Job Announcement: Seattle Law Seeks Two Legal Writing Professors

Seattle University School of Law is currently accepting applications for two positions teaching legal writing. The positions are contract positions with a three-year initial contract that begins on August 1, 2009. Seattle University is an established leader in the field of legal writing: It founded the Legal Writing Institute, it has hosted seven Legal Writing Institute summer conferences, and its faculty has published numerous books and article relating to legal writing. As a result, for the last four years, U.S. New and World Report has ranked Seattle University’s legal writing program as one of the top two legal writing programs in the United States.

Individuals teaching legal writing at Seattle University receive extensive training in teaching legal writing. Currently, individuals teach both a first-year course that introduces students to legal research, legal reading, legal analysis, and effective writing, and a second-year course that introduces persuasive writing and oral advocacy. Professors are in the classroom seven hours a week, spend about ten hours a week meeting with students on a one-to-one basis, and spend about 20-25 hours a week critiquing and grading student writing. In filling the positions, Seattle University is looking for candidates with a strong academic record, experience working as a judicial law clerk or as an attorney, teaching experience, excellent writing skills, and excellent interpersonal skills. The Hiring Committee will begin reviewing applications on February 2, 2009. The positions will close when both positions are filled.

Seattle University, founded in 1891, continues a more than four hundred and fifty year tradition of Jesuit Catholic higher education. The University’s Jesuit Catholic ideals underscore its commitment to the centrality of teaching, learning and scholarship, of values-based education grounded in the Jesuit and Catholic traditions, of service and social justice, of lifelong learning, and of educating the whole person. Located in the heart of dynamic Seattle, the University enrolls approximately 6,800 undergraduate and graduate students in eight colleges and schools. Students enjoy a university ethos characterized by small classes, individualized faculty attention, a strong sense of community, a commitment to diversity, and an outstanding faculty.

Individuals interested in the position should send a letter of application, a resume or vitae, a writing sample that has not been edited by another person, and the names and contact information for three references either by email or by mail to the following address:

Professor Bryan Adamson
Seattle University School of Law
901 12th Avenue
P.O. Box 222000
Seattle, WA 98122-1090

More information about Seattle University’s writing program is available here, or contact Professor Laurel Currie Oates or Professor Mary Bowman.

Seattle University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. Finding prejudicial discrimination inconsistent with the mission of the University and the spirit of free academic inquiry, Seattle University does not discriminate in hiring on the basis of age, sex, race, religion, national origin, familial status, sexual orientation, or disability. This policy complies with the spirit and the letter of applicable federal, state, and local laws. -jl