Students at The John Marshall Law School in Chicago have founded a chapter of Scribes, the American Society of Legal Writers. The John Marshall chapter is the second student chapter in the country.
“As students at John Marshall, we recognize the importance of legal writing and are lucky to have a top-ranked legal writing program,” said first-year law student Chelsea Button, the chapter president. “With so many resources at our disposal and a desire to improve our skills, we founded the Scribes Chapter so we have even more tools to grow as legal writers. We are lucky to have the faculty and staff here to encourage and support us.”
“Being one of two student chapters in the nation is a great honor,” said Button. “We hope to be a model for other schools who wish to begin their own student legal writing organizations.”
John Marshall faculty have a long tradition of leadership in national and international legal writing communities. Dean Darby Dickerson is the immediate past-president of Scribes and also serves on several committees with Professor Mark E. Wojcik, the current president-elect; and Associate Professor Maureen B. Collins, editor of The Scrivener.
John Marshall’s legal writing program is the only program in Illinois to be ranked in the top 20 by U.S. News & World Report. John Marshall’s Lawyering Skills Program is one of the most rigorous writing and research programs in the country, and it houses the largest in-school writing resource center in the U.S.
John Marshall’s faculty members are leaders in the legal writing field. Professor Kim Chanbonpin is the current president of the Legal Writing Institute and has a leadership role in the Association of Legal Writing Directors along with Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Anthony Niedwiecki. Dean Dickerson is the inaugural recipient of the Darby Dickerson Award for Revolutionary Change in Legal Writing, named by the Association of Legal Writing Directors to honor her contributions to legal writing; she is a past board member of the Association.
