Update

LRW Program

U.S. News Rates Oregon 6th Nationwide! The University of Oregon's Legal Research and Writing Program is currently ranked 6th in the nation!

LRW Faculty

Rebekah Hanley, LRW professor

Hanley speaks widely on the topic of appellate judicial writing. She has led training seminars for tribal judges of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon as well as for administrative law judges, and she addressed Florida appellate attorneys.

In addition to LRW, Hanley teaches a course in judicial writing. She has previously taught Legal Ethics and a seminar in Animal Law. For the 2009-10 academic year, she is continuing as the chair of the law school's Judicial Clerkship Committee.

Hanley was co-chair of the 2009 Northwest Regional Legal Writing Conference in Portland, OR. For information and photos, click here.

Joan Rocklin, LRW professor

Rocklin is active nationally with the Legal Writing Institute and the Association of American Law Schools. Currently, she is co-chair of the Program Committee for LWI’s 2010 national conference, which will be held in Marco Island, FL. In 2008, she served as the Secretary of the AALS Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research.

Rocklin is co-author of "A Lawyer Writes," a new textbook on legal writing. Published by Carolina Academic Press, it is being used at law schools across the country this year.

Professor Emerita Mary Lawrence has been appointed to the Editorial Board of the Journal of the Legal Writing Institute with the title "Senior Editor." The position honors her lifelong commitment to the discipline of legal writing, her substantial editorial experience, and her vast knowledge of the subject of legal writing. She will serve through 2012.

The journal recently instituted the Mary Lawrence Award, further recognizing her decades of contributions to the academic discipline of legal writing. For more information, click here.

Megan McAlpin, LRW professor

McAlpin teaches a new course in legal drafting, which she developed in response to the law school's aspiration to offer more skills courses. She regularly teaches an intensive writing course during the summer.

McAlpin writes articles for the Oregon State Bar Bulletin and enjoys speaking at legal writing conferences. Most recently, she spoke at the Northwest Regional Legal Writing Conference. She is currently serving on the New Member Committee of the Legal Writing Institute.

Suzanne Rowe, LRW director

Rowe is the editor of a series of state research books being published by Carolina Academic Press. Titles have been published for 20 states, with more under contract.

Rowe writes a monthly column in the Oregon State Bar Bulletin, called The Legal Writer. Each column addresses a specific point of writing, including writer's block, passive voice, punctuation, and proofing professional documents.

Rowe has held major positions in the most prestigious legal writing organizations. Currently, she serves on the Board of Directors of the Legal Writing Institute. She is a past-chair of the AALS Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research, and she served on the Board of Directors of the Association of Legal Writing Directors (ALWD). She is the chair of the ABA's Communication Skills Committee for the 2009-11 term.

Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff, Visiting LRW professor

Fordyce-Ruff is the co-author of Idaho Legal Research. She is currently serving as an assistant editor of the Journal of the Legal Writing Institute.

She is teaching both LRW and Advanced Legal Research. Her research explores learning theory regarding millennial students and its practical implications for teaching legal research. She presented her research both at the Scholars Forum held in Portland and at the 2009 Northwest Regional Legal Writing Conference.