Lindsley Smith
Law Clerk to the Honorable John E. Jennings,
Arkansas Court of Appeals

Legal practitioners and judges continually emphasize the importance of communication in the practice of law and the need for universities, particularly law schools, to teach law students the art of effectively communicating. R. William Ide III, Past-President of the American Bar Association, stated on January 7, 1993, at the Association of American Law Schools Annual Meeting, "We need to teach communication." Although some type of "skills course" is taught in most law schools today, such courses are generally not taken seriously by the students, professors, or administrators.¹ It has been noted elsewhere that law students "are seldom taught the skills of interpersonal communication (particularly how to work with people different from themselves, with clients, and support staff). . . . The traditional required curriculum does not tell them anything about what the practice of law is like. . . ."² Although legal education is often attacked because basic skills of lawyering are not effectively taught in law schools or because law schools do not take legal skills courses as seriously as they should, a number of scholars in university communication departments are acting on the need for students to study communication in legal settings by teaching undergraduate, and some graduate, courses in legal communication.

In 1983, a group of scholars and lawyers participated in a summer conference on communication at the University of Arizona, where conference participants sought methods to provide a better understanding of the role of communication in all phases of the legal process.³ It can scarcely be denied that communication plays a large role in the legal process. Knowing the significance of communication theory in the legal practice, a number of professors have designed courses in legal communication to teach students about communication in the practice of law. This study begins with the foundation set by the 1983 conference, and in the same spirit, takes steps further by exploring how professors have chosen to teach the legal communication course. Specifically, this paper seeks to answer the questions: "Where is legal communication as an area of study in higher education communication departments?" and "How is this course being taught?"

The purpose of this investigation was to determine course content, texts, supplementary readings, and assignments implemented in the teaching of the course, the number of colleges that now teach this course and provide needed formal guidelines for the development of legal communication courses. This article details the results of a national survey by discussing the sample and instrumentation used for this study, results of the survey, analysis of the collected syllabi, and the author provides an analysis of the way the course is generally being taught. This study also provides access to a model syllabus constructed by the author from an analysis of the 22 syllabi received that merely provides a demonstration of the average way the course is now being taught.

METHODS

Sample

The survey used for this study targeted 279 members of the National Communication Association's Commission on Communication and Law. This commission was selected because it consisted of the most comprehensive group of potential instructors for the legal communication course. The commission consists of faculty currently teaching a course in legal communication, faculty researching and interested in the study of communication as it relates to law, and graduate students interested in the subject area. It was expected that such a collection of faculty responses could assist in predicting the growth of the legal communication course as well as provide the course syllabi necessary for this study to examine how the course is being taught.

Instrumentation

The survey asked the targeted faculty if their department offered a course in communication and law or legal communication; what faculty teach the course; and if the school did not not offer the course now, whether they plan to offer the course in the next five years. The faculty were also asked to return a copy of their legal communication course syllabus and, if possible, the syllabi or names of other instructors who teach the course in their department.

RESULTS OF THE SURVEY AND SYLLABI ANALYSIS

Out of the 279 surveyed Communication and Law Commission members, 61 surveys were received for a return rate of 21.9 %.⁴ A total of 57 syllabi were collected for an analysis of general communication and law courses, their development, and course content. Out of the 57 syllabi collected, 22 syllabi actually pertained to the undergraduate legal communication course addressed in this study.

SYLLABI ANALYSIS RESULTS

This section consists of an examination of 22 undergraduate legal communication course syllabi from courses now being offered in communication departments.⁵ Areas of analysis are course objectives, textbooks, course content, course titles, supplimentary readings, activities and assignments, and the model syllabus.

Course Objectives

The purpose of this section was to investigate how instructors present their ideas for student goals and course objectives in the legal communication class. This examination was conducted by looking at the "course overview" and "course objectives" sections of the collected syllabi. These sections were compared to the instructors' course schedules to further understand the objectives of the instructors' displayed through both their stated expectations and assignments. Although only 16 syllabi directly stated it, the main objective of all of the legal communication courses was to generally understand the impact of communication on the legal field and learn how communication is employed in the legal system. Most of the instructors expected active student discussions, and almost all of the instructors considered class participation as an important element in the learning of the legal communication material. Some of the syllabi directly stated that this course was not a law class that would cover the legal process and it's concepts in depth, but would examine how communication fit into and influenced this legal process or system.

Out of the 22 syllabi, 46% of the instructors focused on the examination of communication in the courtroom as a primary goal for students in the class, and 46% of the instructors addressed the importance of understanding techniques in pre-trial negotiations. Thirty six percent of the instructors stated an objective for students to understand the role and process of persuasion and argument in the courtroom. Although all of the syllabi mentioned student understanding of the applicable use of communication in law somewhere in the syllabus, 23% of the instructors directly stated an objective for students to understand theories of communication as applied to the field of law. Eighteen percent of the instructors wanted students to understand how law affects society, and 14% of the instructors listed an objective for students to understand mass media impacts in trials. Only one instructor stated an objective for students to understand the importance of the Constitution as it relates to communication in the legal field.

Although the majority of the syllabi emphasized understanding content over the practice of communication skills in a legal context, 18% of the syllabi noted a desire for students to improve analytical skills. Fourteen percent of the syllabi mentioned a desire for students to increase their overall communication skills in legal contexts and to simulate the experience of the courtroom. Nine percent of the instructors stated they wanted students to learn to evaluate communication techniques as they are used in law. The primary activity most instructors used in the course involved learning negotiation through simulation.

Use of Textbooks

The three most popular textbooks used by professors to teach this course were Ronald Matlon's Communication in the Legal Process, Richard Rieke and Randall Stutman's Communication in Legal Advocacy, and Dirk Gibson's The Role of Communication in the Practice of Law. Other texts comprise no more than 5% of the text adoption rate each (Table 1). Many of the instructors required reading packets in the place of or in addition to a required textbook. And, almost all of the instructors used supplementary reading materials in addition to a required textbook.
 
 

TABLE ONE:
TEXTBOOKS USED IN THE LEGAL COMMUNICATION COURSE

The Matlon textbook proved most popular among legal communication instructors. One survey respondent who is not presently teaching the course stated, "I would use Matlon's Communication in the Legal Process" when the course is adopted in her department. A problem associated with the high interest of professors in using the Matlon book is that the book is no longer in print.

Course Content

To determine content covered in the courses, the syllabi schedules were dissected and reviewed. Topics that were listed on the schedule for discussion by at least two instructors were tabulated, and similarities between the classes easily emerged. Table 2 lists content categories in order of the highest to lowest frequency of content that was covered in the 22 course syllabi collected.
 
 

TABLE TWO:
LEGAL COMMUNICATION SYLLABI CONTENT AND DESIGN (22 syllabi analyzed)

All of the syllabi mention the collection and use of evidence in the trial. The majority of the course information covered by the instructors involved general information about the legal process: gathering evidence, jury selection, negotiation, building the case brief, legal counseling, interviewing, opening statements, oral argument, direct and cross examination, judicial decisions, closing arguments, judge responsibilities, and jury deliberation. Most of the instructors gave an overview of the legal and judicial systems and discussed broad topics surrounding these systems. Such system topics included the analysis of court cases and judicial decisions, mock trial discussions and activities, and the courtroom proceedings and process. Information that was the least covered in the courses consisted of issues not surrounding the specific trial process such as victimization, gender bias, hate, law office communication, the Supreme Court confirmation process, and legal rights.

The 18 most discussed topics relate specifically to the process of law and how communication fits within this process. Pretrial discovery and the use of evidence in building a case was the most popular issue for discussion in legal communication courses. Also, 73% of the instructors spent at least one day on basic elements of law which are practically and theoretically related to communication: a general discussion of the legal process, voir dire, opening and closing statements, and negotiation. At least 64% of the instructors discussed areas of the legal process which are strongly dependent on communication: jury deliberation, the use of oral arguments and rhetorical strategies, direct examinations of witnesses, and court case analysis. Fifty-nine percent of the instructors covered practical communication strategies in the field of law: case development and brief writing, attorney and client legal counseling, judicial opinions, and the cross examination of witnesses. Fifty-five to 36% of the instructors covered other general areas of communication in the legal setting: interviewing, the communication and responsibilities of the judge, mock trials, the courtroom proceedings and process, and the use of technological influences during the trial.

Syllabi issues listed in table 2 were placed in a syllabus by at least two instructors. Other issues placed in a syllabus by only one instructor were: prelaw and law school curricula, pleadings, trials and political protest, torts, the United States Constitution, gender bias in law, burden of proof, credibility, hate, television drama and legal realism, and legal rights. These topics could be covered by other instructors even though they were not mentioned as topics for discussion in any other syllabi.

Course Titles

Similar titles used by the instructors were collapsed into categories, and four broad categories emerged. Out of the 22 undergraduate syllabi examined, 45.5% of the courses were titled "Legal Communication." Titles which signal the use of reasoning or argument, such as "Legal Argumentation" and comprised 22.7% of the syllabi collected. Course titles such as "Communication and Law" or "Communication and the Law," which treat communication and the law as two separate yet inter-locking fields, consisted of 18.2% of the syllabi collected. The remaining 13.6% of the syllabi titles emphasized the use or role of communication in the legal process or system. Since the title "Legal Communication" proved most popular for this course which focuses on communication's existence, influence, and use in the legal system, this title was adopted for the model syllabus provided in the appendix.

Supplementary Readings

Out of the 22 syllabi examined, 14 of the instructors stated the use of "required," "supplementary," "suggested," or "recommended" readings. Six of these 14 instructors required a reading packet in addition to, or in the place of, a required text. A total of 125 readings were collected from the combined 14 syllabi. Nine readings out of the total 125 readings compiled from all 22 syllabi were used by two or more instructors; these repeat sources were not counted in this supplementary reading analysis for the purpose of determining what individual titles were being used. Therefore, for the purposes of this study, 116 (125 sources minus the 9 repeat sources) different source materials were discovered.
 
 

TABLE 3
SUPPLEMENTARY READING SOURCES

Although most of the law journal articles selected by the instructors involved communication strategies and concepts as applied to law, the significant difference between the low rate of communication articles and the high rate of legal articles is consistent with the frequency of published materials in the legal and communication fields. Selected law journal articles consisted of issues on dyadic and group communication, law in reality, trial drama, decision making, conflict resolution, legal relationships, empathy, interviewing and counseling, negotiation, organization strategies, voir dire, evidence, opening and closing arguments, non-verbal factors in law, language, and testimony. The selected communication journal articles were: Warren E. Wright's "Judicial Rhetoric: A Field for Research" located in Communication Monographs of 1964; Lance Bennett's "Storytelling in Criminal Trials: A Model of Social Judgment" located in The Quarterly Journal of Speech of 1978; Lance Bennett's "Rhetorical Transformation of Evidence in Criminal Trials: Creating Grounds for Legal Judgment" located in The Quarterly Journal of Speech of 1979; Walter R. Fisher's "Narration as a Human Communication Paradigm: The Case of Public Moral Argument" located in Communication Monographs of 1984; Thomas Hollihan, Patricia Riley and Keith Freadhoff's 1986 article "Arguing for Justice: An Analysis of Arguing in Small Claims Court" located in the Argumentation and Advocacy: The Journal of the American Forensic Association; and Ann Burnett Pettus' 1990 article "The Verdict is In: A Study of Jury Decision Making Factors, Moment of Personal Decision, and Jury Deliberations--From the Juror's Point of View" located in Communication Quarterly.

Course Activities

The majority of instructors used written reports as the main assignments for the class (46%) and oral assignments were used by 28% of the instructors (see Table 4). The primary written assignment (41% adoption) was a theoretical paper which directly applied communication theory to some aspect of the legal process, and the primary activity used by the instructors (46% adoption) was a negotiation simulation. Most instructors required research as an important criteria for this theory paper, and the page requirement ranged anywhere between 4-15 pages. The second most popular activity of the class involved an out-of-class visit to the local courthouse (32% adoption) requiring an observation of a trial and events surrounding the trial. The next most adopted written activities were a paper about the visit to the courthouse and this experience as it relates to material covered in the class (32% adoption) and an analysis paper of the arguments used in a particular court case (32% adoption). Most of the activities were presented during class time, however, one instructor stated the need for presentations given outside of the scheduled class period. Also, over half of the instructors required some outside-of-class event such as an interview, the observation of a trial, serving as a jury member in a mock trial, the observation of a dispute resolution, a film, a play, or a lecture.
 

In addition to oral and written assignments, most of the instructors required tests and active participation from the students. Eighteen of the 22 instructors stated the use of at least one test in their course: nine instructors administered two tests in the course, seven instructors administered only one test, two instructors administered three tests, and four instructors did not signal the use of any tests.

All but two of the 22 syllabi analyzed for this study specifically mentioned the importance of classroom participation as a major element in the success of the course and learning process. Half of the instructors made class participation a percent of the student's grade. Out of a possible 100%, two instructors gave a 25% weight for class participation, two instructors gave a 15% weight (however, one of these instructors included one report in addition to class participation in this percentage), one instructor assigned a 14% weight, four instructors assigned a 10% weight, and two instructors assigned a 5% weight to class participation as a percentage of the student's overall course grade.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MODEL LEGAL COMMUNICATION COURSE SYLLABUS

The model syllabus was created by combining all of the syllabi received and developing a generic syllabus. This syllabus can provide law professors with a perspective of how the legal communication course is generally being taught, and the syllabus can serve as a model for communication departments which are proposing the course. Also, the syllabus should prove beneficial for future studies which will question the effectiveness of the course as it is now being taught.⁶

MODEL SYLLABUS FOR THE UNDERGRADUATE
LEGAL COMMUNICATION COURSE

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COMM 4113: LEGAL COMMUNICATION

REQUIRED TEXT: Matlon, Ronald J. Communication in the Legal Process. Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1988.

COURSE OVERVIEW: This course will serve as an introduction to communication theory and processes related to the legal system and judicial practices. It is primarily designed for communication students interested in how their major in communication effects and is affected by law, for pre-law students, and any student interested in the role communication plays in the field of law. Students will primarily study the role of communication in various aspects of the legal process by examining both communication and legal theory. This is not a law course, but it would provide pre-law students with necessary and fundamental knowledge and skills of argument building and analysis, brief writing, presentational skills, communication analysis in legal practice, legal advising, advocacy, conflict resolution, and the several aspects of litigation. Students will study pretrial strategies closely tied to the process of negotiation: investigation, pleading, discovery, motions practice, and pretrial conferences. This course seeks to examine the ways communication influences and is influenced by the legal system. Students and the instructor will work together to help determine the role of communication in each phase of the litigation process. Thus, students will look at legal issues from a communication perspective in order to investigate communicative functions of the legal profession: interviewing, negotiation, voir dire, mass media coverage, opening statements, direct examination, cross-examination, objections, closing argument, judge's instructions to the jury, jury deliberations, appellate arguments, and judicial decisions. Students will examine communication influences in popular trials and precedent setting cases and will be assigned oral and written projects relevant to practical lawyering skills. Each week, students will analyze a case, or several cases, as they relate to the week's discussions. Much of the role of communication in law focuses on legal dialogue: attorney-judge, attorney-attorney, attorney-client-witness, attorney-jury, witness-jury, defendant-jury, jury-jury, and judge-jury communication and relationships. Students will seek to understand the verbal and nonverbal factors involved with these relationships within the courtroom and overall legal process.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: By the end of the course, students should become acquainted with,understand, and/or experience: - communication theory as applied to law - an appreciation of the role of communication in the legal system - general trial procedures - how verbal and nonverbal communication is influenced by and influences the legal process - how communication effects and guides legal negotiations, the jury selection process, jury deliberations, witness examinations - the application of narrative and exposition theory as they pertain to opening statements - the rhetoric of opening and closing arguments - how mass media affects litigation - argumentation as conducted in legal arenas - the role of communication in trial and appellate processes - persuasive impacts in the courtroom - methods to improve analytical skills needed for legal argument - simulate legal communication experiences in oral and written argument - methods of gathering evidence and building the case

COURSE GUIDELINES: - No assignments will be accepted after their due dates without advance permission from the instructor - Definite assignment due dates will be announced in class - The course prerequisite is junior/senior standing or consent of instructor - Final grades will be cut a half a letter grade for each absence over the minimum number of three absences allowed. There are no excused absences in this course. Students are expected to attend all class sessions since much of the material covered in lectures/discussions/ demonstrations, and all in-class experience, is not found in the assigned readings. - You are encouraged to make appointments with the instructor if you are having difficulty with the coursework. - Plagiarism will result in either failing an assignment or the course and/or disciplinary action from the appropriate university committee(s). - You must be present on your assigned presentation day. Make-up speeches cause a delay in the course and an inconvenience on all class participants, therefore, there will be at least 10 points taken off the made-up presentation. Students must see the instructor for convenient times to make up work. - You are responsible for all material discussed in class for tests and presentations

COURSE OUTLINE: (** signals a due assignment)

WEEK ONE: Introduction to Communication Theory and Law - The Judicial System - Legal Communication research overview - The nature of the legal profession - Court structure - The legal environment - Cameras in the courtroom and their effects - The nature of the American Judicial System - The relationship between law and rhetorical theory ** READ THE CONSTITUTION BEFORE THE END OF THE WEEK.

WEEK TWO: Communication Theory and Practice in Legal Negotiation - Strategies, tactics and process in legal negotiation - Types of legal negotiation - Advantages of legal negotiations - The nature of conflict - Conflict resolution applied to legal negotiation - Strategies for resolving conflict.

WEEK THREE: Communication Theory and Practice in Interviewing and Counseling - Overcoming interview barriers and distorting influences- Nonverbal cues and credibility - Attorney's legal and ethical responsibilities in interviews and counseling - Types of interview questions - The nature of dyadic communication and interviewing - Stages of an initial lawyer-client interview.

WEEK FOUR: ** INTERVIEW OR NEGOTIATION SIMULATIONS will be presented this week. (students were to pair up and select simulation of choice) **You should schedule to observe a trial at the courthouse for a day in the next four weeks.

WEEK FIVE: Trials: An overview of litigation - The trial and its communication climate - Legal Concepts used in trials - Objections - Jury trials vs. judge trials - The trial as a model of communication - Persuasion in the courtroom - Ethics

WEEK SIX: Communication in Pretrial Preparation: Strategies in getting ready for trial - Investigation: The gathering of information - Pleading - Discovery - Videotaping witness testimony - Issue analysis - Motions practice - Pretrial conferences

WEEK SEVEN: Evidence and cross-examinations (direct and cross) - The function and nature of evidence - Evidence relevance and admissibility - Non-testimonial evidence - Technology as persuasion and its effect in the courtroom - Testimonial evidence: direct and cross examinations - Expert witnesses - Re-direct, re-cross, and objections ** Students should already have debate partners and begin researching ** MIDTERM EXAMINATION on the last day of class in week seven

WEEK EIGHT: Opening Statements: Narration and exposition theory applied to the opening speech. - Delivery of opening statements - Goals of opening statements - Timing of the opening statement - Content and structure of opening statements - Techniques of presenting opening statements - Preparing an opening statement - Importance of the opening statement: primacy literature ** You are to have OBSERVED A TRIAL at the local courthouse at some point in the past four weeks.

WEEK NINE: Closing Arguments - Using narratives to set the closing scene - Delivery of closing arguments - Purpose of closing arguments - Preparing closing arguments - Content of closing arguments - Organizational structure for closing arguments - Review of recency literature ** OPENING STATEMENT PAPER DUE by the end of week nine (2-3 pages)

WEEK TEN: Voir-Dire - Preparing questions for voir-dire - History of the jury - Compiling jury lists - Goals of the voir dire examination - Judge-conducted v. counsel-conducted voir dire - Strategy for the examiners - Preparing for voir dire - Utilizing challenges - How juror bias is recognized - Social science research applied to jury selection ** TRIAL OBSERVATION PAPER DUE before the end of week ten (4-5 pages).

WEEK ELEVEN: Jury Deliberation - Pre-deliberation communication among jury members - What jurors discuss during deliberations - Fore persons and leaders - The hung jury - Applicable decision rules - Jury size - Rendering the verdicts

WEEK TWELVE: **DEBATES begin this week WEEK THIRTEEN: **Continue DEBATES this week **If time permits in the week, students will present an informal SYNOPSIS of their theoretical research paper

WEEK FOURTEEN: Judge Communication (Trial and Appellate) - Judge communication in trial and appellate courts - Trial judge instructions to the jury - Patterned instructions of the Trial judge - Appellate processes and argumentation - Attorney preparation and judge interaction for trial and appellate court - Judicial decisions - The nature of the Supreme Court in the Judicial System **THEORY PAPERS DUE before the end of week fourteen (6-8 pages)

WEEK FIFTEEN: ** PRESENTATION week for 5 minute CLOSING ARGUMENT on the case and evidence provided-- demonstration of research is a must. It is important that you support all of your assertions and effectively sum up the trial toward your perspective.

FINAL EXAMINATION TIME WILL BE ANNOUNCED COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING: CLASS PARTICIPATION (5 % of your grade) This will be an assessment of your in-class contributions during the semester.

HOW YOUR GRADE WILL BE DETERMINED

PRACTICUM IN INTERVIEWING AND COUNSELING (10 % of your grade) An oral exercise in which student attorneys are asked to demonstrate awareness of their own perceptual sets and projections by conducting hypothetical client interviews. Students can choose between a negotiation or interviewing simulation. Some will be scheduled during regular class time; others will be scheduled outside of class time (depending on time available)

PRACTICUM IN NEGOTIATING (10 % of your grade) An oral exercise in negotiating a civil settlement--you must find a partner for the negotiation. Students can choose between a negotiation or interviewing simulation. Some will be scheduled during regular class time; others will be scheduled outside of class time (depending on time available)

OPENING STATEMENT PAPER (10 % of your grade) This is a written opening statement for a 5 minute statement to the court--you will not give the presentation, but only provide a written example of what you would argue for the case.

TRIAL OBSERVATION PAPER (10% of your grade) You are to visit the local courthouse and present a 3-4 page analysis paper of what you observed. Look for verbal and nonverbal communication behaviors from your observations and record the experience. Also, suggest recommendations as to how you would improve on arguments, communication skills, the process of the trial, statements, etc.

DEBATE: (10 % of your grade) Four student will pair up and be given information for a trial; including, witness statements, defendant and plaintiff statements, exhibits, and other information the teams can use to build a case on behalf of the plaintiff/State or the defendant. One team will present the affirmative case and one will present the negative case. Students should be well researched on the topic and cite the research to back up arguments in the debate. There will be cross-examination time for each team and 3 minutes preparation time for each team. Presentations should be organized, logical, well supported, and students should present a clash of the opponent's arguments in the debate. This activity will not be a mock trial since time is not available in the course; however, you will be given information witnesses would present if it were a trial and exhibits for use in building your case.

MOCK TRIAL CLOSING ARGUMENT PRESENTATION (10% of your grade) You will be given information for a trial, including witnesses and their statements. You are to present the closing arguments you would give for the trial. This assignment is based off of information, evidence, and research conducted in the debate; you will use the same situation yet now you are delivering your closing argument. Further criteria for the assignment will be given later in the semester.

THEORY PAPER: (15% of your grade) You are to research some aspect of the legal process and identify the role of communication in yourselected topic. You must use at least five different source materials. You may interview a legal professional as one of your sources. Instructor approval of all topics is required. 6-8 pages.

MID-TERM EXAMINATION (15 % of your grade) The test will be in essay form and cover all course material covered up until the time of the exam.

FINAL EXAMINATION (15 % of your grade) The final exam will not be "comprehensive" in intention. It will mainly cover material discussed after the mid-term exam up until the end of the course. You will be expected to remember major concepts or themes from the first half of the semester, however, since material from the second half of the course is dependent on much of the information already learned from the first half of the course.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings of this study provide seven broad benefits to the field of communication and law. First, the study provides insight into how legal communication courses are being taught in communication departments. Second, the findings of this study can offer guidance for instructors developing a course in legal communication. Third, the results of this study can assist instructors with improving the undergraduate instruction of the legal communication courses. Fourth, this study can assist communication faculty with their proposal for offering a legal communication course in their department. Fifth, faculty and administrators can use the data from this study to determine how the legal communication course fits in their department's overall curricula. Sixth, this study provides a foundation for the development of other communication and law courses by reviewing how the general course in legal communication is being taught. Finally, this study can assist with future studies that examine the development and status of the legal communication course.

Future studies concerning the quality of communication and law courses would be beneficial to the newly expanding field of communication and law. Not only is little research available from communication scholars on the nature, benefits, uses, and practice of communication in the legal process and system, presently there is little research available to guide this field of study. Also, although topics such as juries have been consistently studied by communication experts and such findings have been published in communication journals almost every year since the 1970's, few of the instructors of the legal communication course actively used this research in their courses. Many of the readings required in the legal communication courses were comprised of research by legal scholars. Although it is imperative to employ such materials in the legal communication course, more quality research by communication scholars is needed to provide a broader base of materials that specifically focus on communication as it relates to the legal field.

Most legal research that discusses communication focuses on the legal system first and communication second. Thus, more research is needed that provides students and faculty with insights into the legal system by focusing on communication as the fundamental element of analysis. Such research will be beneficial to the study of legal communication and a necessary addition to the supplementary reading lists in all communication and law courses.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Kessler, Joan B. "The Lawyer's Intercultural Communication Problems with Clients from Diverse Cultures." Journal of International Law and Business. 9 J (Spring, 1988): 64.

"Law Schools Found Deficient in Teaching of Written and Oral Communication Skills, According to American Bar Foundation Study." Business Wire (August 5, 1993).

Probert, Walter. Law, Language and Communication. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas Publisher, 1972.

"We Need a Fresh Approach." Texas Lawyer. commentary (November 7, 1994): p. 20.

Zwicker, Milton W. "Client Service: What Clients Really Want From Their Lawyers." ABA, Law Practice Management (September, 1994): p. 24.

FOOTNOTES

¹ See Lorne Sossin, Discourse Politics: Legal Research and Writing's Search for a Pedagogy of Its Own," 29 New Eng. L. Rev. 883 (1995).

² Id. at 888, citing Leslie Bender, "Hidden Messages in the Required First-Year Law School Curriculum," 40 Clev. St. L. Rev. 387, 393 (1992).

³ Joan B. Kessler, "The Lawyer's Intercultural Communication Problems with Clients from Diverse Cultures," Journal of International Law and Business, 9J (Spring, 1988): 64.

⁴ Due to the commission's student membership and number of members who are not currently teaching the legal communication course, a low return rate was foreseen; however, a high rate of contact with faculty who teach the course was anticipated and achieved.

⁵ Since the survey for this study asked commission members to send a copy of a syllabus for a course they teach in "communication and law" or "legal communication," many communication professors returned syllabi for courses in freedom of expression, argumentation and debate, media ethics, and ethics. Most of these syllabi hae only sections of the course dedicated to the study of communication in the legal process, and this study examines only the courses that investigate communication in the legal system or process as the foundation of the course. Thus, graduate course syllabi, proposed course syllabi, and any syllabi for courses such as freedom of expression or argumentation and debate were excluded from the syllabi analysis section of this study. Although these syllabi were helpful to understand how communication professors taught legal topics within a communication course, these syllabi were not used in this study because they do not relate to this study of communication courses which entirely teach communication and law.

⁶ The model syllabus was designed to correlate with all legal communication textbooks or reading packets selected by instructors of the course. It was the intention of this study to determine how the legal communication course is being taught. Many of the instructors (46%) constructed their courses based on the Matlon text, which is now out of print. Because most of the professors based the construction of their course on this text, the use of the Matlon book by so many instructors seemed to unintentionally, yet significantly, influence this study.