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The LRW Program

U.S. News Rates Oregon 10th Nationwide! The University of Oregon's Legal Research and Writing Program was recently ranked 10th in the nation!

Oregon's LRW Program Celebrates 30th Anniversary! The Legal Research and Writing Program at Oregon began in 1978 when Professor Mary Lawrence was hired to initiate this groundbreaking new program. Professor Lawrence led the program until 2000 and remains active in legal writing organizations nationally.

LRW Faculty

Rebekah Hanley, LRW professor
In March 2008, Hanley attended an international conference in Monterey, Mexico, where her presentation focused on teaching students who speak English as a foreign language. In April, she addressed a conference of appellate attorneys in Miami, Florida.

During the 2007-08 academic year, Hanley taught LRW and a new seminar in Animal Law. In the coming year, she will offer a new course in Judicial Writing. She is currently researching and writing in the areas of Animal Law and Legal Ethics.

Joan Malmud, LRW professor
Malmud led the popular "Workshop on Critiquing Student Work" at the national conference of the Legal Writing Institute this summer. More than 100 faculty from around the country participated.

Malmud is active nationally with legal writing organizations, especially the Legal Writing Institute and the Association of American Law Schools. She is serving as the Secretary of the AALS Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research.

Malmud is co-author of "A Lawyer Writes," a new textbook on legal writing. The book is being published by Carolina Academic Press, and it will be used at law schools across the country in the coming academic year.

Professor Emerita Mary Lawrence has been appointed to the Editorial Board of the Journal of the Legal Writing Institute with the title "Senior Editor." The position honors her lifelong commitment to the discipline of legal writing, her substantial editorial experience, and her vast knowledge of the subject of legal writing. She will serve through 2012.

Megan McAlpin, LRW professor
McAlpin recently hosted Judge David Schuman's preview of Oregon Supreme Court cases. She is currently developing a new course in legal drafting, which will be offered for the first time in Fall 2008. McAlpin has written for the Oregon State Bar Bulletin, and she is becoming active with the AALS Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research.

Suzanne Rowe, LRW director
Rowe writes a monthly column in the Oregon State Bar Bulletin, called The Legal Writer. Each column addresses a specific point of writing, including writer's block, passive voice, punctuation, and proofing professional documents.

Rowe has held major positions in the three most prestigious legal writing organizations. Currently, she serves on the Board of Directors of the Legal Writing Institute. She is a past-chair of the AALS Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research, and she served on the Board of Directors of the Association of Legal Writing Directors (ALWD).