Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research Q&A

Date: Wednesday, August 16th from 2:00 – 3:00 pm ET

 

Discussion Description:

This session helps prepare individuals for interviews and give you an opportunity to ask questions and seek personalized advice from experienced faculty in the Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research

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*Registration is required

Speakers

Jazzirelle Hill, Associate Clinical Professor of Law, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles

Professor Jazzirelle Hill brings her diverse public and private practice experience in the Washington, D.C. area to teach Legal Research & Writing at Loyola. A graduate of the University of Virginia and Howard Law School, she clerked for the Hon. Raymond A. Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. She then practiced at Covington & Burling, where in addition to representing global corporate clients in federal, state, and international litigation and arbitration, she performed significant pro bono work, writing about it in From Corporate to Custody Battles: Being a Loaned BigLaw Associate at a Nonprofit, DOCKET CALLHill also has worked for the IRS Office of the Chief Counsel, the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, and the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

 

Hillary Reed, Clinical Professor, University of Houston Law Center

Professor Reed earned a B.A. in History from Abilene Christian University, magna cum laude. She then earned her J.D. at Pepperdine University School of Law, magna cum laude. After law school, she joined O’Melveny & Myers LLP as an associate in their downtown Los Angeles office. At O’Melveny, her practice areas included general litigation and corporate bankruptcy. From 2007-2017 Professor Reed taught Legal Research and Writing at Pepperdine University School of Law. From 2014-2017 she also taught Honors Appellate Advocacy and directed the Appellate Moot Court Program at Pepperdine.

 

Suzanne Rowe, James L. and llene R. Hershner Professor; Director, Legal Research and Writing Program, University of Oregon School of Law

Suzanne Rowe has held leadership positions in all major legal writing organizations. She has served on the boards of both the Association of Legal Writing Directors and the Legal Writing Institute. She is a past-chair of the AALS Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research, and she served on three ABA Site Visit teams.

She has published multiple books on legal research and was the founding series editor of the Legal Research Series published by Carolina Academic Press. She has written articles on the Americans with Disabilities Act, on legal writing programs and pedagogy, and on diversity and inclusion. She originated a monthly column, The Legal Writer, in the Oregon State Bar Bulletin, which takes a fresh look at writing problems.

Professor Rowe’s commitment to teaching has been recognized by the law school and the university and by national organizations. In 2011, Professor Rowe received the Orlando J. Hollis Faculty Teaching Award. In 2014, she received the Thomas F. Herman Achievement Award for Excellence in Pedagogy. Her national awards also recognize her scholarship and her mentorship. She is the 2012 recipient of the Thomas F. Blackwell Award for outstanding achievement in legal writing, selected by the Association of Legal Writing Directors and the Legal Writing Institute.  In 2016, she was recognized with the Section Award of the AALS Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research.

 

Tracy L.M. Norton, Erick Vincent Anderson Professorship, Associate Professor of Professional Practice, Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center

Professor Tracy L. M. Norton, a national and international leader in the fields of legal writing and legal education, will join the LSU Law faculty in the fall semester.

Norton comes to LSU Law from the Touro Law Center in Long Island, New York, where she has taught since 2007. She started her career in academia in 1997 at Texas Tech University School of Law, where she remained until 2001, when she joined the faculty at South Texas College of Law. Prior to teaching, Norton practiced criminal law in Texas for four years. She majored in political science at the University of North Texas before earning her juris doctor from Baylor University School of Law in 1994.

“I am inspired by LSU Law’s mission to provide a student-centered, practice-oriented legal education, and I am excited to join the faculty and begin meeting the students and my new colleagues,” said Norton, whose family is from Southwest Louisiana and East Texas. “After 15 years in New York, this is a homecoming of sorts for me and my family. We’re looking forward to Southern hospitality, Louisiana food, and great college football.”

At LSU Law, Norton will teach Legal Research & Writing I & II in the 2022-23 academic year. During her time at the Touro Law Center, Norton taught Legal Process I & II, Advanced Persuasive Strategies, Judicial Writing, Disaster Law & Policy, Criminal Law, and an Advanced Writing Requirement Workshop.

Norton is best known for her research and presentations on cross-generational competence in legal education and the legal profession. Among her contributions to the field of legal writing are her Interactive Citation Workbook (formerly with co-author Prof. Christine Hurt) and accompanying online Workstation, published originally in 1999. The ICW was the first digital teaching tool in widespread use in American law schools and is currently used in more than half of American law schools. A longtime member of the Legal Writing Institute, Professor Norton served two four-year terms on its Board of Directors.

“The wealth of expertise that Professor Norton brings to LSU Law will enhance our curriculum and the student experience at the Paul M. Hebert Law Center,” said LSU Law Interim Dean Lee Ann Wheelis Lockridge. “We are absolutely thrilled to welcome her to our faculty.”

Her current scholarly interest is using principles of storytelling from other disciplines like poetry and songwriting to develop compelling legal narratives. Her current teaching interest is making legal education more accessible through digital platforms. In addition to her classroom teaching, has taught both synchronous and asynchronous law courses since 2010. She has also developed a fully online pre-law legal analysis program for students interested in attending law school. Norton is currently creating a digital textbook for 1L legal analysis and writing courses. During the 2020 pandemic, she assisted faculty throughout the country in adapting to asynchronous and synchronous online course delivery.

 

Moderator

Joshua Aaron Jones, Legal Writing Professor, California Western School of Law

Professor Jones graduated from the University of Montevallo, cum laude, with a bachelors in instrumental music education. At University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law, he earned a joint JD and Master of Education Law. He served as a teaching assistant for first year legal research and writing, as well as for Administrative Process, and he also was as a research assistant to Professor Sarah Redfield, then director of the Education Law Institute. After six years of practice at a Florida mass tort plaintiffs law firm, Jones returned to the academy as the Downey Brand Fellow for Public Service and Leadership at University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law.

After completing a Master of Laws at McGeorge, focused on government and public policy, Jones returned to private practice in Pensacola, Florida, where he opened a solo law office. He was called upon often as a key lawyer for LGBTQ+ issues in northwest Florida, and he collaborated on cases and projects with the ACLU of Florida and Equality Florida. His clients have included students, teachers, families, small businesses, filmmakers, and musicians. Jones continues promoting the collaborative process dispute resolution method, and during practice, he was the Vice President for the Florida Academy of Collaborative Professionals and a founder and president of West Florida Collaborative Professionals.

In addition to his academic scholarship, Jones has published short stories and was a two-time finalist for the Florida Writing Association’s Royal Palm Literary Awards for short fiction. He also served as a Royal Palm Literary Awards judge, in other categories, for three years. His fiction has appeared in Chelsea Station Magazine, Hedgehogs & Foxes, The Emerald Coast Review, The Florida Writer, and FWA Collection #6. Jones has also produced documentary films and reality television programs. Jones often helps others as an editor and writing coach.

For 16 years, and during practice and other projects, Jones served as an adjunct professor at Virginia College, Pensacola State College, and the University of West Florida. His classes have included family law, Constitutional law, evidence, trusts and estates, real estate law, legal writing for paralegals, and law office technology. He joined California Western School of Law in 2021 and teaches 1L and upper-level writing courses. Before joining CWSL, Jones was a Visiting Assistant Clinical Professor at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law.

Jones is a member of the California Bar and the Florida Bar.