Legal Writing

Traditional legal writing is a creature all its own, though in some ways it follows the structure we were taught in high school of “thesis, support, conclusion,” rinse, repeat. For briefs and memorandum, the format tends to follow a standard format known as IRAC – Issue, Rule, Argument, Conclusion.

Fortunately for anyone perusing this, seminar papers allow for more freedom and creativity. While the papers in this sections do address legal issues, and do contain their citations in standard Bluebook format instead of the more familiar MLA, they are otherwise essays which should be readable by anyone, not just those with a legal background.

The legal arguments take care to lay out what the law is in the area, and the standards of how the court applies them, and then my arguments as to why it should or should not apply to these areas of fandom. Some of those sections do follow the IRAC idea, but I tried to structure them a bit more loosely. For examples of fanfiction or other fan works, please feel free to peruse my fandom pages and the links provided in the essays–though realize those were works created for entertainment purposes, not critical review, and judge them accordingly.

Legal Essays:

Rewriting TV: Fan Fiction as Fair Use – A history of fan fiction and a description of the different kinds and the way it has evolved, followed by a legal argument as to whether it falls under the fair use exemption to the copyright law.

Slash Art and Fiction: Defamation, Invasion of Privacy, or Legitimate Art? – Fans often uses the images of the celebrities who portray television or movie characters in the artistic creations they make. This essay considers whether a celebrity could sue for invasion of privacy or defamation for certain uses of his or her image in this way.