A PPLIED L INGUISTICS AT P ENN S TATE L AW Alissa J. Hartig APLNG Roundtable Friday, November 4, 2011

W E ARE HERE !

T HE LL.M. (M ASTER OF L AWS ) P ROGRAM : 20 students/ : 29 students Primarily international All have a J.D. or equivalent Majority trained in civil law Many have prior home country work experience Some have worked in international contexts

LL.M. PROGRAMS IN THE U NITED S TATES : % increase in the number of programs available to foreign law graduates (Silver, 2006, p. 147) 130% increase in the number of foreign law graduates in graduate law programs (ibid, p. 149) 54% increase in the number of foreign-educated lawyers who sat for the New York bar exam (ibid)

LL.M. S TUDENT G OALS (S ILVER, 2006) Legal English and U.S. culture Professional networks Prestige/credibility (point of reference) Bypassing restrictions on professional qualification (bar exam) “The law component is an excuse to practice English and to be comfortable with the U.S. culture and in English.” (p. 156) “In order to represent U.S. businesses and to participate in the growing market for international advice, foreign lawyers perceived that they needed to be able to speak the same language as U.S. lawyers, both literally and conceptually.” (p.143)

E XAMPLES OF O UR LL.M. S TUDENTS ’ G OALS “By studying the American legal system, I hope to enhance my knowledge and skill and play a more significant role in my company” To gain “a thorough understanding of the legal system in the United States” in order to enact reform in home criminal prosecution system Expand job prospects back home To gain greater expertise in arbitration, which was not available in home country

LLMLW 901: L EGAL A NALYSIS, W RITING AND R ESEARCH F OR LL.M. S TUDENTS Practitioner-oriented legal writing course Two major assignments Open memo (common law problem) Closed memo (statutory problem) Weekly assignments Preliminary drafts of sections of memo Legal research Case reading Reading in textbook

O RIGINAL R OLE OF APLNG TA ¼  ½ time position Primarily one-on-one tutoring with LL.M. students Occasional workshops on language (e.g., using cohesive devices) and U.S. hiring documents (e.g., resumes, cover letters) Summer Intensive Course in Legal English (conducted at UP campus)

APLNG TA ROLE IN Individual Consultations with LL.M. and some J.D. students Writing and Communication Lab Workshop Series Conversation Partner Program Conversation Lunches /Outings Summer Intensive Course in Legal English (UP)

P ROPOSED I NITIATIVES 1-year Certificate in Legal English (based on Georgetown model) Bar Exam Preparation Track Summer Intensive Course in Legal English in Istanbul, Turkey TA Training for law students

P ROPOSAL : C ERTIFICATE IN L EGAL E NGLISH First Semester American Legal Culture and Discourse Foundational Writing Skills for Lawyers Reading Strategies and Legal Vocabulary U.S. Legal Pedagogy Graduate Forum Second Semester Skills for Academic Research and Essay Exams Elective Course Skills Lab Academic Speaking and Presentations