Renée Schimkat, a seasoned legal professional with nearly two decades of experience in high-stakes litigation and now a full-time legal writing professor at the University of Miami School of Law, recently presented her unique teaching methods at a conference themed "Defining Rigor Today" at the Central States Legal Writing Conference at Northwestern Pritzker Law School.
Exposing Foreign-Trained Lawyers to the Pace of U.S. Legal Practice
Schimkat’s talk, titled "Good Timing: The Benefits of an In-Class, Timed Graded Assignment," detailed her approach to preparing international LL.M. students for the demanding pace of contemporary legal practice in the United States.
Drawing from her extensive background practicing law in New York City and Miami, Schimkat emphasized that the legal profession demands high-quality work delivered under tight deadlines. To simulate this environment, she implements an assignment that is both timed and graded. Each spring, her students have one two-hour class to complete an assignment distributed at the beginning and due at the end.
"Every year, students are nervous for this in-class, graded assignment," Schimkat noted. "But the vast majority of students are then exhilarated when they complete the assignment, knowing that they can do an attorney’s work on time. Nervousness transforms into confidence."
The assignment is carefully designed to balance the pressures of legal practice with classroom support. It is worth only 5% of the final grade, preventing it from feeling overwhelming. Schimkat also considers the time constraints when grading. This exercise provides students with a realistic sense of deadlines and time management, while other assignments in the semester have much longer timelines, such as six weeks for a trial-court motion.
Supporting Ukrainian Law Faculty
Schimkat is also one of several faculty members from law schools here in the U.S. who meet and work with Ukrainian law faculty to guide them through various legal topics, ranging from U.S. jurisdiction to comparisons of the U.S. and Ukrainian legal systems to elections to legal writing and case analysis. Throughout Fall 2023, she met Ukrainian faculty weekly to discuss various topics and, in the spring of 2024, gave two presentations to Ukrainian faculty, the first on the hierarchy of primary authority and the second on the differences between objective analysis and persuasive advocacy in legal writing.
Her initial work with Ukrainian faculty was featured in an article titled “Global Legal English Skills Community Expands Support for Ukrainian Law Schools,” published in the American Bar Association International Law News, winter 2024 issue, and again in a Georgetown Legal English Blog posted in 2024, titled “Strengthening Capacity of Ukrainian Law Schools to Teach Legal Research, Analysis, Reasoning, and Writing Skills.”
Before joining the full-time faculty at the law school in 2015, where she had previously been an adjunct professor, Schimkat built a distinguished career. She was Of Counsel with the law firm of Carlton Fields, where her practice focused on insurance coverage analysis and litigation. Her career also included practicing law in New York City and working in-house for an international insurance company, managing high-profile claims. Her legal writing has been featured in publications such as Bloomberg BNA, Global Reinsurance, and Harris Martin.
As the co-director of the Litigation & Dispute Resolution Concentration at the School of Law, Schimkat teaches several courses, including "Legal Communication and Research Skills" and "Introduction to Legal Communication and Writing" for foreign students in the LL.M. programs. She also teaches upper-level courses on "Electronic Discovery" and "Speaking the Law."
A proud mother of two college-age daughters, an avid reader, and a beginning surfer, Schimkat brings a wealth of real-world experience and a dynamic approach to her teaching. Her educational background includes a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law and a dual major in journalism and political science from Syracuse University. Her multifaceted life informs her holistic approach to legal education, preparing students not just for exams, but for the rigors and rewards of a legal career.
Read more about Miami Law’s Legal Communication and Research Skills Program.
