Christine Lorillard

A former lecturer at the University of California, Los Angeles, Christine Metteer Lorillard also served as an editorial consultant for BFA Educational Media before joining Southwestern's faculty in 1979. Over the ensuing three decades, she has been instrumental in the development of and new faculty training for the law school's comprehensive legal writing program. She also served for many years as faculty advisor to the PLEAS Program, Southwestern's unique part-time day division for students with child care responsibilities. She became Professor Emeritus in 2013.

Professor Lorillard is particularly active in the greater legal writing community and has conducted special seminars or chaired panel presentations for the California Young Lawyers Association, the Los Angeles Women Lawyer's Association, the Modern Language Association, the Conference on Legal Writing, the Conference on College Communication and Composition, and other professional writing forums. She has served on the board of directors of the Legal Writing Institute and the board of editors for the Institute's journal.

Professor Lorillard approaches legal writing from the point of view of the function and intended audience of the document, and believes that "all legal writing is undertaken to make something happen, to influence future events. Good legal writing accomplishes that, whether in an objective memorandum, influencing a firm's decision about whether to take a case to trial; in a trial brief, influencing the way existing law should be applied to a particular case; or in an appellate brief, influencing the law a state will create or adopt." She points out, "In the process of developing strong legal writing skills, students learn how to express themselves effectively and efficiently."

For over a decade Professor Lorillard has pursued a strong interest in both Native American and Children's Rights. Her research has resulted in scholarly articles on the Indian Child Welfare Act, adoption law, and on factors determining "Indian" status for federal rights and benefits. Her current scholarship is focused on International Children's Rights and Fourth Amendment Rights of Children in the Public School System.