Judges at all levels should use emotional intelligence as their rhetorical framework in writing opinions and orders. Associate Dean Anne Mullins, the 2024-25 Galen Distinguished Guest in Legal Writing, made this argument in presenting her current article to the faculty on Monday, September 23, 2024. Doing so can ensure that parties feel heard and enhance the legitimacy of the judicial system.

Oregon Law welcomed Dean Mullins back to Eugene, where she began her academic career in 2011-13 as a popular visitor in Oregon Law’s top-ranked Legal Research and Writing Program. After moving first to the University of North Dakota School of Law, she now teaches at Stetson University College of Law, where she is a Professor of Law and serves as Associate Dean for Assessment and Professional Engagement. 

During her three-day visit as the Galen Distinguished Guest, she engaged with faculty, administrators, and students. Dean Mullins presented her current article, “Writing Judiciously,” to the faculty during a noontime colloquium. Earlier in the day, she offered tips to new journal students writing their first scholarly article. Dean Mullins also engaged with faculty and administrators committed to professional identity formation, sharing the innovative Stetson Inns program, which matches students with senior faculty to guide them in the exploration of their emerging professional identities. Throughout the visit, she met frequently with LRW colleagues to discuss scholarship and teaching.

Dean Mullins’s visit was funded by the Galen Endowment for the Advancement of Legal Writing, which brings distinguished professors, judges, and lawyers to Oregon Law each year. The Galen Endowment was established through generous gifts from alumnus Morris Galen (’50) and colleagues seeking to honor him.