A week prior to the conference, attendees will receive a problem based on a discrete First Amendment issue and some general guidelines. They will have one week to submit a short, double-spaced opinion draft to the conference email address: csl-clerkship@cua.edu

Also one week prior to the conference, attendees receive all links for the virtual presentations, breakout sessions, etc., as well as instructions and protocols for how the events will proceed.

The first day of the conference will consist of an instructional component: four members of the judiciary will review a particular opinion or opinions that they value. They will explain how the writing achieves its purpose analytically, organizationally, rhetorically, and diplomatically, and how different strategies—perhaps hidden to the untrained eye—help achieve the purpose.

The second day of the conference will consist of small breakout sessions of five attendees each with another set of judges. The judges go over the draft opinions with the attendees and lead a conversation about style, mechanics, strategies, and approaches taken in the drafting process.

At the end of the conference, attendees will receive a problem on another discrete First Amendment issue, which will serve as the basis for their CSL Prize in Judicial Clerkship Opinion Writing entries. The conference judges will pick the winner. The law school at which the winner is enrolled will be awarded $500.