john jay legal services, inc.

EVALUATION OF STUDENT WORK

Student: Evaluated by:

Description of Work:Date of evaluation:

(If applicable) Learning Objectives of task/assignment (as identified by teacher/as understood by student):

COMPETENCE / LEVEL ACHIEVED / COMMENTS
DECISION-MAKING/PROBLEM-SOLVING: Developing ability to diagnose problems, identify objectives, devise and select options and strategies
Skill in diagnosis/problem identification; defining clear, specific objective(s)
Identification of possible courses of action;
generating an array of alternative options
Assessment of options: analysis of possible outcomes (legal and non-legal)
Implementation of choices: deciding when to adhere to/depart from plan
Analysis of outcomes and consequences: identifying what to do differently next time
ACQUISITION OF INFORMATION
Factual Investigation
Identification of relevant, potentially available information (using legal categories to structure information acquisition plan)
Quality of overall plan for investigation
Choice and sequencing of sources
Skill and efficiency in accessing sources
Skill and efficiency in eliciting, organizing, and recording information
Ability to recognize unsought, but valuable, information
LEGAL RESEARCH
Identification of pertinent legal principles/rules
Overall quality of research plan; choice and sequence of sources
Precision and thoroughness
Correct analysis of authorities
Efficiency and timeliness
SYNTHESIS OF FACT AND LAW/
APPLICATION OF LAW TO FACTS
Judgment: ability to generate and justify alternative legal positions, and to assess their strengths and weaknesses
Creativity: ability to use legal arguments and materials creatively and imaginatively
THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE: Developing ability to analyze non-legal context of law and lawyering decisions
Ability to identify the empirical data/assumptions underlying a rule or principle of law
Ability to articulate the values underlying a rule or principle of law
Ability and inclination to analyze critically the validity of underlying assumptions and values
Awareness of psychosocial/economic
/scientific, etc. factors in legal situation
Ability to work with materials from nonlegal disciplines and/or nonlegal professionals to solve legal problem
Ability to distinguish policy and law arguments, to understand their comparative impact, and to judge when and how to utilize each or both
LEGAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Awareness and quality of choices about information to communicate
Awareness and quality of choices about setting, timing, etc.
Judgment in deciding, if choice, whether to use oral or written means of communication
COMPETENCE / LEVEL ACHIEVED / COMMENTS
QUALITY OF ORAL COMMUNICATION
Choice of words: precision, accuracy, appropriate tone
Clarity, economy, and organization
Grammar, syntax, diction
Eloquence, rhetoric
Correct, consistent use of terms of art
Listening, awareness of others' reactions
Nonverbal communication, “body
language,” professional presentation of self
QUALITY OF WRITTEN
COMMUNICATION
Choice of words: precision, accuracy, appropriate tone
Clarity, economy, and organization
Grammar, syntax, punctuation, spelling, citation form
Professional format and appearance; care in proof-reading and editing
Eloquence, rhetoric
Correct, consistent use of terms of art
MANAGEMENT OF EFFORT: Developing ability to manage time/resources so as to produce optimal legal services
Complete, careful planning and preparation
Staging of work: setting up realistic
sequence of steps for timely task completion
Actual completion of task on time
Prioritizing; balancing competing obligations
Effective collaboration
Effective individual work
COMPETENCE / LEVEL ACHIEVED / COMMENTS
Effective identification and utilization
of available resources and assistance
PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY and ROLE: Developing sense of responsibility for professional choices and their consequences
Recognition of ethical issues and relevant professional norms and standards; ability to research professional ethics
Ability to analyze critically the validity of professional norms and standards
Ability to recognize and choose among conflicting professional norms and personal values
Ability and inclination to articulate reasoning behind ethical choices; coherence and consistency of ethical reasoning
Reliability and integrity
LEARNING SKILLS: Developing ability to obtain, reflect on, and learn from the explicit and implicit feedback of experience
Ability to diagnose lawyering competencies that need improvement, and develop good learning agendas
Ability to recognize and use opportunities for improvement of lawyering competencies
Ability to reflect on/learn from own experience
Ability to reflect on/learn from others' experience
Ability to provide useful feedback to peers
Ability to provide useful feedback to supervisors
COMPETENCE / LEVEL ACHIEVED / COMMENTS
Ability to elicit and use feedback from peers
Ability to elicit and use feedback from supervisors
Ability and inclination to consult with, rather than seek direction from, peers and supervisors

ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS:

\Evaluation of Student Work Form 8-07

Definition of Levels of Achievement

1.Serious difficulty:Did not seek or respond to supervision appropriately,

and did not perform task adequately

2.Difficulty:Responsive to supervision, but still did not perform task adequately

3. Fair progress:Performed task adequately, with substantial supervision

4.Good progress:Performed task well, with substantial supervision; or performed task adequately, with some supervision

5. Competence:Performed task well, with some supervision; or performed task adequately, with minimal supervision

6.High competence:Performed task very well, with substantial supervision; or performed task well, with minimal supervision

7.Excellence:Performed task very well, with some or minimal supervision

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\\Evaluation of Student Work Form 1-07