Academics

Dickinson Law expands roster of legal writing faculty

Tiffany Jeffers, a former Maryland assistant state’s attorney and 2008 alumna of Penn State's Dickinson Law, has joined the Dickinson Law faculty as assistant professor of legal writing.  Credit: Penn StateCreative Commons

CARLISLE, Pa. — Tiffany Jeffers, former assistant state’s attorney for Baltimore County, Maryland, has joined the faculty of Penn State’s Dickinson Law as assistant professor of legal writing. Jeffers, a 2008 Dickinson Law alumna, will teach Problem Solving II: The Lawyer as Writer and Problem Solving III: The Lawyer as Persuader. Both courses are part of Dickinson Law’s innovative required curriculum, which provides the cornerstone for the upper-level “The Lawyer As…” electives, organized around the substantive ways lawyers use their training.

“From drafting memoranda of law to crafting legal briefs in the context of real client situations, we recognize that the ability to understandably and effectively convey legal analysis and argument in written form is essential to lawyers regardless of their chosen career path,” said Gary S. Gildin, dean, Dickinson Law. “The addition of Professor Jeffers to our faculty reinforces our commitment to ensuring our students graduate with the foundational theoretical and doctrinal knowledge and legal writing skills necessary to produce clear, concise and effective communication.”

Jeffers brings a variety of legal practice experience to her teaching. Prior to joining the Dickinson Law faculty, Jeffers served as assistant state’s attorney at the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office in Ellicott City, Maryland. In this role, she conducted felony and misdemeanor jury and court trials before the District and Circuit Courts of Maryland, including opening statements, closing arguments, and direct and cross examinations of civilian and expert witnesses. She began her legal career as a judicial law clerk for the Hon. Zinora Mitchell-Rankin at the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

This past summer, Jeffers taught criminal procedure as an adjunct professor at American University – Washington College of Law.

“Lawyers that possess the ability to write persuasively can combine their written work with oral advocacy techniques to ensure that they are utilizing the most important skills necessary for success in the practice of law,” said Jeffers. “I seek to cultivate lawyers who are effective practitioners in the real world by teaching students how to think within an analytical framework and subsequently apply that analysis to their written work.”

Jeffers has participated on a variety of legal panels and has served as a guest lecturer at Dickinson Law and the University of Maryland School of Law. She also has completed numerous professional training programs and courses, as well as volunteer activities in various communities.

Jeffers graduated from Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, and earned her juris doctor from Penn State, The Dickinson School of Law. There she was comments editor of the Penn State Environmental Law Review, Shirley A. Hodge Memorial Scholarship recipient, and CALI Excellence for the Future award recipient. She also served as vice president for the Student Bar Association, was a member of the Black Law Students Association and Speakers Trust Board, worked as a student recruiter for the Office of Admissions, and completed a semester-in-practice in Washington, D.C.

Last Updated August 8, 2017

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