me and I can send you an email with instructions for accessing the recording for the class session(s) you missed.
- I will make PowerPoint slides or other class materials routinely available on the course site to everyone in the class.
Meeting Times/Location
MW 10:30AM - 11:50AM
Tanenbaum Hall 142
Category
Upper-Level
Credits
3.0
The past decade has seen an enormous increase in the filing – and influence – of amicus, or “friend-of-the-court,” briefs in federal and state appellate courts. During its 2023-24 term, the U.S. Supreme Court received a record high average of more than 27 amicus briefs per case, and amicus briefs are regularly cited in the Court's opinions. Amicus briefs can play a critical role in a court’s decision-making by emphasizing the impact of the case on certain populations or industries, by presenting legal arguments not advanced or fully developed by the parties, and by offering specialized expertise on a topic.
This class will provide students an opportunity to design, research, and draft an amicus brief based on a real-world case. Students will work collaboratively to represent an organizational client in one of three simulated appellate cases, each reflecting different styles of amicus advocacy. The first half of the semester will cover amicus strategy and research techniques, including incorporation of nonlegal sources into legal argument. Students will then work in pairs during the second half of the semester to draft and revise their amicus briefs. The class will also include short simulations designed to enhance oral communication skills, including a mid-semester client meeting and a final “Press Conference,” where students will communicate their main legal points to a lay audience. Through its experiential design and skills-based instruction, this course aims to use the framework of amicus advocacy to teach the written and oral communication skills that are essential to appellate practice more generally.
***Please note that, due to the collaborative and simulation-based nature of this course, it has a drop deadline of 1/22/25 (slightly before the end of the drop/add period)***
Skills Learning outcomes: Demonstrate an understanding of the individual course skill; Demonstrate the ability to receive and implement feedback; Demonstrate an understanding of how and when the individual course skill is employed in practice.
Courts and the Judicial System Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of both substantive and procedural issues in the operation of our legal system; Perform legal analysis in the context of procedural issues and the judicial process; Communicate effectively on topics related to procedure and the judicial process; Demonstrate an understanding of how procedural issues and the judicial process affect all other area of our legal system.
Public Interest Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of the varied legal aspects of public interest law; Perform legal analysis in the context of public interest law; Communicate effectively on topics related to public interest law; Demonstrate an understanding of how public interest law is connected to and affected by a wide variety of legal and regulatory structures and doctrines.