***The Writing Center is open over the summer and available to current law students and 2023 graduates. All students should use the link for upper-year/LL.M. writing specialist appointments to schedule.***
Welcome to the Columbia Law School Writing Center!
The Law School Writing Center is available to all law students. During the academic year, students may attend workshops and/or make appointments for one-on-one consultations. Consultations can be used to review specific pieces of legal writing (up to 10, double-spaced pages) or to discuss general legal writing strategies. While the priority is academic writing, students may also make appointments to review professional legal writing samples as time allows. The goal of the Writing Center is to help students become better legal writers and the best possible editors of their own work.
The Writing Center team consists of a staff writing specialist, who is an attorney, and trained upper-year law students who serve as writing fellows. The writing specialist is available to meet with upper-year and LL.M. students, and conducts an Upper-Year/LL.M. Workshop Series throughout the academic year. Writing fellows are available to meet with 1Ls in Legal Practice Workshop, and hold 1L-focused workshops through the 1L Lunch Series.
For Summer 2023, all students should use the link for writing specialist appointments. Please make an appointment at least 48 hours in advance.
- Upper-year and LL.M. students may make a writing specialist appointment here.
- 1Ls may make an appointment with one of the writing fellows here. Writing fellow appointments are closed over the summer. Please make an appointment with the writing specialist using the link above.
Please note:
- Writing Center staff are not available to edit or proofread student work. We do not provide substantive feedback, nor review any piece of legal writing in the absence of a consultation appointment.
- Students may not make an appointment to discuss the following pieces of legal writing: take-home or practice examinations from a current class, journal notes, or a legal writing sample that will also be used for journal applications.
- Students may always make confidential appointments to work on effective legal writing strategies and improve their overall skills. However, if a student would like to discuss a writing assignment for a current class or supervised research, the student may need instructor permission to do so. This includes papers for seminars, supervised research, supervised experiential study, the LL.M. Writing Project, clinic work, or any other piece of writing that will ultimately be submitted for a grade. Different instructors have different policies regarding Writing Center assistance, and some may require notification or express permission, or may not allow the Writing Center to review work that has not yet been graded. If you are unsure about your instructor's policy, you may contact the Writing Center or ask your instructor.
- Students do not need instructor permission to make an appointment regarding writing for 1L Legal Practice Workshop or LL.M. Legal Research and Writing.
- Students do not need instructor permission to discuss specific pieces of legal writing that are not associated with a current, graded class. For example, students are welcome to bring in written work from a prior semester to use as a starting point for discussion.
- Students must obtain permission from their employer and redact any confidential information before sharing a legal writing sample from a prior job, internship, externship, or clinic. Please note that we are not available to review resumes or cover letters.
Learn More
For Summer 2023, all students should use the link for writing specialist appointments. Please make an appointment at least 48 hours in advance.
- Upper-year and LL.M. students may make a writing specialist appointment here.
- 1Ls may make an appointment with one of the writing fellows here. Writing fellow appointments are closed over the summer. Please make an appointment with the writing specialist using the link above.
Please see below information for the 1L Lunch Series and the Upper-Year/LL.M. Workshop Series.
1L Lunch Series
Writing fellows host a series of workshops for 1Ls throughout the semester. Upcoming workshops:
We have completed the 1L Lunch Series for the 2022-2023 academic year. The schedule of Fall 2023 workshops will be posted in September.
Upper-Year/LL.M. Workshop Series
The writing specialist hosts a series of workshops for upper-year and LL.M. students throughout the semester. Each workshop will be held in-person, at two separate times.
Registration required. Please choose the time that works best for you; please do not sign up for the same workshop more than once. Upcoming workshops:
We have completed the Upper-Year/LL.M. Workshop Series for the 2022-2023 academic year. The schedule of Fall 2023 workshops will be posted in September.
Please see the Law School Writing Center resource page for handouts, presentations, and workshop recordings covering a broad range of legal writing issues.
Writing Specialist
Misti Duvall '06 is the Writing Center's writing specialist. Working primarily with upper-year and LL.M. students, she provides one-on-one and small group instruction to help students develop their legal writing skills. Misti has experience in domestic and international law and policy, and spent 10 years practicing environmental and human rights law with non-profit organizations in New York, Washington, D.C., and Southeast Asia. Since shifting her focus from legal practice to writing and teaching, she has taught the Law School Admission Test to prospective law students and First-Year Legal Writing at Fordham Law.
Misti is a graduate of Columbia Law School, where she was an articles editor for the Columbia Journal of Environmental Law and teaching assistant in the Environmental Law Clinic. She also holds an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from City College of New York and a B.A. from the University of Tennessee.
Contact: [email protected]
Writing Fellows
The writing fellows consist of upper-year law students who are available to meet with 1Ls in Legal Practice Workshop. All fellows have demonstrated outstanding writing ability, as well as a desire to help students understand the value of strong legal writing.
To send a general question to the center, please email us at [email protected].
1. Who can use the Columbia Law School Writing Center?
Any current law student.
2. When is the center open, and how do I schedule an appointment?
Please see the Make an Appointment section below for more information.
3. With whom will I meet?
The Law School Writing Center is staffed a writing specialists, who is an attorney, and upper-year student writing fellows. LL.M. and upper-year J.D. students will meet the writing specialist, and 1Ls in Legal Practice Workshop will meet with one of the writing fellows.
4. What should I do to prepare for an appointment?
If you are coming to the center to discuss a specific piece of writing, please share the piece as directed at least 48 hours prior to your appointment.
You are also welcome to make an appointment to discuss an area of legal writing more generally. In this situation, please make sure to explain your area of interest in the "notes" section of your sign-up form.
5. What kind of feedback will I receive?
Writing Center staff will not line edit or rewrite your work for you. We will not provide feedback on substantive legal issues, nor review without consultation. Rather, we will review your work for common problems or issues related to organization, argument structure, grammar, and style. We will then work with you to help you understand these issues so that you can become a stronger editor of your own work.