On Demand
Audio
Understanding the Legislative Process for Attorneys
Produced on September 29, 2020
Course Information
Course Description
Working knowledge of the legislative process is valuable to the application and interpretation of the law. Yet many attorneys go through law school without getting a realistic understanding of how laws are created. No matter what type of law you practice, a better understanding of the legislative process will enhance your perspective.
This program will provide an overview of the legislative process from a day-to-day perspective. It will give attorneys a better understanding of how the law is practically created and how that impacts interpretation and application. While relevant to any attorney who wishes to deepen their understanding of creating law, it will be especially valuable to attorneys who intend to interact with Congress members and congressional staff.
Learning Objectives:
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Develop a practical understanding of how the legislative process works - from bill ideas to getting a bill signed into law
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Examine the practical application of constitutional law principles within the legislative process
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Analyze and discuss how the creation of laws affects the ways we apply and interpret them
Credit Information
Faculty
Brittany Sadler Berky is an attorney in Virginia. She worked for the United States Senate Judiciary Committee and has experience in each step of the legislative process. Additionally, she has worked for an individual Senate office and in the U.S. House of Representatives. She departed the Senate to clerk for the Hon. Kurt D. Engelhardt on the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
She received her Juris Doctorate from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at William & Mary.
Bar Admissions:
Virginia
Reviews
I was hoping for something a little more in-depth
Very thorough refresher.
This is an excellent overview of the legislative process. I worked in both the House and Senate for 12 years and found the refresher to have new and relevant information
I appreciated the factual/conceptual discussion of the process. I very much appreciated the careful labeling of things that are philosophical disagreements in a nonpartisan way.
excellent job on a subject overlooked, ignored and not focused on. it also underscores the need for better legislative procedures and why there is frustration with the entire process, especially in the context of the legislature passing the buck with vague laws which are not even principled laws. in short shows how the common law approach results in more of an adversarial system than the civil law of continental system, which has clearer and more principled legislation. in short this needs to be focused on not just in law schools but public policy schools.
Thank you!
I would recommend it to a colleague interested in the topic as it was a nice overview and gave some inside perspective of some of the nitty gritty work done behind legislation. An enjoyable presentation.
I thought this was terribly interesting. It would be great to have an additional class on something like CONTENTIOUS HEARINGS - like the impeachment ones where it was one-sided. The ins and outs of what is a hard and fast rule versus what is only customary would be interesting to explore. Thank you very much!
I received useful knowledge on a subject I did not know much about.
Informative and timely.
Nice overview with an Insider's tips
Great job!
Very informative!
Basic but helpful.
Very informative and interesting. Thank you!
aw aw aw
Great job - thank you!