Melissa Weresh Profile

• Dwight D. Opperman Distinguished Professor of Law
• Herb and Karen Baum Chair of Ethics in the Profession

515-271-3926
melissa.weresh@drake.edu

Areas of Expertise

Legal Writing, Appellate Advocacy, Environmental Law, Ethics and Professional Responsibility

Education

JD – University of Iowa College of Law, Order of Coif, Law Review
BA – Wake Forest University, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa

Professional Experience

Drake Law School professor since 1997
Associate at Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs

Selected Publications

• Stargate: Malleability as a Threshold Concept in Legal Education, 63 J. Leg. Educ. 689 (2014)
• Stars Upon Thars: Evaluating the Discriminatory Impact of ABA Standard 405(c), “Tenure-Like” Security of Position, 34 Law and Inequality: A Journal of Theory and Practice 137 (2016)
• Wait, What?: Harnessing the Power of Redirection in Persuasion, 15 Leg. Comm. and Rhetoric: JALWD (2018)
• Gauzy Allegory and the Construction of Gender, William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender and Social Justice (2018)
• Two Sides of the Coin–Exploring Dyadic Emotions in Immigration and Alienage Jurisprudence, 54 Wake Forest L. Rev. 1197 (2019)
• Ethos at the Intersection: Classical Insights for Contemporary Application, 20 Nevada L. J. (forthcoming 2020)

Significant Accomplishments

• 2017 Recipient of the Thomas F. Blackwell Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Legal Writing
• 2009 American Inns of Court Warren E. Burger Prize for Legal Scholarship
• 2019, 2021 Drake University Law School Stevens Faculty Scholar of the Year
• Editorial Board Member: JOURNAL OF LEGAL EDUCATION
• Editorial Board Member: LEGAL COMMUNICATION & RHETORIC: JALWD
• University of Iowa College of Law Alumni Service Award (2010)
• Past President of the Legal Writing Institute
• Past Chair of the American Association of Law Schools Section on Teaching Methods

Additional Information

Melissa Weresh Curriculum Vitae