Bundle: Clear and Convincing: Modern Legal Writing, First Edition with Basic Legal Research Workbook, Sixth Edition and Write.law

BOOKMARK

Authors

David H. Spratt
Heather Ridenour
Amy E. Sloan
Steven D. Schwinn
Linda H. Edwards

Series / Aspen Bundle Series

BOOKMARK

Publication Date

2026-04-30

Description

Bundle: Print + eBook + Online Course (Write.law) - This bundle includes both print and digital versions of ISBN 9798892070942, and ISBN 9798889061649 as well as an access code to Write.law – Legal Writing.

Clear and Convincing: Modern Legal Writing, by David H. Spratt and Heather E. Ridenour, “meets students where they are” through concise explanations, humor, and visual aids that keep students engaged and focused as they learn to write for every form of legal advocacy with clarity, credibility, and confidence — like lawyers.

A comprehensive companion to Basic Legal Research or comparable text, Basic Legal Research Workbook provides a well-chosen range of exercises and assignments to familiarize students with fundamental research sources. Logically and intuitively organized, BLR Workbook’s coverage mirrors the research sources studied in first-year Legal Research courses, with an emphasis on digital resources while retaining the option to utilize print sources. Research exercises are presented at graduated levels of difficulty, from guided research to open research requiring more advanced research skills. The digital research exercises progressively instruct students on the latest interface features of commonly used databases. Print options cover multiple jurisdictions, reducing the demand on single library sources. This Sixth edition retains all of the types of problems, formatting, and coverage that instructors have found helpful in prior editions, but with updating to reflect the most current digital resources.

Write.law - Legal Writing features bite-sized videos and interactive practice that put students in the driver’s seat, developing their writing and research skills with real-life simulations and carefully designed assessments.

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About the authors

David H. Spratt

Professor

American University, Washington College of Law

David H. Spratt is a professor at American University, Washington College of Law, where he teaches Contracts, Legal Rhetoric, and Family Law Litigation and Practice. David received a B.A. degree in Government and Psychology from The College of William and Mary and graduated summa cum laude from The American University, Washington College of Law.

Before joining WCL as a full-time faculty member in Fall 2006, David taught Legal Writing and Research at the George Washington University School of Law, Legal Analysis and Writing at Concord School of Law, and Legal Methods at the Washington College of Law. David is a member of the Virginia and District of Columbia bars, and he is an active participant in state, local, and national bar associations and organizations. He is a past chair of the Virginia Bar Association, Domestic Relations Section, and the Northern Virginia Regional Advisory Committee.

In the past, he has moderated and/or presented continuing legal education programs on attorney impairment, vocational rehabilitation experts, defined duration support, imputation of income, amendments to the Virginia child support statute, legal ethics, legal writing, academic support, research and citation, the use of electronic evidence in litigation and family law cases, and child custody evaluations.

In 2001, David was a founding partner of Schwartz & Spratt, PLC, a family law firm in Fairfax, Virginia. Previously, David worked as an associate at the Law Office of Betty A. Thompson, Ltd., and at The Lewis Law Firm, in Washington, D.C. Professor Spratt writes a regular column, “Writer’s Block,” for the Virginia Bar Association News Journal.

In January 2013, David was appointed to the Virginia State Bar Section on Education of Lawyers Task Force on Legal Writing and planned and implemented a Legal Writing Bootcamp for practicing Virginia attorneys, which now continues annually. David served as the Civil Reporter of Decisions for the Virginia Court of Appeals for more than three years, stepping down in October 2021, and he currently serves as the Chair of the Virginia State Bar Section on Education of Lawyers. David is the 2021 recipient of the Washington College of Law Excellence in Teaching Award.

Heather E. Ridenour

Professor Heather Ridenour joined the full-time faculty at American University Washington College of Law in 2008, where she teaches Legal Research & Writing I and II, Advanced Legal Methods, and several courses designed to prepare students for bar passage and law school examinations. She also serves as the Academic Support Liaison for the Legal Rhetoric Program, is the former Director of the Legal Analysis Program, and is an inaugural and primary speaker for the Legal Writing Bootcamp cosponsored by the Virginia CLE, the Virginia State Bar Section on the Education of Lawyers, and the Washington College of Law Legal Rhetoric Program, now in its eighth year. She is also an occasional guest columnist for Writer’s Block, in the Virginia Bar Association News Journal.

Before joining the WCL faculty, Professor Ridenour worked with the Academic Support Program at Texas Wesleyan University School of Law (now Texas A&M University School of Law), where she was Instructor of Academic Support and Legal Writing Specialist. Before that, she maintained a probate and guardianship practice in Texas and served as the Guardianship Auditor for the Tarrant County Probate Court under Judge Patrick Ferchill from 2005 to 2007.

Professor Ridenour graduated cum laude from Texas Wesleyan University School of Law in 2004, where she was Associate Editor and Articles Editor of the Texas Wesleyan Law Review. She is a member of the Legal Writing Institute and is a frequent national and international speaker on legal writing, academic support, rhetoric and Shakespeare, and advocacy.

Amy E. Sloan

University of Baltimore School of Law

Sloan joined the University of Baltimore School of Law faculty as professor of law in 2001. From 2001 until 2010, she led the Legal Skills Program jointly with Eric B. Easton. Prior to joining the faculty, she taught at The George Washington University Law School, where she directed the Legal Research and Writing Program, and at the Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law. She served as an associate of the George Washington Law Review and as a law clerk to the Hon. William M. Nickerson and the Hon. Edward S. Northrop at the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. As Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Sloan manages academic matters within the school, including scheduling courses, advising students, working with adjunct faculty, and advising the dean and the faculty on curricular matters. Sloan's scholarly interests include legal research and writing, classical and contemporary rhetoric, and appellate practice. She is active in the Association of Legal Writing Directors and is a member of the Pennsylvania and District of Columbia bars.

Steven D. Schwinn

University of Illinois Chicago Law School

Steven Schwinn is an assistant editor at the University of Illinois Chicago Law School. He came to University of Illinois Chicago Law School from the University of Maryland School of Law, where he joined the faculty in 2001. In 2005, he received the Clinical Legal Education Association Award for Excellence for his work as a faculty co-supervisor on a post-conviction case involving a petitioner's claim of innocence, and has been recognized for his pro bono work. Previously, he taught at George Washington University Law School for two years. Professor Schwinn also was assistant general counsel for the Peace Corps from 1996 to 1999. In law school, he was a member of the editorial board of the American University Journal of Gender Law. He has written and lectured on a variety of legal topics. Professor Schwinn's specialty areas include constitutional law, negotiation, client interviewing, appellate advocacy, legal analysis, and writing.

Linda H. Edwards

William S. Boyd School of Law

Professor Edwards joined the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada Las Vegas in July 2009 after serving as Visiting Professor of Law in 2008-2009. Before joining the academy, Professor Edwards practiced law for eleven years. She then began her teaching career at the New York University School of Law, where she served as the Coordinator of the NYU Lawyering Program. In 1990, Professor Edwards joined the faculty at the Mercer University School of Law, where she was the Macon Professor of Law. During her 19 years at Mercer, Professor Edwards directed the legal writing program and taught in the areas of property, employment discrimination, advanced legal writing, professional responsibility, and legal reasoning.

Professor Edwards is a national leader in the field of legal writing, having been awarded the 2009 Thomas Blackwell Award for her lifetime achievements in and contributions to the field. She has published a number of articles and three books in the areas of legal writing and property, and she has served in a variety of capacities at the ABA and the American Association of Law Schools. Professor Edwards is a frequent speaker at national conferences, and she serves as a faculty member for the Persuasion Institutes Advanced Training Program in Narrative Construction, which is sponsored by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

Product Information

Publication date

2026-04-30

2026

Bundle: Print + eBook + Online Course (Write.law)

9798899649707

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$243.00

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