Ron Villanova

Legal Logic Ron Villanova

The substance of this book is derived from lectures presented to working paralegals as the first in a series of "foundation courses" intended to supplement their prior education and experience and to enhance their capacity to more competently handle tasks normally handled by lawyers. The course, and this book, is a condensed version of a full semester course in Aristotelian logic, tailored to the needs of people engaged in the analysis of legal issues, either as employee or as student. There are several primary objectives. the first is not to create logicians, but to foster the students' awareness of their own reasoning processes by discussing the importance of words, their definitions, uses and relationships, and to provide tools for testing whether conclusions are valid or invalid using formal (logical) analysis. The second broader objective is to provide a foundation for further study and use of the principles of effective communication and interpretation of communication. Another more specific objective is to show the use of the tools of logic in a legal context, particularly the formal analysis of case law. About the author: The author has practiced law since 1967. During his tenure as Counsel with a major financial services corporation, he was responsible for its law department's paralegals and paralegal development program. Those duties led him to develop the three foundation courses that are now available in book and digital form: Legal Logic, Legal Promise, and Legal Method.