The traditional office memorandum is the heart and soul of most first-semester legal writing courses; however, the traditional memo appears to be on life support in practice. In response to evidence of the declining use of the office memo by attorneys, some professors are exploring different vehicles through which to teach objective writing. A viable alternative to the memo is a judicial opinion, which allows students to gain experience with a document they will use to both study and practice law. This article explores how a judicial opinion accomplishes the same learning objectives as the office memo while delivering unique benefits to new law students. By writing an opinion, students develop additional critical-reading, research, and decision-making skills beyond what they would have gained writing the memo. Also, students gain insights into judges as the audiences of the students’ future writing, thereby, developing an appreciation for how to tailor their writing to a specific reader. The final part of this article considers the practicalities of replacing the memo with an opinion and provides suggestions on how to make the switch.