The Board of Directors of the Legal Writing Institute (LWI) is elated to announce Helene Shapo as the recipient of the 2024 Mary Lawrence Award. Professor Shapo is Professor of Law Emerita at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.

The Mary Lawrence Award recognizes an individual for a combination of pioneering scholarship and innovative curriculum or program design. It is named for Professor Emerita Mary S. Lawrence, longtime Director of Legal Writing and Research at the University of Oregon School of Law and an early Chair of the Association of American Law Schools Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research.

Helene Shapo embodies the spirit of the Mary S. Lawrence Award, which honors those who combine pioneering scholarship with innovative curriculum or program design.  Her 21-year leadership in building the Legal Research and Writing (LRW) program at Northwestern University has had a lasting impact on legal writing education. Helene's continuous innovations, derived from new pedagogical insights, have influenced developments at other schools, even to the point where some of her original ideas have become commonplace. 

Among her groundbreaking contributions are the establishment of an integrated curriculum, the use of full-time LRW faculty, and maintaining a low student-to-teacher ratio. This approach to curriculum design, focusing on quality instruction, has set a standard for legal writing programs nationwide. 

Helene's influence extends to her contributions to legal writing scholarship. She authored some of the earliest dedicated texts in the field, such as "Frontiers of Legal Writing: Challenges for Teaching Research" (1986), "Writing and Analysis in the Law" (first published in 1989), and "Writing for Law Practice" (first published in 2004). These books redefined what a legal writing text could be, moving beyond traditional grammar-based books and providing a broader perspective for teaching advanced legal writing courses. 

Helene's collaborations and friendships with other pioneers in the field, including Mary Lawrence herself, underscore her significant role in shaping legal writing education. Her dedication to developing a comprehensive and innovative approach to legal writing makes her a deserving recipient of the Mary S. Lawrence Award.

The LWI Board is grateful for the work of the LWI Awards Committee in identifying nominees and making recommendations to the Board. The Committee includes Chair Colin Black and members Cindy Archer, Janet Dickson, Caroleen Dineen, Lindsey Gustafson, Tamara Herrera, Liz Kukura, Karen Mika, Hilary Reed, and Nancy Soonpaa.

The recipient of the Mary Lawrence Award will be recognized at the 2024 LWI Biennial Conference at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis in July. You can join us in congratulating Helene directly by emailing her at h-shapo@law.northwestern.edu.