One could call the bedrock of the nationally ranked legal-writing program at the UALR William H. Bowen School of Law a boot camp for lawyers, but the course catalog lists the first-year, two-semester course as “Reasoning, Writing, and Advocacy.”

The legal-writing program helped the school get noticed by the Princeton Review of the Best Law Schools, National Jurist rankings, and U.S. News and World Report’s specialty rankings.

According to Professor Coleen Barger, RWA classes are designed to give law students specific training in professionalism and ethics. “Students must be ethical, prepared, on-time, respectful, and civil. We expect them to be the kind of lawyer others look up to,” Barger said.

Students agree that the course is worth the effort demanded. Second-year student David Slade said the course laid the foundation for future career expectations.

“My professor stressed, over and over, the importance of professionalism, the need for diligence, thoughtfulness, decorum, and above all, the belief that what you are doing is important and, because it is important, the belief that it needs to be done correctly,” Slade said. “At times, it was daunting. If I cut corners or failed to remember what I’d learned, I would lose points.”

“But while it was frustrating in the moment, the skills that I learned in RWA have made all the difference in terms of the work I am able to deliver to employers and in terms of my own faith in my ability,” said Slade.

Read more about the “Reasoning, Writing, and Advocacy,” course.