Five St. John’s legal writing faculty members presented at the Legal Writing Institute’s (LWI) Biennial Conference, held July 17th-20th, at the IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law, in Indianapolis. LWI is the nation’s largest organization of legal writing professionals. Over 350 members attended the conference.

In alphabetical order:

• Professor Ashley B. Armstrong presented her research on testing generative AI platforms in a discussion titled, “AI & Legal Writing: How it Started, How It’s Going.” Professor Armstrong also was a co-presenter on a panel about “The Contextual Case Method,” where she discussed critical case briefing, based on her recent essay: “The Stories We (Don’t) Tell: Using Case Briefing to Explore Bias and Oppression in the Law,” 28 Legal Writing: J. Legal Writing Inst. 377 (2024).

• In the Bench and Bar Track, Professor Robin Boyle co-presented on a panel, “Forging Pathways by Creating Opportunities for Student Engagement with the Bench & Bar.” She described the annual Student Scholars Program of the EDNY chapter of the Federal Bar Association, in which St. John’s law students regularly participate. She referenced her forthcoming article, Merging the Bench, Bar, and Law Schools: How a Student Scholars Program Achieves Professional Identity Through Scholarly Writing, Mentorship, and Presentation, with Professor Joan Foley (Touro) & EDNY chapter President, Troy Kessler, 93(1) UMKC L. Rev. __ (forthcoming Aug. 2024).

• Professor Louis Jim was a discussant in two discussion groups: “Assessments in the Legal Writing Classroom” and “The Challenges and Rewards of Teaching Legal Writing to First Gen Law Students.”

• In the Well-Being Track of the conference, Professor Colleen Parker presented for 60 minutes, followed by questions and answers, on “Infusing Well-Being into Legal Writing Courses.”

• Professor Rachel H. Smith participated in panels on “Next Gen Legal Research and Writing for the NextGen Bar Exam” and “Eliminating Problems in Problem Design,” which included a discussion of her recent essay, “Bad Cases/Good Assignments,” 36 The Second Draft No.2 (2023), a publication of The Legal Writing Institute.