Julie Ryan named associate director of LL.M. Legal Writing and Advocacy
- By Gilien Silsby
As she graded her law students’ legal writing papers late one evening, Julie Ryan’s husband asked her why she was smiling.
“I stopped for a second, and then told him that I felt truly happy,” said Ryan, an adjunct professor at USC Law for the past two years and the newly appointed associate director of LL.M. Legal Writing and Advocacy.
“I really love reading my students’ papers and teaching them. I am very content and fulfilled in the classroom. It seems so natural,” she added.
For the past five years, Ryan has been a partner at Russ August & Kabat in Los Angeles, where she was instrumental in developing the firm’s corporate practice and oversaw a wide array of international transactions. Before that, she was an associate at two international firms in Washington, D.C.
But despite her high-powered position, Ryan managed to find time to teach legal writing to LL.M. students as an adjunct professor at USC Law. She fell in love with teaching and decided to apply for a position when one recently opened up.
“I’m really looking forward to working even more closely with LL.M. students,” Ryan said. “The timing seemed perfect for a career change.”
USC Law and its LL.M. program are lucky to have someone of Ryan’s caliber, said Jean Rosenbluth, director of USC Law’s Legal Writing and Advocacy Program.
“She has practiced at the highest level in the area of law many of our LL.M. students hope to go into, international business transactions, and will be able to give them insightful and informed guidance in all of their studies,” Rosenbluth said.
Ryan, who is fluent in Spanish and French and speaks some Italian, will teach courses in legal writing and advocacy for foreign LL.M. students, including preparing lectures and guiding students through drafting, revising and editing legal memoranda and briefs. She will also critique and grade their writing drafts.
“LL.M. Legal Writing and Advocacy is one of the gems of our program,” said Deborah Call, associate dean Graduate & International Programs. “With every graduating class, our LL.M. students tell us that these courses are amongst the most valuable that they have taken during their studies. Having worked with Julie Ryan over the last two years, we know that she is precisely right for the position and we cannot wait for her to put her imprint on the program. We are most fortunate to have her join us.”
Ryan has worked and lived in cities throughout the world, giving her a unique advantage in her work with LL.M. students, who hail from more than 15 different countries.
Born in New York, Ryan grew up in England and later worked in Bogota, Colombia, and Montreux, Switzerland. She majored in speech communication at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, where she was named valedictorian. She earned her law degree at Georgetown University Law Center.
At Georgetown, Ryan was law fellow and student teacher for the international LL.M. legal writing program, and at Colorado State, she was assistant program director in the Office of International Programs.
“Julie is no stranger to teaching and her experiences living, working and teaching in Switzerland, England, and South America will enable her to relate to many of the challenges students from other countries face studying and practicing here in America,” Rosenbluth said.
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