By: Prof. Stevie Leahy
As a legal writing professor, I often remind my students that their legal writing journey does not end after their last LPS (Legal Practice Skills) or upper-level writing class. In fact, writing in the legal field is a longitudinal practice that, for proficiency, requires continual self-reflection. Our skills continue to grow with each motion or email that we craft, and each day of practice adds to our writing toolbox. With a growth mindset, a legal writer continues to fill that toolbox through the course of their professional career. While it is my privilege to provide some of the foundational skills for law students, my role is just one small piece in that growth.
As an attorney or law student, schedules and deadlines are an unavoidable part of our professional lives. I experienced this not only as a law student but also as a practitioner in state and federal cases, as well as when interacting with colleagues and clients. The pressure to manage deadlines and perform under time constraints is something all legal professionals must learn to navigate. Contracts, negotiations, motion practice, and hearings all have strict due dates that cannot be missed. Clients need to be informed of the status of their cases, and supervisors need to receive regular updates. There is almost always a deadline looming, reminding us of the next task to be completed—and often, competing deadlines in our personal lives.
In the context of an LPS course, students are introduced to this reality through carefully designed experiential assignments that mimic real-world legal practice. These assignments come with their own set of deadlines, which are implemented early in the semester. We, as professors, try to scaffold these assignments, breaking them down into smaller, manageable pieces for students to tackle week by week. This approach helps reduce the overwhelming nature of large projects by encouraging students to focus on incremental progress rather than the enormity of the task at hand. It’s not just about completing assignments but also about learning how to manage time and organize work efficiently, a skill that will be indispensable throughout a legal career with real-world exigencies.
For legal professionals, mastering time management and deadline pressure is essential not only to avoid malpractice or missing critical court deadlines but also to maintain a high level of performance and professionalism. Legal writing demands clarity and precision, which can often feel (and is) compromised under tight deadlines. However, learning to work under pressure without sacrificing quality is a skill every lawyer must develop. We do not expect a 1L student to have mastered this yet—however, stress management techniques, such as early drafting, time blocking, and prioritizing tasks, are modeled in LPS. Ultimately, they become crucial tools in a legal professional’s arsenal.
As a professor, I still experience deadline stress, although it takes different forms. The pressure to meet publication deadlines, submit grades, prepare for classes, and contribute to academic committees brings its own set of challenges. In academia, deadlines may not seem as imminent or pressing as those in practice, but they are just as significant. Balancing teaching, grading, scholarship, and pro bono work (as well as personal deadlines) requires careful time management. The weight of the responsibility to teach a new generation of legal writers is one that your LPS professors all take very seriously.
Deadline stress can permeate all aspects of life in the legal field. But it is important to recognize that deadline stress is not inherently negative. Deadlines have the ability to force us to focus, prioritize, and organize our work in a way that ensures we meet our objectives. The key is learning how to manage that stress in a productive and healthy manner. For students, it means learning and practicing good study habits, setting incremental goals, and most importantly, seeking help when needed. For legal professionals, it means understanding our limits, planning ahead, and continually refining our time-management strategies.
The stress of writing under deadlines is something we all experience, whether as law students, attorneys, or legal academics. But rather than viewing it as a burden, we can choose to see it as an opportunity for growth. With each deadline met, we become more adept at navigating the demands of the legal profession, ensuring that we not only survive but thrive in our careers.