About Mercer's Legal Writing Program

One of the cornerstones of Mercer's award-winning curriculum is its nationally recognized Legal Writing Program. In their classrooms, offices, moot court practice sessions, and in the library, Mercer's professors are dedicated to teaching. And their contributions extend beyond the law school too. They are known for their work on a national level, and they are busy producing cutting-edge scholarship in the field.

U.S. News & World Report ranks Mercer's Legal Writing Program #1 in the nation. Required writing and research courses span the first three semesters and total the equivalent of nine credits – far more than at most law schools. Research courses are taught by nationally recruited legal research faculty. Core writing courses are taught by nationally recruited tenured and tenure-track legal writing faculty. The Program offers popular upper division electives and the nation's only Certificate in Advanced Legal Writing, Research, and Drafting.

Student successes provide ample evidence of the quality of Mercer's Program. Mercer's Moot Court teams consistently win national awards for their brief-writing and oral skills, and Mercer students excel in other writing arenas as well. For instance, Mercer student Katrice Stinson won the Law Student Essay Contest sponsored by the Tort and Insurance Practice Section of the ABA, and Mercer graduate Natasha Olds Quinn won the 2002 Burton Award for Excellence in Legal Writing, presented in New York City. Most recently, Mercer student David Cook won the 2005 student national writing competition sponsored by the American Association of Attorney-Certified Public Accountants.

One of Mercer's greatest honors came in 2003, when the Legal Writing Institute (LWI) chose to move its headquarters to Mercer. With nearly 1,800 members, LWI is the world's largest organization dedicated to the improvement of legal writing. In selecting Mercer, LWI considered the quality of the Legal Writing Program, the national reputation of Mercer's faculty, and the consistency of Mercer's dedication to advancing the field of legal writing. Selection as the Institute's host school may well be the greatest honor a legal writing program can achieve.