Legal Writing Prof Blog

Second Draft Invites Submissions

Here's a reminder that if your summer involved working on an article related to legal writing and pedagogy, you're invited to submit your piece for publication in the fall issue of The Second Draft. Details are below.

Submission Details

Please submit your article in Word format by email on or before September 15, 2022, to [email protected].

The subject line of your email and the file name of your Word document should both look like this:  Last Name First Name_Article Submission_Issue Year.

So, for example, my subject line and file name would look like this: Keith Elizabeth_Title of Article_September 2022

The editors encourage all members of the legal writing community to submit articles, and they’d particularly like to encourage new and newer members to submit articles. Submissions are typically 500 to 3000 words and lightly footnoted, but they'll consider pieces of almost any length. 

Hat tip to Professor Elizabeth A. Keith at the American University Washington College of Law

(mew)

Scholars Workshop

In conjunction with the Western Regional Legal Writing Conference, Oregon Law will host a Scholars Workshop/Forum – thanks to funding by the Association of Legal Writing Directors (ALWD). The scholar events will take place on Friday, October 7, 2022, 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. just before the conference.

 

For the Scholars Workshop, 10:00-12:00, participants should have a draft or detailed outline to share. These documents will be circulated the week before the event. A few newer scholars who are curious about the workshop setting may participate if space allows.

 

The Scholars Forum, 12:00-1:30, is an opportunity for newer scholars (or potential scholars) to get feedback on possible ideas for articles or essays. For this event, we welcome a mix a newer scholars and experienced scholars to provide insights and support. Lunch will be provided for the forum, again thanks to ALWD.

 

Hat tip to Suzanne Rowe.

 

(mew)

University of Illinois Chicago is Hiring

University of Illinois Chicago School of Law invites applications for:

1. a tenured or tenure-track faculty and director of its Intellectual Property Center (more information about the IP Center can be found here: https://law.uic.edu/academics/centers/ip-privacy/ ); and
2. two entry-level tenure-track candidates to teach Property, Torts, Legal Research and Writing, with secondary needs of Criminal Law, Professional Responsibility, and Business Associations.

Candidates must have a Juris Doctor from an ABA-approved law school or its equivalent from a foreign country; record of teaching excellence or demonstrated potential to become an excellent teacher and record of high-quality scholarship or demonstrated potential to produce high-quality scholarship; and demonstrated interested in serving the academy, the community, and legal profession at an urban, public, Research 1 university. Excellent writing and communication skills and demonstrated ability to mentor students is highly preferred. Salary, academic rank and tenure/tenure-track will be commensurate with experience and qualifications.

For fullest consideration, applicants should submit a letter of intent, current curriculum vitae, and the name of three professional references by October 7, 2022.

(mew)

University of Arkansas at Fayetteville is Hiring

The University of Arkansas is seeking applications for a tenure track position teaching legal research and writing.  The university has made a strong commitment to both teaching and research by limiting the size of the incoming 1L class to keep classes small, and supporting faculty through generous travel support and summer research grants. 

 

Hat tip to Ann Killen.

 

(mew)

 

 

 

Villanova is Hiring

Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law is seeking to hire two full-time faculty positions, one to teach in our 2L transactional legal writing course and the other to teach in our 1L legal writing course or in both courses, beginning in the 2023-2024 academic year.  The positions offer competitive salaries and may lead to successive long-term contracts of five years.  

Legal writing faculty are responsible for teaching two sections per semester.  Our year-long 1L legal writing course focuses on analysis and objective writing in the fall and persuasive writing in the spring.  In our 2L legal writing course, students choose to participate in the litigation or transactional track.  The litigation track focuses on appellate brief writing and the transactional track enables students to develop skills to allow them to represent clients who want to accomplish a goal other than winning a dispute in court.  In addition to teaching, Villanova Law legal writing faculty provide service to the Law School, University, profession, and community and are a vital part of the Villanova Law community.  They also have partial voting rights and serve on law school committees and in leadership positions.  Legal writing faculty are not required to engage in scholarship, but those who do receive support.

Inquiries by interested applicants should be sent directly to Professor Todd Aagaard, Chair of the Appointments Committee, [email protected].

Hat tip to Heather D. Baum

(mew)

Nova Southeastern in Fort Lauderdale is Hiring

Nova Southeastern University, Shepard Broad College of Law is hiring an Assistant Dean of Academic Success and Professor of Practice. The listing, and procedure for applying, is here: https://nsucareers.nova.edu/en-us/job/502342/assistant-deanacademic-success-professional-program-992657.

Hat tip to Heather Baxter.

(mew)

Houston is Hiring

he University of Houston Law Center is hiring a Lawyering Skills and Strategies (LSS) Professor.  LSS Faculty at UHLC are considered clinical faculty, and the position complies with ABA Standard 405(c), with presumptively renewable 5-year contracts at the top level.  Faculty teach two sections of first year LSS each semester, and there is the opportunity to teach upper-level courses for overload pay.  Promotion and retention for this position is based on teaching and service, but LSS faculty members are eligible for research grants, and we each receive an annual allotment for travel and professional development.   

Interested candidates should both formally apply using the link below and send a current CV along with a brief email expressing interest to Hilary Reed at [email protected].

The official UH posting and application site can be found here:  

LSS:  Clinical Assistant/Associate Professor – Lawyering Skills & Strategies - FAC002502 

Hat tip to Kate Brem.

(mew)

Wyoming is Hiring

The University of Wyoming College of Law is looking to hire one tenure-track faculty member to teach in the law school's Legal Writing Program beginning in the 2023-2024 academic year.  During the typical academic year, the individual selected for this position will teach three courses in the law school's writing program and will teach a fourth course based on the individual's academic interests and the law school's curricular needs.

             At the University of Wyoming, faculty members teaching in the Legal Writing Program enjoy the same status as the rest of the law faculty, with parity in salary and benefits, rights to the tenure and promotion process, the same voting rights, eligibility for sabbaticals, eligibility for summer research stipends, eligibility for professional development travel funds, eligibility for funds for research assistants, rights to the same office space and support staff, and the same academic titles of Assistant Professor of Law, Associate Professor of Law, Professor of Law, and Endowed or Distinguished Professor of Law, as appropriate per appointment and promotion.

             The successful candidate will also be subject to the same core responsibilities as the rest of the law faculty and, as such, will be required to demonstrate excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service in accordance with the standards and timeline established by the tenure and promotion process.

             The first-year Legal Writing Program at The University of Wyoming consists of (1) a fall semester 3-credit Legal Writing I course, which focuses on objective/predictive legal analysis and writing, and (2) a spring semester 2-credit Legal Writing II course, which uses an Appellate Brief or Trial Brief assignment as a vehicle for introducing students to persuasive legal writing and oral advocacy.  Both courses are taught in small sections.  Legal Research is taught primarily by the teaching librarians in a separate 1-credit course in the fall semester.  All sections of Legal Writing I and Legal Writing II are part of one Legal Writing Program and, as such, must adhere to the broad goals and guidelines of the program.  That being said, the individual legal writing professors enjoy much flexibility in designing their courses and are free to choose their own textbooks, design their own lesson plans, and develop their own writing assignments.

            They seek applications from candidates with (1) a J.D. degree, (2) a strong academic record, (3) legal practice experience, (4) experience teaching legal writing in a law school setting, and (5) a demonstrated commitment to a career in teaching legal writing.  Preference will be given to candidates who have published works, supported by serious academic research, in one or more of the following areas: substantive legal writing doctrine, legal methods and analysis, written advocacy, motion or appellate procedure, or advocacy ethics.

            Application Procedure: Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.  Applicants should submit (1) a cover letter, (2) a CV, (3) a list of three references with their contact information, and (4) a one-page statement of the applicant's philosophy on teaching legal writing and the applicant's future scholarly agenda.  These materials should be sent either electronically or in hard copy to Professor Michael R. Smith, Director of Legal Writing at the University of Wyoming College of Law.

Hat tip to Ken Chestek.

(mew)

Case Western is Hiring

CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW invites applications for two tenured or tenure-track faculty positions, beginning July 2022, January 2023 or July 2023.

Candidates should have at least two years of teaching experience and a strong scholarly track record. Areas of interest for teaching and scholarship include environmental law, property, torts, tax, commercial law, family law, and wills/trusts. Appointment will be considered at the Assistant. Associate, or Full Professor level, based upon prior teaching experience and scholarship. At least one position will include administrative responsibilities in the new Coleman P. Burke Center for Environmental Law.

Applicants should provide a CV, cover letter identifying their interest in the position as well as their future research agenda, and a statement explaining how their research, teaching, and/or service have contributed to diversity, equity and inclusion within their scholarly field(s) and/or how their individual and/or collaborative efforts have promoted structural justice inside and outside institutions of higher learning. This statement should also reflect on the ways in which the candidate's continued efforts will foster a culture of diversity, pluralism, and individual difference at Case Western Reserve University into the future.  Ideally applicants should be experienced in working with diverse student populations, including international graduate legal studies students and non-JD masters in legal studies students.  Candidates must have a JD from an accredited law school.  

Hat tip to Bryan Adamson, Case Western Reserve University School of Law

Mercer is Hiring

Mercer University School of Law in Macon, Georgia invites applications from entry-level candidates (including pre-tenured laterals) for three tenure-track faculty positions to begin in the Fall of 2023. We welcome applications from candidates in all subject matter areas, including legal writing and experiential courses, and we are particularly interested in hiring at least one candidate with a background or interest in contracts, business law and/or commercial law.

Of particular note, they welcome candidates who are truly entry-level, with no prior law teaching experience, but who show significant promise for excellence in teaching and scholarship. With that in mind, if you know any recent graduates who may be interested or particularly promising, please pass this announcement to them.

Candidates who will add to the diversity of our faculty are particularly encouraged to apply. Mercer University is an AA/EEO/ADA employer. Applicants should have a J.D. degree from an accredited university/college, a commitment to excellence in teaching, and demonstrated potential for excellence in research and scholarship. Interested applicants will need to complete the brief online application at: hr.mercer.edu/jobs and attach a current CV with the names and contact information for three references. For information contact Professor Tim Floyd, Chair, Appointments Committee, Mercer University School of Law, [email protected].

Hat tip to Pam Wilkins.

(mew)

Things That Made Us Smile

The conference on online learning will be held in-person in Denver, Colorado from September 22-24, 2022.

(mew)

Florida is Hiring

The University of Florida Levin College of Law is looking to hire a Legal Skills Professor to teach first-year Legal Writing and upper-level Legal Drafting. Successful candidates will be appointed as nine-month, non-tenure-track Legal Skills Professors and join a faculty committed to innovation and leadership in legal writing and experiential learning more broadly. Legal Skills Professors on nine-month contracts are also eligible for generous summer research stipends to support scholarly projects. Visit the law school's website for more information.

Hat tip to Sabrina Lopez.

(mew)

Loyola Chicago is Hiring

Loyola University Chicago School of Law invites applications for the position of Academic Director of Online Graduate Programs in Child and Family Law. This part-time staff position is responsible for the academic success of Loyola's Masters of Jurisprudence (MJ) and Masters of Laws (LLM) degree programs, including curricular design and the hiring and evaluation of faculty. The Academic Director also oversees the work of students in the LLM program, including supervising student LLM theses and projects. The graduate programs are part of Loyola's nationally recognized educational program in the fields of child and family law. Loyola University Chicago is committed to a diverse, equitable and inclusive learning environment and will prioritize candidates who share and will contribute to this goal. Applicants should submit materials to www.careers.luc.edu/postings/21276. For further information, contact Professor Diane Geraghty at [email protected].

Charleston is Hiring

Charleston School of Law in Charleston, South Carolina welcomes applications for full-time, tenure-track faculty. The School of Law also welcomes applicants interested in a full-time visitorship. The School is presently looking for candidates interested in teaching one or more of the following subjects: Business Organizations; Sales; Secured Transactions; and, Tax. However, our curricular needs are flexible, and we welcome applications from all candidates whose teaching, service, or research interests will promote the School's goals of excellent teaching, community service, diversity, and inclusion.

Ideal candidates will show commitment to becoming stellar teachers and passionate, enthusiastic colleagues, who are willing to invest considerable energy and effort in service and institution building by collaborating with the rest of the faculty to achieve excellence at the School of Law. We value candidates with practice experience who will bring the real world of lawyering to the classroom. We also value previous teaching experience, including as adjunct faculty, at a law school or college. However, completion of visiting assistant professor programs, fellowships, Ph.D. degrees, and LL.M. degrees are not prerequisites. We are looking, instead, for a demonstrated ability to grow into the role of teacher and scholar.

Charleston School of Law is an ABA fully-accredited institution reinvigorating the study of law by offering a rich, comprehensive three-year program rooted in excellence. Our campus is located in the Upper King Street district of historic, downtown Charleston, S.C., which Travel + Leisure Magazine named as the 2022 Number One Best City in the United States for the tenth consecutive year. The School of Law was founded in 2003 with a mission to instill the values of public service and professionalism in its graduates. Key goals for the School are student success and providing opportunities to historically underrepresented groups in the profession.

The School of Law prides itself on having a talented and accessible faculty and staff. Princeton Review regularly ranks Charleston School of Law as a top institution for faculty accessibility, teaching quality, and resources for women. The School's Faculty bring significant practice experience to the classroom and include former law firm partners, state and federal prosecutors, defense attorneys, corporate counsel, and military veterans. Charleston School of Law is dedicated to maintaining a diverse and inclusive community of students, faculty, and staff that fosters an appreciation for and understanding of people from a variety of cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

Applicants should submit a cover letter explaining their interest in a position at Charleston School of Law specifically, the subjects the applicant would be interested in teaching, a curriculum vitae, research agenda, and any teaching evaluations received to the Committee on Faculty Recruitment, Retention & Inclusion at [email protected]. Review of applications is ongoing, although we recommend submission of materials as soon as possible. Should you have any questions for the Chair of the Committee, please feel free to email Dylan Malagrinò, Associate Dean for Faculty Research & Development and Professor of Law, at: [email protected].

The Charleston School of Law is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any individual or group on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, race, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, genetic information, disability, or any other legally protected class.

Legal Writing: The Journal of the Legal Writing Institute

The Editorial Board of Legal Writing: The Journal of the Legal Writing Institute invites you submit an article to be considered for publication in their next volume. Volume 27 will be published in Spring 2023. The deadline for article submissions is Tuesday, September 6, 2022.

The Journal aims to provide a forum for articles about the theory, substance, and pedagogy of legal writing. Additional information about the Journal may be found on our website, https://www.legalwritingjournal.org. You may email article submissions directly by email to the editor-in-chief, Liz Frost ([email protected]) or submit it through Scholastica, https://legalwritingjournal.scholasticahq.com/for-authors.

In addition to articles, the Journal also invite you to submit essays and book reviews for consideration.

Essays: Essays should advance the Journal’s mission, which is to provide a forum for the publication of scholarly works on the theory, substance, and pedagogy of legal writing. Essays may be scholarly either because they fully prove a thesis with relevant support or because they are part of a larger, coordinated section of related essays that build on each other toward a shared thesis. An essay should not feel like an underdeveloped article. The form an author chooses — essay or article — should be driven by the thesis and its necessary proof. An essay is typically shorter than an article and may be less formal and more personal. It may focus on an unusual experience in, or insight into, the field or careful analysis of a new topic. The editors envision essays ranging in length from 500 to 3,000 words, but the Board will consider essays of any length. To read essays we have recently published, please visit Volume 26. Please submit essays by email no later than Tuesday, September 6, 2022. Please write “JLWI essay submission” in the subject line of your email and send it to the Journal’s essay editors, Wayne Schiess ([email protected]) and Drew Simshaw ([email protected]).

Book Reviews: The editors also encourage you to submit a proposal for a book review on a topic related to legal writing, keeping in mind the Journal's mission, which is to provide a forum for the publication of scholarly works on the theory, substance, and pedagogy of legal writing. Book reviews typically run between 1,000 and 3,000 words. To read our most recently published book reviews, please visit Volume 26. The deadline for submitting a book review proposal is Monday, August 1, 2022, and book review drafts will be due by Monday, October 3, 2022. An accepted proposal is not a guarantee of publication in the Journal (as final book reviews remain subject to editorial approval) but serves as an initial approval of the proposed book and topic.

Please submit both proposals and completed book reviews to the Journal’s book review editor, Lori Johnson ([email protected]).

Hat tip to Lori Johnson.

(mew)

Suffolk is Hiring

Suffolk University Law School in Boston invites applications for a full-time tenured or tenure-track position at any faculty rank to join our Legal Practice Skills Program starting in the 2023-2024 academic year. Legal writing faculty teach the required first-year Legal Practice Skills (LPS) course that covers legal research, reasoning, writing, and oral advocacy. Experienced LPS faculty may also have the opportunity to teach in other areas. Support for professional development will be provided.  

They welcome applications from anyone who has a strong commitment to teaching legal writing and a record or promise of significant scholarship. Interested candidates should submit a curriculum vitae or resume, references, and a cover letter addressed to Professors Kathleen Vinson and Maritza Karmely, co-chairs of the Legal Practice Skills (LPS) Committee. Candidates are encouraged to describe activities mentoring members of underrepresented groups, describe how issues relating to diversity and inclusion have been or will be addressed in their courses, and/or how their scholarship contributes to building and supporting inclusive communities. All materials should be uploaded to the Suffolk University website here.  Candidates are encouraged to submit applications via Jobvite by September 21, 2022. Candidates should not send duplicate materials to the co-chairs of the LPS Committee. 

Hat tip to Kathleen Elliot Vinson.

(mew)

Washburn is Hiring

Washburn University School of Law invites applications for an associate professor to teach Legal Writing beginning in the 2023-2024 academic year. 

Washburn Law has a unitary tenure track with scholarship support including summer writing stipends, year-round research assistants, and funding for travel to conferences. This nine-month tenured/tenure-track position is one of three open tenured/tenure-track positions in the School of Law.

They seek engaging candidates whose performance to date has demonstrated effectiveness in teaching, scholarship, and service or the potential for achievement in each of these job functions.  Application materials should clearly articulate the candidate’s record of work supporting diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging and state how the candidate will contribute to Washburn University's commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, including a dedication to developing inclusive teaching practices that engage students from diverse backgrounds.

Washburn Law has an acclaimed, nationally recognized legal writing program.  Several legal writing professors have taken on leadership roles in the law school.

Washburn University is a teaching-focused, student-centered, public institution.  The Washburn campus is located in the heart of Topeka, Kansas, blocks from the historic state capitol. Topeka features affordable housing; beautiful, historic neighborhoods filled with well-­maintained parks; and a nationally recognized public library. It is also the home of the Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Site

Application Procedures:

Application review will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.  (All faculty appointments are contingent upon funding.)

• Interested candidates should send a resume, a cover letter, and the name/address/phone numbers of three professional references to [email protected] . Include the position title “Tenure-Track Professor, Legal Writing” in the email subject line.
• If you have questions about the position, please contact Professor Mary Ramirez, Chair, Faculty Recruitment Committee, at [email protected].
• The successful candidate will be required to submit to a background check prior to hire.
• Official transcripts are required once hired.

Hat tip to Emily Grant.

(mew)

Second Draft Invites Submissions

 If your summer involved working on an article related to legal writing and pedagogy, you're invited to submit your piece for publication in the fall issue of The Second Draft. Details are below.

Submission Details

Please submit your article in Word format by email on or before September 15, 2022, to [email protected].

The subject line of your email and the file name of your Word document should both look like this:  Last Name First Name_Article Submission_Issue Year.

So, for example, my subject line and file name would look like this: Keith Elizabeth_Title of Article_September 2022

The editors encourage all members of the legal writing community to submit articles, and they’d particularly like to encourage new and newer members to submit articles. Submissions are typically 500 to 3000 words and lightly footnoted, but they'll consider pieces of almost any length. 

Hat tip to Professor Elizabeth A. Keith at the American University Washington College of Law

(mew)

AALS Section on Balance & Well-Being in Legal Education

The Association of American Law Schools Section on Balance & Well-being in Legal Education invites nominations for its annual award to be presented at the 2023 AALS Annual Meeting & Conference. The nominations deadline has been extended to September 2.

The award is designed to honor an individual for outstanding contributions to the promotion of well-being in legal education. The awardee serves as a model of Balance & Well-being Section ideals, develops innovative programming that integrates this work into curricular or co-curricular offerings, contributes to academic scholarship in the field, and regularly serves the Section, their law school and greater legal community by providing access to well-being programming and/or services.

Criteria:

• 1. Modeling: Serves as a model of Balance & Well-being Section ideals (integrates this work into teaching, scholarship or service);
• 2. Innovation: Develops or proposes innovative curricular offerings designed to showcase the importance of health, compassion, integrity, and ethics to the effective study and practice of law;
• 3. Scholarship: Recent publications (scholarship related to the work of the section);
• 4. Section Contributions: Contributions to the Section through service/volunteer work; and
• 5. Service: Service to the law school and the greater legal community – providing access to well-being programming and/or services across multiple communities and platforms.

Nominations should address the following questions:

• 1. In what ways has this nominee made outstanding contributions to the promotion of well-being in legal education?
• 2. How has the nominee served as a model for balance and well-being in legal education?
• 3. How has the nominee inspired others to act or created opportunities for others to serve?
• 4. How has the nominee advanced or spread discourse on the importance of well-being in legal education?
• 5. How has the nominee enhanced or changed the way legal education is taught based upon humanistic or holistic models of legal practice?
• 6. How has the nominee impacted the professional identity formation and/or development of law students and legal educators through this work?

Submit nominations via webform here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1_ySFf6FPX8WFykEE4-p77PDY7IrqKCItiiICgkoF3i4/edit 

Deadline for nominations: September 2, 2022.

Hat tips to Professors Tamar Schwartz and Rebecca Scharf, Co-Chairs of the AALS Balance & Well-being Nominations Committee

(mew)

Best of the Best: How to Submit Your Law School's Winning Brief for a Scribes Brief-Writing Award

Did your school win a best-brief award last year?

Scribes--The American Society of Legal Writers--is now accepting submissions for the 2022 Brief-Writing Award. The deadline for submitting briefs is October 3, 2022.

Scribes launched its Brief-Writing Award in 1996 to recognize and celebrate excellent student-written briefs. Scribes believes that legal writing is of paramount importance to law students and their careers, and it hopes to encourage good legal writing by recognizing its finest examples.

The Scribes Brief-Writing Award for 2022 considers submissions of moot-court briefs that have won first place in a national or regional moot-court competition during the 2021-22 academic year (August 2021 to June 2022). The award committee then selects the best briefs from all of the winning briefs submitted.

Scribes has opened nominations for its 2022 Brief-Writing Award and will accept nominations until October 3, 2022. The award committee will consider briefs from the 2021-2022 academic year. The award winners will be announced early next year. 

Instructions for submitting a brief for the Scribes competition:

1.      By October 3, 2022, email an electronic copy of the winning brief to scribes[email protected].  

2.     The subject line of the email should indicate that it’s a Scribes brief nomination from “___ Law School" (the students’ law school, not a sponsoring law school).

3.     The body of the e-mail must include the following information:

• Name of the competition
• Place where the brief was named best brief (e.g., “finals,” “SW regional”)
• Names of the students who wrote the brief
• Students’ school
• Name of the students’ coach or advisor, if any

4.     The brief itself cannot include any information that identifies the student authors or their school. Please check the cover page, signature pages, and headers or footers.

5.     Submit the brief as a PDF file if possible, although we will accept Word format if necessary.

6.     The brief should be submitted as a single file.

Please contact Scribes Executive Director Philip Johnson at [email protected] if you have any questions about submitting a brief for the competition.

Mark E. Wojcik, Immediate Past President, Scribes--The American Society of Legal Writers