Legal Drafting

Law 6807
Section 1680, Class 15718
Monday, Wednesday 8:30 to 9:25 am
And
Section 1674, Class 15716
Monday, Wednesday 5:00 to 5:55 pm

2 Credit Hours; Spring 2020; Holland Hall Room 270

Instructor: Ben L. Fernandez

312I Holland Hall
352 273 0937

Office Hours: Mon, Weds 1:00 to 5:00 pm

And by Appointment

I. Course Materials

A. Textbook. The course materials consist of a textbook entitled Drafting &

Revising Contracts: An Introduction to Drafting in Plain English
And Revising Complex Form Documents by Ben L. Fernandez, which will be
available at the bookstore, and “Legal Drafting, Class Materials,” which is
available at Target Copy. The materials for drafting complaints and drafting
statutes are in the Class Materials.

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 B. Reference Materials. The following materials are either on reserve or in the
Reference Collection of the Legal Information Center.

Author Title
Cupples/ Legal Drafting: Litigation Documents, Contracts,
Temple-Smith Legislation and Wills
Cupples/ Grammar, Punctuation & Style: A Quick Guide for
Temple-Smith Lawyers and Other Writers

II. Course Method

B. Weekly Assignments. The Legal Drafting course requires the completion outside
of class of many short and medium-length drafting assignments and occasionally
the completion of short in-class projects and on-line quizzes.

C. Office Conferences. Office conferences are encouraged. I will be more than

happy to meet with you in individual meetings throughout the semester to discuss
your work or the course material.

D. Grade Calculation.

Practice Complaint Statute

and Rules Quiz 0% of Grade

Graded Complaint 30% of Grade

Practice Contract Articulation

and Organization Quiz 0% of Grade

Graded Contract 60% of Grade

Graded Statutory Drafting Quiz 10% of Grade

III. School Policies

Academic honesty:

Academic honesty and integrity are fundamental values of the University community. Students
should be sure that they understand the UF Student Honor Code at
http://www.dso.ufl.edu/students.php.

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Grading information and grading scale:

The Levin College of Law’s mean and mandatory distributions are posted on the College’s
website and this class adheres to that posted grading policy. The following chart describes the
specific letter grade/grade point equivalent in place:

Letter Grade Point Equivalent Letter Grade Point Equivalent

A 4.0 C 2.0
A- 3.67 C- 1.67
B+ 3.33 D+ 1.33
B 3.0 D 1.0
B- 2.67 D- 0.67
C+ 2.33 E 0.0

The law school grading policy is available at: http://www.law.ufl.edu/student-affairs/current-

students/academic-policies#9.

Accommodations:

Students requesting accommodation for disabilities must first register with the Disability
Resource Center (http://www.dso.ufl.edu/drc/). Once registered, students will receive an
accommodation letter which must be presented to the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs (Dean
Mitchell) when requesting accommodation. Students with disabilities should follow this
procedure as early as possible in the semester.

Attendance:

Attendance will be taken at each class meeting. Students are allowed 2 absences during the course of the
semester. Students are responsible for ensuring that they are not recorded as absent if they come in late. A
student who fails to meet the attendance requirement will be dropped from the course.

Workload/class preparation:

Students should expect to spend, on average, approximately two hours preparing for every hour of class.
Reading assignments are posted on the syllabus for the course.

Late Submission of Assignments.

If, without authorization, you do not turn in a homework assignment, graded document,
quiz or in class project on time, your final grade on the assignment may drop one full letter
grade, and may continue to drop at the rate of one full letter grade for each day the
assignment remains untendered. If you fail to turn in, on time, three homework assignments
or in class project, or any of the graded documents or quizzes, you may be dropped from the
class roll.

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VII. Computer Usage

Laptops, tablets, cell phones, radios, portable tv’s and other electronic devices are
prohibited. Internet surfing, e-mailing and texting classmates during class are also
prohibited.

I will post any revisions to this syllabus on the CANVAS site for the course. I will also
post announcements for the course, examples of applicable statutes and rules, sample
drafted documents, grading checklists for documents, and brief videos for reviewing
subjects covered in class on the CANVAS site. Any on line quizzes will also be
administered on the CANVAS site.

VIII. Course Objectives and Student Learning Outcomes.

In this course, students will work from a portfolio of simulated fact patterns and
applicable statutes, rules, and case law to prepare a variety of legal documents. After
completing this course, students should be able to:

1. Apply the principles and practices necessary for drafting legal documents,
including litigation documents, contracts, and legislative documents;

2. Elicit information from fictional clients, counsel them, and draft polished,
professional-caliber documents that best serve the clients’ needs; and

3. Produce work product that is thoughtfully planned, logically organized, and

articulated clearly and unambiguously.

The readings in the text are short. Since this is a skills course, students should spend the
bulk of their time practicing the writing assignments. Also, it is very important that
students takes notes on the material the professor writes on the board in class.
Some or all of that material will be included in the next graded document.

It is important to the learning environment that you feel welcome and safe in this class;
and that you are comfortable participating in class discussions and communicating with
me on any issues related to the class. If your preferred name is not the name listed on the
official UF roll, if you are concerned that I may not pronounce your name correctly, or if
there is anything else about the way you would like to be addressed in class that you
would like to discuss, please let me know as soon as possible by e-mail or otherwise. I
welcome you to the class and look forward to a rewarding learning adventure together.

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 COURSE SCHEDULE

Class Assigned Reading (Due Before Assigned Writing (Due Class Discussion
Class) Before Class)

1/13 Read Class Materials, How to Introduction to

Draft a Complaint, Read Course, Discuss Rules
Simulation 1 Applicable to
Complaints, Review
Simulation 1

1/15 Learn How to Draft a Begin drafting a Go over Caption,

Complaint Complaint for Simulation Commencement,
1, Upload to CANVAS Subject Matter
Jurisdiction, Personal
Jurisdiction and Venue

1/22 Continue drafting Go Over Statement of

Complaint for Simulation Claim for Slip and
1, Upload to CANVAS Fall, Breach of
Contract and Statutory
Complaints

1/27 Finish drafting Complaint Go Over Demand for

for Simulation 1. Upload Relief, Jury Trial, and
to CANVAS Signature Line

1/29 Live Grading

Conferences

2/3 Revise Complaint after Pass Out Graded

Conference. Upload to Complaint
CANVAS Assignment,
Complaint Statutes
and Rules Quiz

2/5 Work on Midterm Exam Collaboration with

Practicing Lawyer on
Transactional
Practice

2/10 Read Drafting and Revising Graded Complaint Discuss Preparing for
Contracts, Chapter 1, Getting Assignment Due Client Conference
up to Speed, Read Simulation 2

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2/12 Prepare for Client Conference Draft Outline and Simulated Initial
Questions for Client Client Conference
Conference

2/17 Read Drafting and Revising Discuss Drafting

Contracts, Chapters 2-3, Basic Contract
Articulation, Learn Basic Provisions and
Contract Articulation Potentially
Ambiguous
Provisions

2/19 Read Drafting and Revising Discuss Basic

Contracts, Chapters 5-7, Contract
Articulation, Learn Basic Organization
Contract Articulation

2/24 Read Simulation 2, Learn to Begin Drafting Contract. Go Over A Contracts

Draft a Contract Upload to CANVAS Beginning Sections

2/26 Continue Drafting Go Over Core

Contract. Upload to Covenants and Deal
CANVAS Provisions

3/9 Finish Drafting Contract. Go Over A Contracts

Upload to CANVAS Ending Sections

3/11 Live Grading

Conferences
3/16 Revise Contract after Contract Articulation
Conference. Upload to and Organization
CANVAS Quiz

3/18 Read Drafting and Revising Integration of

Contracts, Chapter 11, Negotiation Skills
Negotiating Contract with Practicing
Provisions Mediator

3/23 Read In-Class Simulation Simulated Contract

Exercise Negotiations

3/25 Review Practical Law Form Go Over Form

Document, Discuss
Revising Complex
Form Documents

3/30 Read Drafting and Revising Complete Practical Law Go Over Revised

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 Contracts, Chapters 8 & 9,
Completing Form Documents
for a Deal, Revising Form
Documents to Create New
Forms, Learn to Revise
Complex Documents
4/1 Read Drafting and Revising
Contracts, Chapter 10,
Revising the Other Side’s
Completed Documents, Learn
to Revise Complex
Documents
4/6 Read Drafting and Revising
Contracts, Chapters 12, 13,
Closings, Ethical Issues
4/8 Read Drafting and Revising
Contracts, Chapters 14, 15,
Amendments, Computer
Assisted Drafting
4/13 Read Class Materials, How to
Draft a Statute, Read
Simulation 3, Learn to Draft a ASSIGNMENT DUE
Statute
4/15 Read Simulation 4
4/20
Form to Conform to a Document
Deal
Revise Practical Law Go Over Revised
Form to Advance the Document
Client’s Interests
Work on Graded Pass Out Graded
Contract Assignment Contract
Assignment, Discuss
Closings, Ethical
Issues
Work on Graded Discuss
Contract Assignment Amendments,
Computer Assisted
Drafting, Complete
Course Evaluations
GRADED Draft Statute in class
CONTRACT
Draft Statute in Class
Graded Statutory
Drafting Quiz