Joan Rocklin, a clinical professor in Oregon Law’s top-ranked Legal Research and Writing (LRW) program, was formally presented with the 2024 Influential Teaching Award at the Legal Writing Institute’s 2024 biennial conference in July. 

The Influential Teaching Award recognizes individuals in the legal writing academy who are outstanding teachers and who have influenced the teaching of legal writing beyond their individual classrooms.

In a press release announcing the 2024 award, board members from the Legal Writing Institute said that Professor Rocklin “has made a substantial impact on legal-writing education through her textbooks, presentations, and workshops. Her teaching style is both effective and inspiring, with a lasting influence on students and professors nationwide. Many legal writing professors credit [her] with shaping their teaching methods, and her textbooks, such as A Lawyer Writes and An Advocate Persuades, are considered some of the most popular legal writing texts in use today.”

They added that her “mentorship of new teachers, coupled with her compassionate yet challenging approach, has set a high standard for legal writing education. Her balance of authority and openness, along with her professionalism and approachability, has made her a respected figure in the legal writing community.”

In response to learning she would be receiving the award, Rocklin said she was overwhelmed. “The legal writing community includes so many amazing teachers—including all my colleagues at Oregon Law. It’s a tremendous honor to be recognized in this way,” she said.  

“Because Joan’s books are some of the most popular texts in LRW classes across the country, she not only has a huge impact on our students, but she is an influential teacher at law schools nationwide,” Oregon Law LRW Clinical Professor Megan McAlpin added.

For Rocklin, the greatest reward in teaching comes from feedback she receives from her students each fall. “Oregon Law students return from their summer jobs stating that they were prepared and that their employers were exceedingly happy with the work they produced. That our students are prepared and excel in their jobs is the greatest tribute.”

At Oregon Law, Professor Rocklin has taught Legal Research and Writing I and II and upper-level writing classes including Intensive Writing, Legal Drafting, and Legal Writing for the Bar, a class that prepares students for the Bar. In 2015, she was awarded the School of Law’s Orlando J. Hollis Award for excellence in teaching.