2016-2017 Survey Results
Association of Legal Writing Directors & Legal Writing Institute
This report presents the results of the ALWD/LWI Annual Legal Writing Survey for 2016-2017. These results provide information about the legal research and writing faculty, programs, and courses at 182 North American law schools, representing approximately 88% of the law schools eligible to complete the survey and 89% of the law schools solicited to complete the survey.
Although ALWD and LWI have jointly conducted an annual survey of legal writing programs for more than two decades, this report is the product of a multi-year project to overhaul the Annual Survey with the goal of modernizing it and expanding the scope of information collected. With this overhaul, we believe the information provided in this report does a better job of reflecting the varied, complex, and unique circumstances at our institutions. Although the report is still admittedly an inexact composite of those circumstances, the survey results nevertheless show common practices and provide other valuable information about the current state of legal writing education in American law schools.
Overhauling the Annual Survey, collecting data with an entirely new survey instrument, and then reporting that data has been a major endeavor, requiring the efforts of many people over several years. The endeavor is described in more detail in the History of the Annual Survey section of this report, but we cannot pass up this opportunity to recognize those who dedicated their time and energy to this significant undertaking: Meredith Aden (University of Memphis Law School), Ted Becker (University of Michigan Law School), Ben Bratman (University of Pittsburgh Law School), Kim Chanbonpin (The John Marshall Law School), Ken Chestek (University of Wyoming College of Law), Maria Crist (University of Dayton School of Law), Kristin Knudsen (University of Alaska Anchorage), Jan Levine (Duquesne University School of Law), John Mollenkamp (Cornell Law School), Gail Mullins (University of Oklahoma College of Law), Peter Nemerovksi (University of North Carolina School of Law), Dyane O’Leary (Suffolk University Law School), Michael Oeser (Stetson University Collect of Law), Sharon Pocock (Touro College Law Center), Raul Fernandez-Calienes (St. Thomas University School of Law), Judy Rosenbaum (Northwestern University School of Law), Marci Rosenthal (Florida International University Law School), Susie Salmon (University of Arizona College of Law), Mary Rose Strubbe (IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law), and Tori Tabor (University of Houston Law Center).
Finally, we thank all of the designated responders from each school who took the time to respond to the 2016-2017 Survey. The valuable information this report provides would not be possible if it were not for the time and effort of those designated responders.
Jodi Wilson, University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law
Alyssa Dragnich, Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law Co-Chairs, Survey Committee