Mary Beth Beazley

Associate Professor of Law; Director of Legal Writing

Professor Beazley came to Ohio State in 1988 after serving as co-director of the Legal Research, Writing, and Reasoning Program at Vermont Law School and as a research and writing instructor at the University of Toledo. She teaches Writing and Analysis, Appellate Advocacy, and Advanced Legal Writing, and she has coached the National Moot Court Team for many years.

Professor Beazley has authored a widely used textbook (A Practical Guide to Appellate Advocacy) and numerous articles, including The Self-Graded Draft: Teaching Students to Revise Using Self-Guided Critique. She served as the president of the Legal Writing Institute from 1998-00; she has also served as editor-in-chief and as a member of the editorial board of Legal Writing: The Journal of the Legal Writing Institute. She is currently the chair of the ABA's Communications Skills Committee. She will serve as president-elect of the Association of Legal Writing Directors (ALWD) during 2008-09, and as its president during 2009-10.

In January 2006 she was awarded the Thomas F. Blackwell award by the Legal Writing Institute and the Association of Legal Writing Directors. The Blackwell award recognizes a person who has made a contribution to the field of legal writing by demonstrating “an ability to create and integrate new ideas for teaching and motivating legal writing educators and students.” In June of 2008, she received the Burton Award for Outstanding Contributions to Legal Writing Education.