While WisBlawg typically focuses on resources for practicing attorneys, this post highlights a tool that may be of interest to any readers who teach legal research and writing or know faculty members preparing courses.
As spring semester approaches, law faculty face a familiar challenge: developing hypothetical assignments that effectively teach while engaging students. A well-designed hypothetical needs realistic facts, authentic documents, and just the right balance of complexity to challenge students without overwhelming them. Enter the University of Wisconsin Law School’s Legal Hypothetical Archive, a searchable database that could save faculty considerable time and effort.
The archive, created by UW Law School’s Legal Analysis, Advocacy, and Writing (LAAW) program, offers a collection of hypothetical assignments that have been successfully used in legal writing courses. These aren’t bare-bones fact patterns—each scenario includes complete case files with transcripts, pleadings, court orders, and assigning memos that create realistic learning environments for students.
The hypotheticals cover diverse practice areas including constitutional law, employment discrimination, criminal procedure, and civil rights. It includes scenarios involving privacy interests in social media accounts, Fourth Amendment issues with drug-sniffing dogs in hotels, and First Amendment retaliatory arrest claims.
The archive is searchable by assignment type, jurisdiction, and area of law, making it easy to find problems suited to specific course needs. Faculty interested in accessing the full materials must request permission through Google Drive and provide their faculty affiliation, ensuring that complete assignments remain unavailable to students.
For legal research and writing faculty facing spring semester planning, this resource offers professionally developed hypotheticals created by experienced colleagues. While adapting any teaching material requires thoughtful consideration of your own course objectives, having access to well-tested problems with complete supporting documentation may significantly reduce preparation time.