Center for Thinking, Researching, and Writing
New York Law School is committed to teaching students the essential lawyering skills of thinking, researching, and writing through a holistic, 21st century, approach.
The student-oriented goals of NYLS’s Center for Thinking, Researching, and Writing include providing resources to:
- prepare students for the modern writing demands placed on new lawyers by the profession
- aid students as they prepare for entry into a profession quickly being influenced and changed by the evolution of technology, particularly artificial intelligence
- help students meet the new writing demands the NextGen Bar Exam will place on graduates
The Center for Thinking, Researching, and Writing aspires to inspire students to connect their development and transfer of legal knowledge—as well as professional development and professional identity formation—with excellence in writing.
NYLS’s seven-credit, first-year Legal Practice curriculum introduces students to the foundational skills of critical thinking, researching, writing, and analysis as well as lawyering competencies like interviewing, counseling, and negotiation. Upper-level writing courses provide students with opportunities to build on and further cultivate these foundational skills after their first year of law school.
Other settings at NYLS in which students can continue to grow as thinkers, researchers, writers, analysts, and communicators, throughout their law school journey include:
- internships and externships
- New York Law School Law Review and the Family Law Quarterly
- Moot Court Association, Dispute Resolution Team, and Trial Competition Team
- writing for news.nyls.edu
The Center further endeavors to support faculty, staff, and alumni as we collectively engage in learning how to use generative AI ethically and responsibly in thinking, researching, and writing about legal education and lawyering.
Throughout the academic year, the Center:
- offers guidance on how students can engage in “writer identity formation” throughout their law school journey
- sponsors workshops on topics related to thinking, researching, writing, generative AI, and public speaking/communicating
- publicizes opportunities for students to add to their writing portfolio such as writing competitions and publication venues
Students, faculty, and staff can find further information and resources related to the Center in Student Resources on the NYLS Portal.
Office of Marketing and Communications • T 212.431.2872 • E communications@nyls.edu