Oregon Law has selected Clinical Professor Joan Rocklin as the director of its No. 1-ranked Legal Research and Writing (LRW) Program, elevating one of the nation’s most respected legal writing educators to lead a program she has helped shape for twenty-five years.
Rocklin succeeds Professor Suzanne Rowe, whose leadership helped establish Oregon Law’s reputation as the nation’s premier legal writing program.
"For decades, the strength of Oregon Law's LRW Program has been the result of our talented, dedicated faculty focused on preparing students to excel in practice. Joan is a remarkable teacher whose commitment to the students is unparalleled. Under her leadership, the LRW Program will continue to set the gold standard for legal writing education nationwide," said Dean Jennifer W. Reynolds.
National Influence and Impact
Rocklin’s influence extends well beyond Oregon Law. Her books, A Lawyer Writes and An Advocate Persuades, are used in law schools across the country, reaching more than one-third of all first-year law students.
Her impact extends far beyond the classroom. In 2024, the Legal Writing Institute honored her with its Influential Teaching Award, which recognizes educators whose work shapes legal writing instruction nationwide. Her commitment to teaching excellence also earned recognition from Oregon Law. In 2015, she received the Orlando J. Hollis Award for Excellence in Teaching, one of the law school’s highest honors.
Rocklin has continued to stay connected to former students, including Dan Auerbach, JD '05, who started at Oregon Law in Rocklin’s first year of teaching and reflected on that time.
“Professor Rocklin was the reprieve many of us needed. She was genuinely enthusiastic, brilliant in her teaching, and most importantly willing to take the worst writers ever to be admitted to that great institution and work with them to develop the most important skill a law student can learn – to be an effective writer,” said Auerbach, an attorney with Browning, Kaleczyc, Berry & Hoven, P.C. in Missoula, Montana. “I cannot imagine a more qualified, committed person to serve as the leader and ambassador for such an esteemed program as Oregon Law’s LRW program.”
Looking to the Future
Throughout her career, Rocklin has paired academic excellence with professional leadership and service. She has served as a board director for the Legal Writing Institute, the largest organization of legal writing professors in the nation, and as secretary to the Association of American Law Schools Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research.
She continues to shape the future of legal education through her work, including developing performance tests for the NextGen Uniform Bar Exam.
As director, Rocklin will lead a program widely regarded as the gold standard in legal writing education. She will do so alongside a faculty whose collective accomplishments continue to shape the field. Clinical Professors Rebekah Hanley, Megan McAlpin, Liz Frost, and Bryan Dearinger are recognized for national contributions spanning artificial intelligence, legal pedagogy, NextGen Uniform bar prep, online legal education, and experiential learning.
Oregon Law’s ability to select the next director from within its ranks reflects the depth of talent and expertise that have long distinguished the law school’s Legal Research and Writing faculty. Under Rocklin’s leadership, the program will continue the innovation, rigor, and student-centered teaching that has made it a nationally top-ranked program for over two decades.
“I consider our program’s greatest success to be the quality of lawyers we have sent out into the world,” Rocklin said. “I’m honored to continue that legacy.”