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Pepperdine | Caruso School of Law
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Stephanie Williams

Associate Professor of Legal Research and Writing
Caruso School of Law
818.312.0796

Biography

Professor Williams teaches Legal Research and Writing and Bias in Legal Analysis.  She also advises several student organizations, including the Iranian Law Students Association and the Students for Reproductive Justice. She loves teaching writing, and especially enjoys helping students learn how to apply legal writing techniques in all areas of legal analysis. She also likes mentoring law students and new lawyers. Perhaps most importantly, Williams believes food is love, and is always happy to bake and share treats, especially during finals weeks.

Before joining Pepperdine, Williams spent over 25 years teaching a variety of first-year and upperclass legal skills and ethics courses at law schools in Los Angeles and Chicago. Williams served as a General Counsel and practiced appeals at Sedwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold and Horvitz & Levy. Williams also clerked for Justice Ferdinand Fernandez of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, as well as for the District of Connecticut and the Illinois Appellate Court. She continues to work on pro bono matters in Los Angeles.

Williams has written briefs for the California Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, the Illinois Appellate Court, the Seventh and Ninth Circuits, and the United States Supreme Court. She has tried cases in California, Illinois, and Ohio. Williams has been published in several Law Reviews and has been honored to speak on topics in Legal Writing at Legal Writing Institute conferences.

Education

  • B.S. in Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University
  • J.D. cum laude, Loyola University Chicago School of Law

 

  • Bi-Weekly Blogger, Appellate Advocacy Blog, https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/appellate_advocacy, Law Professor Blogs Network (beginning August, 2019)
  • Daubert Provides Reasonable, Necessary Limits on "Junk Science" Expert Testimony, Med. Malpr. Law & Strategy 2 (Vol. XIX, No. 10, Aug. 2002).
  • Citation of Unpublished Decisions: The Ninth Circuit Offers Conflicting Opinions, Certworthy 1 (DRI, Summer 2002).
  • Radiologists' Liability Should Be Limited to Cases Where Mistake Was More than Error in Judgment, Med. Malpr. Law & Strategy 2 (Vol. XIX, No. 7, May 2002).
  • Recovery of Damages for "Filial Consortium" After the Death of a Child Should Be Limited, Med. Malpr. Law & Strategy 2 (Vol. XIX, No. 6, Apr. 2002).
  • The Ninth Circuit Cautions: Don't Be Seduced Into Citing Unpublished Decisions, 37 Tort & Insurance Prac. 8 (ABA, Spring 2002).
  • Liability for "Wrongful Life" Should Not Be Expanded to Negligence After Conception, Med. Malpr. Law & Strategy 2 (Vol. XIX, No. 3, Jan. 2002).
  • Corporate Hospital Liability for Attending Physicians' Negligence Should Not Be Expanded, Med. Malpr. Law & Strategy 2 (Vol. XIX, No. 1, Nov. 2001).
  • Physicians Should Have No Duty to Disclose Non-Recommended Procedures, Med. Malpr. Law & Strategy 2 (Vol. XVIII, No. 11, Sept. 2001).
  • Medical Community Informed Consent Standard Should Remain the Majority Rule, Med. Malpr. Law & Strategy 2 (Vol. XVIII, No. 10, Aug. 2001).
  • Co-Author, State High Court Justice Injects Reason into Punitive Damages Debate, with Ellis Horvitz, 11 Legal Opn. Letter 6 (June 2001).
  • The Use of Res Ipsa Loquitur Must Be Limited in Medical Malpractice Actions, Med. Malpr. Law & Strategy 2 (Vol. XVIII, No. 7, May 2001).
  • The Borrowed Servant Rule: Which "Captain" Is Liable?, Med. Malpr. Law & Strategy 2 (Vol. XVIII, No. 3, Jan. 2001).
  • Unpublished State Toxic Tort Ruling Offers Valuable Guidance (the Lockheed Litigation Cases), 15 Legal Backgrounder 49 (Oct. 2000).
  • Informed Consent Causation Standard Applies in Battery Cases Based on Lack of Consent to Surgery, Med. Malpr. Law & Strategy 12 (Vol. XV, No. 12, Oct. 1998).
  • Filing Amicus Curiae Briefs: A "Friend of the Court" Should Be a Friend Indeed, Tort & Insurance Prac. 18 (ABA Winter 1998).
  • Co-author: Toward a State Constitutional Check on Police Discretion: A Subjective Test for Pretextual Seizures, with Prof. Patricia Leary, 69 Temple L. Rev. 1007 (1996).
  • The Untimely Demise of the Involuntary Confession Material Witness Rule in Illinois, 14 N. Ill. U.L. Rev. 105 (1993).
  • Note, Voter Initiatives in Illinois: Where Are We after Chicago Bar Association v. State Board of Elections?, 22 Loy. U. Chi. L.J. 1119 (1991).
  • Co-Presenter, Writing in Discovery and the Arc of Litigation, Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, with Prof. David DeJute (July 14, 2020)
  • Presenter, Organizing, Hosting, and Preparing for Virtual Moot Court Competitions, William & Mary Law School Conference for Excellence in Teaching Legal Research & Writing Online (June 18, 2020).
  • Co-Presenter, You Had Me at Hello: Ten Tips For Teaching Students to Craft Powerful Introductory Emotional Hooks, with Prof. Maureen Johnson, Legal Writing Institute, One-Day Workshop at USC Law School (Dec. 4, 2015)

Topics

  • Legal Research & Writing