My legal skills colleagues at the Hague University for Applied Sciences Department of International and European Law have an on-going debate about the utility of IRAC in the legal skills classroom. IRAC is the classic legal analysis tool used in (Anglo-American) law schools. IRAC stands for Issue, Rule, Analysis and Conclusion. It’s users claim that […]
Month: September 2017
Know your audience, the skill of effective communication
With the 72nd Opening of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) this week, eyes are turned to New York City and the parade of heads of state to address the world’s diplomats. As always, the opening address by the new UNGA president, MIROSLAV LAJČÁK, emphasized the year’s goals and themes. Among those topics were the climate and […]
Think Like a Lawyer: Legal Reasoning at the Court of Justice of the EU
On my first day of law school, a rather wry (and socially awkward) faculty member announced to us that we were going to learn to “think like a lawyer.” Over the course of my three-year education, I learned that “think like a lawyer” referred to legal reasoning and that legal reasoning was composed of the […]
Hurricane Relief and International Legal Skills: Is there a link?
The devastation of Hurricane Irma in the Caribbean was heartbreaking. News reports with aerial views of ravaged islands, report that some of those tiny islands (like St. Martin) are no longer habitable. Relief agencies will be there for years, trying to restore the region. One major hurricane relief agency, the UN World Food Programme (WFP), […]
Legal Skills for the Future to be Acquired Online
How do you ensure that you have the skills necessary to practice in today’s global legal market? Do you get those skills by studying in a formal law school environment? Are they honed only after you start your career? Is it possible to learn them on your own? The answer to these questions just may be […]