Legal Writing Program

Legal writing is the foundation for how lawyers think, analyze, advocate and communicate. At DePaul Law, that work begins in your very first semester through our required Legal Analysis, Research & Communication (LARC) Program, where you build the research, reasoning and writing foundation that will shape your work throughout law school and into legal practice. 

Our LARC Program is a rigorous three-semester sequence that begins with foundational legal analysis in the first year and progresses to advanced research, trial-level motion drafting, appellate advocacy and oral communication. Along the way, you complete increasingly complex assignments in small class sections, with close guidance from dedicated faculty and teaching assistants. During the semester, you meet individually with your first-year instructors to receive detailed feedback on your assignments. 

LARC Sequence

LAW 112: LARC I

In LARC I, you develop skills in synthesis, analysis, written communication and plain-language drafting. The course uses a process-based approach to help you build discrete legal writing skills through five major writing projects and smaller assignments. 

LAW 119: LARC II

In LARC II, you build on your first semester by developing research skills and strategy, drafting persuasive arguments for trial courts and reporting orally to a supervising attorney. You work on increasingly difficult assignments as complete legal documents and begin learning computer-assisted legal research techniques. 

LAW 115: LARC III

In your second year, you take a third semester of legal writing in either the fall or spring semester. LARC III reinforces and deepens the instruction from LARC I and II through a combination of major writing projects and smaller assignments. You meet weekly in slightly smaller sections and develop skills in drafting trial-level motions, making persuasive appellate arguments and oral advocacy.