Policies & Grading

The Grade

Your final semester grade for this course is apportioned as follows:

Assignment #1 (due Sept. 13 by 9 pm) Part of your Professionalism Score
Assignment #2 (closed memo, due Oct. 11 by 9pm) 30%
Assignment #3 (open memo, due Nov. 22 by 9 pm) 40%
Research 20%
Professionalism 10%

This course is subject to the Law School's curve, and the grading policy can be found on pages 46-47 of the student handbook. Individual assignments are not curved; rather the curve is applied to total scores at the end of the semester. Your numerical scores for each assignment reflect how your work compares to a good (not perfect) practicing attorney. The curve that applies to those numerical scores is a reflection of how you did compared to how the class performed as a whole. The mean of the grades of the class as a whole will be between 2.7 to 2.9 on a 4.0-point scale.

Written Assignments

Your written assignments will be graded based on organization (logic, focus, proper paragraph structure, clarity of argument); research and legal analysis (proper use of appropriate authorities to analyze legal issues); style (word choice, precision, conciseness); & mechanics (grammar, spelling, citation skills). These are general LARC standards; I’ll provide specific standards for each assignment as it becomes due.

Research

Your Research grade will be based on short assignments and exercises that I will ask you to complete or submit over the course of the semester.

Professionalism

Your Professionalism grade will be based on your performance on written Assignment #1 (referenced above); other course exercises & assignments; as well as your class decorum and preparedness, as described below.

Your submission and score for Assignment #1 will be handled in accordance with the guidelines set out in the “Written Assignment” section of this syllabus (above). Nevertheless, your performance on Assignment 1 will be factored into the Professionalism grade.

You will also be required to submit short written exercises or drafts to me or TAs periodically throughout the semester.

Above all, my expectation is that you will conduct yourself with the professionalism that you would expect and display as an attorney in the profession of law. In the context of the LARC classroom, that means that you should:

Complete all assignments, graded or ungraded, timely and in good faith
Use diligence, thoroughness, and attention to detail in your assignments
Ask questions when you are not sure about an assignment or course requirement
Timely and fully attend all classes
Come to class prepared
Participate in class and group discussions
Be courteous in class and in all communications

Conversely, the following are breaches of professionalism:

Being chronically tardy
Repeatedly missing all or a portion of classes
Incomplete, late, or sloppy work, including failure to follow assignment instructions
Failure to prepare for or participate in class
Disrespectful actions, comments, or communication towards classmates, TA, or professor
Missing scheduled conferences/appointments without notice

If you fail to adhere to the Professionalism standards in this class, you will not earn full Professionalism points.

What do the Letter Grades at the End of the Semester Mean?

The descriptions below provide a general guide regarding the work product required to earn a particular grade at the end of the semester. (Adapted from Professor Ruth McKinney, University of North Carolina School of Law - UNC Center for Teaching and Learning.)

An "A" final semester grade will mean that a supervising attorney or judge would feel good about relying on your work with little or no revision. A judge would feel confident in basing the reasoning for a judicial opinion on your work, and a supervising attorney could submit your work with no revisions or only minor revisions and some discussion with you to clarify that your research was accurate. An "A" grade indicates that a supervising attorney or judge would look forward to seeing your work in the future.

An "A" (A+, A, A-) final grade will:

(a) be easy to read due to strong large-scale organization, clarity, and focus;

(b) have no faulty logic or irrational arguments;

(d) be based on complete and accurate research;

(e) make accurate and effective use of the facts;

(f) make accurate and effective use of relevant authority;

(g) use case law accurately and effectively to illustrate legal rules in a meaningful way;

(h) make use of all valid arguments, whether based on law, policy or equity;

(i) follow C-RAC, office memo, and/or trial brief formats with no major errors;

(j) have few if any conspicuous citation errors and avoid unnecessary string citations; and

(k) be free of errors in grammar, spelling syntax, and typing.

A "B" final semester grade will positively impress the supervising attorney or judge and make him or her curious to talk with you further about your work. A judge would feel confident in using your work as a basis for further research or might ask his or her clerk to verify your position. A supervising attorney would enjoy watching your growth and would feel confident that with guidance you will become a very good attorney. A judge would look forward to watching you develop in the future.

A "B" (B+, B, B-) final grade will:

(a) be similar to, but lack the thoroughness, power, or polish of an "A" level score;

(b) be generally well-organized, but may require the reader to reread numerous sentences or paragraphs before fully grasping the author’s point;

(d) be generally well-written, but may also be wordy or contain poor word choice or distracting paragraphing style;

(e) capture the judge’s attention, but fail to fully persuade;

(f) contain only one or two major citation errors, but may not use appropriate signals for the reader, or have citation placement that is distracting for the reader; and

(g) contain few, if any, errors in grammar, spelling, syntax, and typing.

A "C" final semester grade will make the supervising attorney or judge uneasy about relying unguardedly on your work and may make them feel uncomfortable with work that you submit in the future. A judge might pick up some interesting points from the memo or brief but would feel compelled to rethink the legal reasoning and/or closely examine your research. A supervising attorney would not be comfortable submitting the memo or brief to a court without making fairly major changes in the style, tone, or content. However, a supervising attorney would see sufficient promise in your work to motivate him or her to invest time and energy in supervising your future assignments more closely, and a judge would feel that you had made a conscientious effort to argue your client’s case.

A "C"(C+, C) final grade may:

(a) present some good thoughts, but contain numerous paragraphing and organizational errors;

(b) fail to present a legally plausible argument or present a plausible argument ineffectively;

(c) rely upon authority whose relevance is not immediately apparent, and fail to provide an explanation of the authority’s relevance and weight;

(d) fail to accurately explain the meaning of legal authorities;

(e) contain major errors in acceptable format;

(f) contain numerous errors in grammar, spelling, syntax, or typing; and

(g) contain a series of major citation errors.

A "C-" or "D" final semester grade would not be acceptable to a judge or supervising attorney. It may provide them with a few cases or ideas from which to begin their own research, but it would be wholly undependable standing alone. A supervising attorney would need to rework the document or assign it to a different associate. A judge would begin to consider sanctions if this memo or brief was submitted by a practicing attorney. Both a judge and a supervising attorney might question the reliability of future work of an attorney who submitted a brief of this quality. This work would make a judge or an attorney consider releasing the employee from their employment if major improvements were not forthcoming.

A "C-" or "D" final grade will:

(a) significantly misrepresent the facts, case authorities, or major legal issues;

(b) contain so many paragraph and organizational errors as to prohibit the reader from following the writer’s thoughts;

(d) contain many errors in grammar, spelling, or typing;

(e) contain more illogical, implausible, and irrational arguments than acceptable arguments; and

(f) demonstrate no effort to use correct citation format.

An "F" final score will miss the point of the assignments entirely and/or show a lack of good faith effort to complete the assignments.

What if I have a conflict on the date a major assignment is due?

You can request an extension by emailing Professor and LARC Co-Director Sanner (karen.sanner@slu.edu) and explaining the reason for that request. Requests are not automatically granted and generally are limited to situations like a family emergency, death in the family, or medical or mental health issue which requires treatment near the due date.

If you are not granted an extension, late assignments will be penalized with a loss of 10% of the assignment's point total for each day or fraction of a day that the assignment is late.

What if I have a conflict on the date an exercise or research assignment is due?

If you need an extension for any of these assignments, please reach out to me before the due date and time. Unless I have granted an extension, late submissions will not be accepted. If you have technical difficulties uploading an assignment, just email or text me to explain and keep trying. My goal is not to create extra stress, but instead to create a clear expectation and parameters to allow us to work together effectively.

Attendance

I will take attendance at the start of class in Canvas. You should not have any more than three absences during the semester; if you do, you may be referred to the Co-Directors of the program and the Dean of Students. If you miss six or more class sessions, it may impact your grade or your continued enrollment in the course. If you are concerned about reaching these absences, please reach out to me or SLU LAW Dean of Students Jon Baris.

Class will be recorded, and the recordings posted. They will be accessible through Canvas and Panopto. Pursuant to SLU policy and the Law School's recording policy in Chapter 6.II of the Student Handbook, students should not record the class on their own or distribute any recordings to those outside of the class. Violation of this policy may subject a student to disciplinary action under the School of Law's Student Handbook and the University's Student Handbook.

Ethical Rules

All students are bound by the Student Ethics Regulations for Legal Research and Writing (see the Examples and Hypotheticals for more guidance), the Law School’s Honor Code and Plagiarism Policies, which are contained Chapters 14 and 15 of the student handbook, and the University's Academic Integrity Policy.

If you have any questions about whether you may work with others on a project, please ask. Unless you are specifically instructed that you can work with other students, the default rule in this class is that you must work alone. This includes, but is not limited to, assignments, exercises, research, and research exercises. If an assignment requires you to work alone, working with others – including unauthorized use of Generative AI – is an ethical violation and will be reported in accordance with these policies.

Generative AI

This class is designed to teach you fundamental lawyering skills, including legal thinking, reading, reasoning, research, and writing. Generative Artificial Intelligence tools like ChatGPT are very new and fascinating developments in writing technology, but they can interfere with your learning of these skills if they are used before you have the foundational legal skills in place. If you give a hammer and nails to someone who is not a carpenter, they don’t know how to build a house. If you give Generative AI tools to someone who is not a lawyer, they won’t know how to create competent legal work product. On the other hand, once you have some experience with these legal skills, Generative Artificial Intelligence tools can be a helpful writing tool. My goal in this class is to make sure you have the lawyer intelligence you need to effectively use artificial intelligence.

Accordingly, students are prohibited from using Generative Artificial Intelligence tools, including paraphrasing tools, to complete any exercises or assignments unless otherwise permitted in the assignment’s instructions. This prohibition does not include all artificial intelligence tools, only those that are generative. You are permitted to use Word’s Editor or Grammarly Basic, for example. You are also permitted to use legal research tools that employ artificial intelligence; we will be learning those in this class. If you have any questions about what tools are permitted or prohibited on any assignment, please ask in advance of using that tool. Generative AI detection tools may be used in reviewing assignments.

Accessibility

SLU LAW is committed to diversity and inclusion through accessible programs, services, and campus environment. If you have questions about or are seeking to request a disability accommodation in this or any other class, please contact Zach Wood, Assistant Director of Accessibility & Wellness (zach.wood@slu.edu). Confidentiality will be observed in all inquiries.

More on equal educational opportunity

SLU LAW and its faculty are committed to supporting our students and seeking an environment that is free of bias, discrimination, and harassment. If you have encountered any form of discrimination on the basis of sex, including sexual assault, sexual harassment, stalking, domestic or dating violence, we encourage you to report this to the University. Title IX also provides protections to those that are pregnant or have a pregnancy related condition. If you speak with a faculty member about a Title IX matter, that faculty member must notify either SLU LAW's Deputy Title IX Coordinator, Jon Baris, Dean of Students (jon.baris@slu.edu), or SLU’s Title IX coordinator, Anna Kratky (DuBourg Hall, Room 36; anna.kratky@slu.edu; 314-977-3886) and share the basic information of your experience. The Title IX Coordinator will then be available to assist you in understanding all of your options and in connecting you with all possible resources on and off campus. If you wish to speak with a confidential source, you may contact the counselors at the University Counseling Center at 314-977-TALK. To view SLU’s Title IX Sexual Harassment Policy and for resources, please visit https://www.slu.edu/about/safety/sexual-assault-resources/index.php. For more information about pregnancy and related conditions, please visit https://www.slu.edu/student-development/dean-of-students/pregnant-parenting.php or see this student handout: Title IX Pregnancy Handout.

Basic Needs Security

Any student who faces challenges securing their food or housing and believes this may affect their performance in the course is urged to contact the Dean of Students for support. Furthermore, please notify the professor if you are comfortable in doing so. This will enable her to provide any resources that she may possess.

Additional Resources

All students experience stressors and challenges at some point, and seeking support is beneficial. Such challenges may be the result of academic concerns (such as those related to particular assignments or content in a course), or they may be more personal in nature (such as concerns related to relationships, mental health, loss, identities, alcohol or drugs, housing or food security, or finances, among other things). If you experience these or other difficulties, please consider seeking support from the resources available to you.

For concerns related to this course, please contact me. I am invested in your success and will support your success in the ways I can.
Additionally, you have access to the many resources SLU provides in support of your personal wellness. You will find a list of available resources on the Well-being page of the SLU website. Law school specific resources can be found here.

If you or someone you know is experiencing a crisis: please consult the Crisis Support and Warning Signs on the University Counseling Center website.

In the spirit of cura personalis, the University sees your academic success as connected to your health and well-being and provides resources to support your holistic wellness.

If you or someone you know is having trouble coping, there are many resources for help, all confidential. Here are a few:

MOLAP 800-688-7859
University Counseling Center 314-977-8255 (TALK)
Suicide Prevention Lifeline 800-273-8255 (TALK)
Crisis Text Line text “HOME” to 741741

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