Advanced Legal Writing: Theories and Strategies in Persuasive Writing, Third Edition

Michael Smith has been a Professor of Law and the Director of Legal Writing at the University of Wyoming College of Law since 2006. Prof. Smith administers the law school's legal writing program and teaches classes in Legal Writing, Appellate Advocacy, and Advanced Persuasive Writing. Before joining the University of Wyoming College of Law, Professor Smith taught in two nationally ranked legal writing programs. Immediately prior to joining the University of Wyoming, he was an Associate Professor of Law at Mercer University School of Law, where he helped design Mercer’s innovative legal writing curriculum. In 2005, the first year legal writing programs were rated, Mercer’s program was rated number 1 in the nation (tied with Seattle) by U.S. News and World Report. Since then, the program that Professor Smith helped to design at Mercer has consistently ranked in the top five in the nation.

Before joining Mercer, Professor Smith taught legal writing at Temple University School of Law. Temple’s legal writing program, too, has consistently been ranked in the top five in the country. Before joining the Temple faculty, Professor Smith was on the law faculties of two other law schools: The University of San Diego College of Law (1992-1996); and The University of Florida College of Law (1990-1992). Prior to teaching law, he practiced law in Pensacola, Florida with the law firm of Carlton, Fields, Ward, Emmanuel, Smith & Cutler and in Newport Beach, California with the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.

Professor Smith's primary areas of scholarly interest are the psychology of persuasion and, more generally, the cognitive processes underlying effective legal writing. He has written extensively in these areas and has given numerous presentations, both in the United States and abroad. In 2002, Smith published his book, Advanced Legal Writing: Theories and Strategies in Persuasive Writing (Aspen Publishing 2002). This multi-disciplinary book has been hailed as a groundbreaking work in the area of persuasive legal writing and, as one reviewer noted, "a must-read for every legal writing and advocacy teacher." In 2008, Professor Smith published the Second Edition of this book.