Legal Writing Program
Legal Writing Overview
Our dedicated staff of experienced professors is committed to making every student a better writer. We have developed a rigorous, three-semester program that engages students with real-world assignments.
These assignments—and the detailed feedback from the professors—are designed to make students “practice ready” for their summer internships or post-JD positions. Through this effort, VLGS students have a regional and national reputation for excellence in legal writing. We encourage you to explore these pages to learn how our program can help you master the art of legal writing.
VLGS is One of the Top Law Schools for State Court Clerkships – Law360 and The Princeton Review
Writing Competitions and Other Resources
Student Writing Competition Portal
Law Journals
Vermont Law Review
The Vermont Law Review is a student-edited legal journal published quarterly under the guidance of five senior student editors and in collaboration with Vermont Law and Graduate School faculty.
Vermont Journal of Environmental Law
The Vermont Journal of Environmental Law is a student-run organization that seeks to provide an accessible forum to discuss contemporary environmental issues and environmental justice.
Professor Accomplishments
Director Greg Johnson served on the planning committee for the biennial conference of the Association of Legal Writing Directors. The conference took place in Phoenix, Arizona, in July 2025. The planning committee spent a year working on every detail of the conference. The conference was a great success, bringing together legal writing professors from across the country to discuss emerging trends in the discipline.
Greg Johnson was also re-elected to the Executive Committee of the American Association of Law Schools Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research. Greg also serves as the co-chair of the Distinguished Speakers Committee of the Association of Legal Writing Directors.
Professor Anna Connolly recently published the following writing-related articles:
- Anna F. Connolly, AI, Legal Writing, and the Power of Constraints (Vermont Bar Journal, Summer 2026)
- Anna F. Connolly, Write On: Get Out of the Shadows–Break Up Legal Research and Writing (Vermont Bar Journal, Summer 2025)
- Anna F. Connolly, Context Matters for Deep Knowledge: What Cognitive Science Can Teach Us About Legal Writing, 68 St. Louis U. L.J. 475 (2024).
- Anna F. Connolly, Match Mindsets for Better Communication (Vermont Bar Journal, Summer 2024)
Professor Connolly presented an article at Fordham Law School in May 2026 that applies research on deep work and productivity to legal writing curricula. She also presented a paper about inclusive language at a conference at Duke Law School in May 2025.
Professor Jessica Durkis-Stokes JD’04 was excited to appear alongside co-authors Professor Amy Vorenberg and Attorney Jessica Brown on an episode of the podcast Deconstructing Rape on June 9, 2025, to discuss their textbook on sexual violence and the law entitled, “Utmost Resistance: Examining Sexual Violence Law in the United States” (Carolina Academic Press 2024). The podcast was hosted by Professor Emiritus Sally J. Kenney of Tulane University, and supported by the Newcomb Institute and Tulane University, and was geared toward explaining why the vast majority of sexual assaults go unreported and unprosecuted, despite decades of law reform and the #MeToo Movement.
In February 2025, Professor Mike Kovac taught a three-week course at Parul University in Gujarat, India. Less than a week after that course concluded, he traveled to Bratislava to teach at Comenius University, Slovakia’s top law school. Finally, in June 2025, he received a Fulbright grant to teach at KIMEP University in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Claire Andrews’s fifth novel, A LOVELY AND DEADLY DANCE will be published on August 11, 2026, by Little, Brown Young Readers.
Student Accomplishments
Liliana Segura JD’26 Wins 2026 ABA Health Law Section Law Student Writing Competition
The Legal Writing Department is incredibly proud to share that a paper Liliana Segura JD’26 wrote for the Advanced Legal Writing class, “Drugs Ex Machina: Rethinking Inventorship in the Age of AI Pharmaceuticals” has been selected as the 1st place winner of the ABA Health Law Section Law Student Writing Competition. Congratulations, Liliana!
Amanda Tynan JD’25 Wins Burton Award for Distinguished Legal Writing
We are delighted to announce that Amanda Tynan JD’25 has won the Burton Award for Distinguished Legal Writing. The Burton Award is the most prestigious award in legal writing. Law schools across the country compete, with each school submitting one nominee. From this large pool, the award committee selects fifteen winners. The Burton Award honored Amanda for her Vermont Law Review Note, The Silence of Extinction: What the Kaua’i ‘Ō’ō’s Final Song Can Teach Us About Critical Habitat Designations Under the Endangered Species Act. In her Note, Amanda argues that Congress should amend the Endangered Species Act to reflect the impact of climate change on the habitat of endangered species. The Note discusses a range of species whose habitat has been altered by climate change. But the anchor of the paper is the poignant story of the now-extinct Kaua’i ‘Ō’ō. “In 1983,” Amanda writes, “the last male ‘Ō’ō’ sang out for a mate that would never come.” Congratulations Amanda!
Against stiff, national competition, VLGS students have won the Burton Award seven times in the last thirteen years. This is a high honor and a worthy recognition of our accomplished student writers. Keep up the good work!
VLGS Students Excel in National Moot Court Competitions
“It was an honor to represent Vermont Law and Graduate School in the National Moot Court Competition. The experience was invaluable. Our group was given the opportunity to hone legal research, writing, and oral advocacy skills that will benefit us throughout our professional careers.” – Allyson Cohen JD’25
Faculty
Anna F. Connolly
- Associate Professor of Law
Jessica Durkis-Stokes JD’04
- Associate Professor of Law
- Title IX Coordinator
Catherine Fregosi JD’16
- Professor of Law
- Assistant Director of Legal Writing
Greg Johnson
- Director, Legal Writing Program
- Professor of Law
Michael Kovac
Claire Andrews
- Program Coordinator
Legal Writing News and Events
Legal Writing Professor Michael Kovac Earns Prestigious Fulbright Specialist Award
December 12Vermont Law and Graduate School (VLGS) Professor Michael Kovac recently received a Fulbright Specialist Program Award from the U.S. Department of State and Fulbright Foreign S…
VLGS Reflects on Hosting the 2025 New England Legal Writing Conference
September 24On Friday, September 12, the Legal Writing Department at Vermont Law and Graduate School (VLGS) hosted the New England Legal Writing Conference. This year’s theme was Legal …
Meet the Speakers: 2025 New England Legal Writing Conference
September 10Vermont Law and Graduate School (VLGS) is proud to host professors from near and far for the the 2025 New England Legal Writing Conference. This year’s theme is …
Faculty and Staff in the News – July 2025
August 4Below is a selection of recent news highlights featuring members of Vermont Law and Graduate School’s faculty and staff. Human Rights Economy: A Solution to Economic Cru…
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