Group photo of the Legal Method and Writing Team

Legal Method and Writing

Ranked No. 4 in the nation for legal writing

U.S. News and World Report

The Legal Method and Writing program is an integral part of the JD curriculum at ASU Law. Our program is designed to ensure practice-ready students who are well-equipped to succeed when they begin externships, summer jobs, clerkships, and legal careers.

The Legal Method and Writing program includes two required first-year courses that lay the foundation for success in future writing experiences, including journals and moot court competitions. Indeed, ASU students have won numerous national writing awards. In addition to the first-year curriculum, the program offers a diverse selection of elective courses that enrich the writing experiences for students in their second and third years.

U.S. News and World Report currently ranks the ASU Legal Method and Writing program No. 4 in the nation. Our full-time faculty have more than 200 years of combined teaching experiences and our small class sizes facilitate in-depth instruction and individualized feedback.

Legal Method and Writing stats postcard

Elective course offerings

  • Advanced Legal Research
  • Advanced Legal Writing: ADR Drafting
  • Advanced Legal Writing: Creating Legal Change
  • Advanced Legal Writing: Litigation
  • Advanced Legal Writing: Persuasion
  • Appellate Advocacy
  • Contract Drafting and Negotiating
  • Indian Legal Research
  • Intensive Legal Research and Writing
  • Writing for Judicial Clerks
  • Writing for Law Practice

ASU Legal Method and Writing Innovative Ideas for Advanced Legal Writing Workshops

Workshop #1: Friday, Sept. 16: Innovative Ideas for Advanced Legal Writing Courses. This workshop will features panelists that have created unique and innovative upper level writing courses.

Presenters:

  • Rosa Kim, professor of legal writing, Suffolk University School of Law

  • Mary Bowman, clinical professor of law, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University

  • Patricia Winograd, associate clinical professor of Law, Loyola Law School

  • Kim Holst, clinical professor of law, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University

Workshop #2: Friday, Oct. 21: Innovative Ideas for to Implement within Advanced Legal Writing Courses. This workshop features panelists that incorporate unique and innovative exercises or methods in traditional upper level writing courses.

Presenters:

  • Sarah Ricks, distinguished clinical professor of law, Rutgers Law School
  • Kirsten Davis, professor of law; co-director, Institute for the Advancement of Legal Communication; faculty director, Online Legal Education Strategies, Stetson University College of Law
  • Tessa Dysart, assistant director of legal writing and clinical professor of law, University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law
  • Susan Chesler, clinical professor of law, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University

Signature event

Judy Stinson smiling while sitting in chair

Judy Stinson Lecture

The Judy Stinson Lecture is an annual event featuring a legal scholar hosted by ASU Law. The lecture series is named after Judy Stinson, who retired in 2020 after teaching legal writing for 27 years. Our inaugural lecture, "Justice Sotomayor’s Rhetoric of Settings," was presented by Linda Berger, Professor of Law Emerita at UNLV, on March 25, 2021.

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Expertise

Mary Bowman

Mary Bowman
Clinical Professor of Law

Charles Calleros

Charles Calleros
Professor and Alan A. Matheson Fellow in Law

Andrew Carter

Andrew Carter
Clinical Professor of Law

Susan Chesler

Susan Chesler
Clinical Professor of Law

Ann Ching

Ann Ching
Assoc Clinical Professor of Law

Alyssa Dragnich

Alyssa Dragnich
Clinical Professor of Law

Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff

Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff
Associate Clinical Professor of Law

Tamara Herrera

Tamara Herrera
Associate Dean of Academic Affairs

Kimberly Holst

Kimberly Holst
Clinical Professor of Law

Amy Langenfeld

Amy Langenfeld
Clinical Professor of Law

Sue McMahon

Sue McMahon
Associate Clinical Professor of Law

Chad Noreuil

Chad Noreuil
Clinical Professor of Law

Rachel Stabler

Rachel Stabler
Associate Clinical Professor of Law

Judy Stinson

Judy Stinson
Emerita