Director of Legal Communication and Research and Professor in the College of Law Ian Gallacher has been awarded the 2018 Thomas F. Blackwell Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Legal Writing by the Association of Legal Writing Directors (ALWD) and the Legal Writing Institute (LWI).
Ian Gallacher
Created to honor the life of ALWD/LWI colleague Tom Blackwell, the award is given to a scholar who has made an outstanding contribution to improve the field of legal writing by demonstrating an ability to motivate students to excellence; a willingness to help other legal writing educators improve their skills; and an ability to create and integrate new ideas for teaching.
Gallacher was cited for his prominence in the field of legal writing, his involvement in editing legal writing journals, his work with peers on evaluation and his collaborations with other scholars to improve the field.
“In short,” reads the citation, “Ian is a product of multidisciplinary areas of study and scholarship, something he still plies to this day. He is a legal writing professor, a program director, a great lawyer, a great former conductor, a violist and violinist, and a gifted prodigious scholar who is very active within our community.”
“I am honored to be thought of in the same manner as Tom Blackwell, a vital influence and inspirational leader to the legal writing community,” says Gallacher. “I want to thank my colleagues who nominated me as I am truly touched that they hold me in such high regard. Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the many students who I’ve had the pleasure of teaching and mentoring.”
The Blackwell Award will be presented at the January 2018 meeting of the American Association of Law Schools in San Diego.
