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Criminal Law

Legal Reasoning? It's All about IRAC

We take a break from mens rea to discuss what it means to think like a lawyer, i.e., use of IRAC. You will use IRAC on exams, for briefs and legal memos, and to advise clients. It is the most effective way to channel thinking and expression for legal issues for a particular set of facts. 

A few of you may feel confined by the formula of IRAC, that it narrows your creativity. I would urge you to see IRAC not as a limit, but as a basic framework within which you can express a great deal of creativity. Great poets channeled their creativity through the formulaic limits of their medium--and you can too!

What is IRAC? Please read the link below. We will explore it more in class.