Catherine Wasson, associate professor of law and director of the legal writing and research program at Elon Law, spoke at the 7th Biennial Conference of the Association of Legal Writing Directors, held July 16-18 at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Wasson presented jointly with two colleagues, Nancy Soonpaa, director of the Legal Practice Program at Texas Tech University School of Law, and Grace Tonner, Associate Dean of Lawyering Skills at the University of California – Irvine School of Law.
Speaking on “Stuck in the Middle with You – & You…& You…: The Legal Writing Director as Middle Manager,” Wasson identified the challenges that legal writing directors face in their role as middle managers. The program included several role-plays designed to highlight some specific problems confronted by professors who function both as teachers and as administrators.
Wasson is the co-author of “A Practical Guide to Legal Writing and Legal Method.” A third edition of the book was released in 2007 by Aspen Publishers.
The Association of Legal Writing Directors, (ALWD) is a non-profit professional association of directors of legal reasoning, research, writing, analysis, and advocacy programs from law schools throughout the United States, Canada and Australia. ALWD currently has more than 200 members representing more than 150 law schools.
– Tiffany N. Dyson, L’11