GEORGETOWN LAW Summer Legal English Program June 10-28, 2013 Washington, DC
Improving Legal English skills in the place where laws are made The Georgetown Law Summer Legal English Program consists of a three-week intensive written and oral communication skills curriculum. The curriculum includes a two-week intensive litigation skills class focusing on a case study of a current legal issue and a weeklong legal exercise incorporating both litigation and transactional skills. Students will enhance their daily, academic and professional English skills as well as their understanding of U.S. legal culture. This is a highly selective and competitive program limited to 20 students. The program is open to practicing lawyers who obtained their primary legal degree in a foreign jurisdiction, students entering an LLM program at an ABA-accredited law school in the fall, students continuing LLM studies at an ABA-accredited law school, and students entering into an ABAaccredited J.D. program who obtained their undergraduate degree in a foreign jurisdiction. Faculty members who are lawyers and PhD linguists with a wide range of practical and academic experience will work closely with students for 30 hours per week, including classroom instruction four days a week and planned excursions in the Washington, DC area one day a week. The small class size, high faculty-to-student ratio and pre- and post-program assessments will allow each student to receive individualized feedback and attention to work toward his or her professional and academic goals. 2 Upon successful completion of the program, students will receive a Certificate in Professional Legal English from Georgetown Law..
A world-class faculty of linguists and lawyers Program faculty include lawyers and PhD linguists with a wide range of professional and academic experience: Craig Hoffman, Ph.D., J.D., Professor of U.S. Legal Discourse B.A., William & Mary; Ph.D., University of Connecticut; J.D., University of Texas. Professor Hoffman is a linguist and a lawyer who has specialized in transactional writing and negotiating during his nine years of practice in Austin, Texas and Washington, D.C. Professor Hoffman is currently the Professor of United States Legal Discourse at Georgetown. He is also the Director of the Graduate Writing Program. Professor Hoffman focuses on acculturating Georgetown's foreign LL.M. students into United States Legal Discourse by teaching courses that introduce students to the ways that U.S. lawyers use language to communicate about the law. Professor Hoffman teaches classes and consults with law schools around the world on issues of language and the law. He also consults with law firms on the interpretation of statutes and contracts. Professor Hoffman has received several fellowships in linguistics, cognitive science, business, and writing. His areas of scholarship include forensic linguistics, statutory and contract interpretation, discourse analysis, and genre analysis. Kirsten Schaetzel, Ph.D., ESL Specialist Professor Schaetzel is the Curriculum Director for the Two-Year LLM Program. Dr. Schaetzel received a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from Boston University. Previously, she received a master s degree in Teaching English as a Second Language from the University of Illinois and a Bachelors Degree in English Literature from Wheaton College. She holds teaching certificates in English, Spanish, and Teaching English as a Second Language. Prior to joining the Center for Global Legal English, Dr. Schaetzel worked for the Center for Applied Linguistics, the Harvard Institute for English Language Programs, the National Institute of Education, Singapore, and UNICEF. Her academic interests include varieties of English, linguistic learner training, and American classroom discussion and the teaching of discussion skills. She is currently the Chair of the Adult Education Interest Section of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). Michelle Ueland, Ph.D., ESL Specialist Michelle M. Ueland is the Director of the Language Center. Dr. Ueland received a Ph.D. in Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies from the College of Education at the University of New Mexico with a concentration in Educational Thought and a minor in Educational Administration and Leadership. She holds a Master s degree in Applied Linguistics from the Universidad Nacional in Heredia, Costa Rica, and a Bachelor s degree in English literature and women s studies from Minnesota State University, Mankato. She has also worked for the Center for Applied Linguistics on adult ESL assessment and the Costa Rican Ministry of Education in curriculum development and teacher education. Dr. Ueland learned Spanish as an adult and is certified as fully bilingual having earned the Diploma Superior de Español como Segunda Idioma from the Universidad de Salamanca, Spain, and The Cervantes Institute, New York. 3
Eun Hee Han, J.D., M.P.P., Writing Fellow Eun Hee Han is a Writing Fellow for the Language Center. She received her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and a Masters in Public Policy from The George Washington University. Prior to coming to Georgetown, Professor Han was a C.V. Starr Lecturer in the Transnational Practice Program at Peking University School of Transnational Law in Shenzhen, China, where she taught legal research and writing and contract drafting. Professor Han has practice experience in corporate and securities law and in the non-profit sector. Larissa Majlessi, J.D., M.A., ESL Fellow Larissa Majlessi is an ESL Fellow in the Two-Year LL.M. program. She received her J.D. from Pace University School of Law and a Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics from Teachers College, Columbia University. Professor Majlessi specializes in oral communications and pronunciation, and she uses her legal and linguistics backgrounds to prepare students for the rigors of law school. Prior to coming to Georgetown, Professor Majlessi taught Advanced English for Professional Purposes at Harvard University s Institute for English Languages summer intensive program, as well as international graduate and undergraduate students at Pace University s English Language Institute. 4
A challenging curriculum and individualized attention Courses over the three-week period will include: Written Communication and Lawyering Skills This course will integrate all areas of legal English communication to allow students to enhance their analytical and critical thinking skills and improve their legal advocacy skills by examining current issues in U.S. legal practice. In the first two weeks of the course, students will examine a recent U.S. Supreme Court case through all of its stages. In the final week, students will examine how to be an effective lawyer in a transaction, from drafting a contract to closing a deal. During the course, students will write and examine a variety of professional and academic documents, including professional correspondence, scholarly articles, pleadings, cases, opinion pieces, and contracts to enhance students academic and professional writing skills. Oral Communication in a Professional Context This course focuses on listening and speaking skills to help students enhance their general, academic and legal English. Daily and Academic Conversation Skills In this course students will use conversation and discussion to develop their personal and academic communication in English. Students will have variety of opportunities to practice speaking effectively in various contexts while improving vocabulary, pronunciation and legal analytical skills. To complement class sessions and enhance students experience in the nation s capital, planned excursions will include (subject to change based on scheduling): A state or federal court The Law Library of Congress The United States Capitol The Supreme Court of the United States A Washington National s baseball game 5
Additional Information: Tuition for the program is $5,000 per student. Housing is not included, but housing is available on the Georgetown University Law Center campus. If you are interested in housing on campus, please indicate that on the application. Applicants whose visa status requires it will need to also enroll in Foundations of American Law & Legal Education, July 7 27, 2013. The Visa Advisor will notify you about this after we review your application. For more information, please visit the program website: http://www.law.georgetown.edu/academics/academic-programs/graduateprograms/writing/summer-program.cfm Apply online: https://apps.law.georgetown.edu/forms/?formid=824 6