Professors Ashley B. Armstrong, Robin Boyle-Laisure, Rosa Castello, Louis Jim, Colleen Parker, and Dean Rachel H. Smith, presented at the 2026 Empire State Legal Writing Conference, hosted by Fordham University School of Law on May 21st-22nd. This regional, biennial conference showcased thoughtful discussions and engaging presentations on legal writing pedagogy, the NextGen Bar Exam, Generative AI, and other current topics shaping legal education and practice.
On the first day of programming, Professors Castello and Armstrong presented Teaching What Scares Them (and Us): Tackling Complex Law Through Low-Stakes Assignments. Their talk explored what it means to embrace—rather than avoid—the most challenging areas of substantive law in legal writing courses. They offered participants a variety of thoughtfully designed, low-stakes assignments for preparing students to engage in sophisticated analysis in major legal writing projects, intended to build students’ confidence by scaffolding knowledge and increasing doctrinal fluency.
After lunch, Dean Smith kicked off the afternoon with Unmuting the “Textrovert”: Engaging the Quiet Gen Z Law Student. Smith introduced participants to the “Textrovert”: diligent, bright, yet silent. Their quietness isn’t disengagement; it’s a preference for synchronous, written communication. In this session, Smith demonstrated how to engage these students through shared google docs, anonymous discussion boards, and text triage.
Later that afternoon, Professors Parker and Jim spoke on a panel: A Middle Road Between SlopGPT and PicassoGPT? Panelists presented a range of optimistic and skeptical research and views on the role and effect of GenAI on the law school experience. Professor Jim explained the risk that GenAI use may have on the development of critical thinking skills while Professor Parker focused on how GenAI, if used responsibly and with human collaboration, could promote student success and well-being.
The following day, on May 22nd, Professor Boyle-Laisure presented her work-in-progress, Human Trafficking is a Feminist Issue, at the Empire State Legal Writing Conference’s ALWD Scholars Forum. She opened the forum by connecting feminist theory with systemic issues revealed by the Jeffrey Epstein files, Sean “Diddy” Combs case, and the implications of broad immunity afforded to online platforms.
