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Pepperdine | Caruso School of Law
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Stephanie Williams

Professor of Legal Research and Writing
Director of AI Innovation
Director of Legal Research and Writing Program
Caruso School of Law
818.312.0796
/faculty-research/content/stephanie-williams-cv.pdf

Biography

Professor Williams teaches Legal Research and Writing, Bias in Legal Analysis, and Advanced Legal Analysis and Writing. She also advises several student organizations, including OUTlaw, the Iranian Law Students Association, and the Students for Reproductive Justice. Williams won 1L Professor of the Year twice, and she loves teaching writing and legal analysis. Williams has been active in the CSOL Generative AI program and was the CSOL pilot faculty for our Canvas LMS. She also likes mentoring law students and new lawyers. Prof. Williams participated in the Nootbaar Institute Faith and Justice Spring Break Alabama Trip in 2026 and will help lead the trip again in 2027. 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

 

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  • 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-editor and co-author, Legal Argumentation: Reasoning and Writing About the Law, open source textbook (CALI 2025).

  • Co-author, How can artificial intelligence support instruction of legal reading and writing: A white paper, forthcoming in the Computers & Education: Artificial Intelligence journal
  • Co-Author, Criticism of Non-Exam Pathway is Thinly Veiled Protectionism, L.A. Daily Journal (Aug. 04, 2022)
  • Lead Author, Legal Writing Institute’s LWI Lives, with profiles of national leaders in LRW education in December 2021, May 2021, and December 2020
  • 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)
  • Legal Writing Institute Biennial Conference at Minnesota Law, “Care to Comment?” on Best Practices in Grading, July 17, 2026
  • Lorman Education national webinars, presented: Advanced Legal Writing II, May 2026; Advanced Legal Writing I (May 2025); Bias in Legal Analysis and Writing (May 2024)
  • Frost LLP: Clear and Persuasive Writing Seminar (October 2025)
  • Large forensic accounting firm Gursey LLP: Intensive Persuasive Writing Workshop (May 2025); Writing Persuasive Declarations (June 2024)
  • Legal Writing Institute Leadership Academy 2025: Generative AI Panel
  • CALIcon 2025 Empower, Enlighten, Evolve, presented OER, OA typesetting, nine editors & nine authors: What could go wrong? With Brian Larson, Joshua Jones, and Krista Bordatto (June 6, 2025)
  • Success in Legal Research and Writing national Westlaw webinar presenter (Sept. 22, 2023)

Topics

  • Legal Research & Writing