Kathleen Elliott Vinson
Professor Vinson is Professor of Legal Writing and Director of Legal Writing, Research, and Written Advocacy at Suffolk University Law School where she has taught for over twenty-five years. She is a Past President of the Association of Legal Writing Directors, a past Chair of the AALS section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research, a past Board member of the Legal Writing Institute, and a former Editorial Board Member of Legal Writing: The Journal of the Legal Writing Institute, the LWI Monograph Series, and LWI’s The Second Draft. Professor Vinson also has served on the Executive Board of the AALS section on Balance and Well-Being in Legal Education.
The Thomas F. Blackwell Award is presented annually to a person who has made an outstanding contribution to improve the field of legal writing by demonstrating (1) an ability to nurture and motivate students to excellence; (2) a willingness to help other legal writing educators improve their teaching skills or their legal writing programs; and (3) an ability to create and integrate new ideas for teaching and motivating legal writing educators and students. Kathy embodies those traits as a teacher, a leader, and a colleague. As two of her nominators stated:
Professor Vinson has had a profound impact on inspiring and empowering legal writing faculty across the country to step into and thrive in leadership roles at their institutions. She has set an outstanding example as a teacher, program director, and vibrant voice in the legal writing academy through her thoughtful, inclusive, and methodological approach to pedagogical decisions, programmatic growth, and championing the well-being of students and teachers. Professor Vinson is an educational visionary, a wonderful and supportive collaborator, a tireless worker, and a creative force for positive change in legal education.
Professor Vinson is a popular and transformative teacher who takes full advantage of innovations in technology to meet and engage students where they are and nurture and motivate excellence. As one former student noted:
The transition into legal writing, research, and oral advocacy is a daunting task that requires patience and perseverance from both the student and the professor. While all students will be criticized on their path to mastering these essential skills, Professor Vinson’s uncanny ability to tailor her feedback to every student continuously motivated us to refine our technique. Her passion for legal writing and personal investment in the success of her students inspired us to arrive to class energized and ready to understand our mistakes. In the classroom, Professor Vinson fostered an inclusive and dynamic environment that gave every voice equal attention and respect.
Professor Vinson also nurtures other legal educators, both inside Suffolk’s own Legal Practice Skills Program and in the broader legal-writing community. As one nominator wrote:
As the Director of Suffolk’s LPS program, Kathy has done an outstanding job of promoting the professional development of the legal writing professors at Suffolk in their teaching, scholarship, and service. By modeling excellence and leading by example in all three areas she sets a high bar and raises everyone’s game. At the same time, her highly collaborative approach creates a sense of community that values each person's contributions and inspires creativity and innovation, especially in our teaching. She also encourages each of us to flourish in our own right and within the context of our individual passions.
Professor Vinson’s mentoring is wide ranging and inclusive, as other nominators detail:
With respect to scholarship, Kathy has reviewed or provided guidance on nearly every piece I’ve written—five journal articles and countless short pieces, blogs, and essays. In addition, Kathy has given many of those in the Suffolk Legal Writing Program a voice by including our faculty members in the “Law FaculTEAS” podcast, which Kathy developed and moderates. In the classroom, Kathy has encouraged me to develop a transactional skills module for the LPS faculty and has been instrumental in helping institutionalize the module at the school.
Kathy is the kind of leader who understands that the tent is big enough for all of us to be successful. She creates and maintains personal relationships with legal writing faculty across the country. She has co-authored with and presented with a large number of legal writing faculty, helping them to branch out and reach an even wider audience. She is inclusive and innovative, constantly moving the field of writing forward. I have seen Kathy successfully advocate for writing faculty and for writing programs, including the program she developed and has directed for years.
Far from growing complacent after many years in the profession, Professor Vinson continues to create and innovate to motivate, educate, and inspire:
Every time I sense our LPS program is coming to a standstill, Prof. Vinson is the first to suggest a new change or improvement or different approach to our teaching. Her genuine love for what she does, and who she does it with (and for), is evident—and it’s contagious, both within Suffolk Law and the national legal writing community.
Rather than becoming complacent, Kathy finds new ways to challenge herself and her colleagues to do better and be better. I have personally benefitted from her wisdom, guidance, and suggestions over many years, and I know a large number of writing faculty across the country who can say the same thing.
As one nominator aptly summarizes:
I knew and fondly remember Thomas Blackwell, and in my view, Kathy Vinson is an outstanding professor and a very worthy recipient of the Blackwell Award. She has made countless contributions to the legal writing community on a national, local, and individual level, and she does so with passion, vision, and humor.
These represent just a small sampling of the many accolades and words of appreciation that supported Professor Vinson’s nomination.
