Professor Smith's Presentations

Academic Presentations

“Introduction to Legal Writing,” presented to the Writing Consultants at the University of Wyoming Writing Center, Laramie, WY, October 6, 2017.

“Effective Written Advocacy,” presented at the 2017 Pathways to Professional Practice Event sponsored by the Wyoming State Bar, Cheyenne, WY, March 22, 2017.

“Clearing the Lens: Understanding Appellate Standard of Review by Exploring What It Isn’t,” presented to the Prosecution Assistance Program at the University of Wyoming College of Law, Laramie, WY, October 25, 2016.

“Writing and Publishing Books,” presented as a Faculty Presentation at the University of Wyoming College of Law, Laramie, WY, October 13, 2016 (panel presentation).

“Mastering Metaphor: An Exploration of the Levels of Metaphor in Persuasive Legal Writing,” presented at the 2016 Wyoming State Bar Annual Meeting, Laramie, Wyoming, September 15, 2016.

“Elements Tests and Factors Tests in Judicial Opinions,” presented at the 2016 Wyoming Judicial Conference, Laramie, Wyoming, September 13, 2016.

“The Devil You Know: The Power of Cognitive Uncertainty in Precautionary Policy Arguments,” presented at the 2016 Legal Writing Institute’s Biannual Legal Writing Conference, Portland, OR, July 11, 2016.

“Rhythm as Reason: The Power of Alliterative Antithesis in Legal Persuasion,” presented to the Teton County Bar Association, Jackson, Wyoming, May 23, 2016.

"Allegory: The Nexus of Metaphor and Narrative in Legal Persuasion," presented at the Narrative and Metaphor in Law Symposium, Stanford Law School, Palo Alto, CA, January 30, 2016.

"The Devil You Know: The Power of Cognitive Uncertainty in Policy-Based Persuasion," presented at The Psychology of Persuasion Conference, University of Wyoming College of Law, Laramie, WY, September 18, 2015.

"Growing the Law Through Innovative Legal Writing: The Process of Inducing New Rules from Case Law," presented at the 2015 Wyoming State Bar Annual Meeting, Jackson, WY, September 11, 2015.

"Allegory: The Nexus of Metaphor and Narrative in Legal Persuasion," presented at the Yale Conference of Fictional Discourse in Legal Theory and Practice, New Haven, CT, May 19, 2015.

"Logos, Pathos, and Ethos in Advertising: How Lawyers Can Better Understand the Processes of Persuasion by Observing Them in Exaggerated Form," plenary presentation by me as the ALWD Legal Communication and Rhetoric Visiting Scholar at Vermont Law School, South Royalton, VT, October 23, 2014.

"The Devil You Know: The Power of Cognitive Uncertainty in Policy-Based Persuasion," presented as a faculty colloquium by me as the ALWD Legal Communication and Rhetoric Visiting Scholar at Vermont Law School, South Royalton, VT, October 23, 2014.

"Clearing the Lens: Understanding Appellate Standard of Review by Exploring What It Isn't," presented as a CLE event by me as the ALWD Legal Communication and Rhetoric Visiting Scholar at Vermont Law School, South Royalton, VT, October 24, 2014.

"Logos, Pathos, and Ethos in Advertising: How Lawyers Can Better Understand the Processes of Persuasion by Observing Them in Exaggerated Form," presented at The University of Wyoming College of Law "Law Week 2014," Laramie, WY, October 7, 2014.

"The Cognitive Dimensions of Policy Arguments in Legal Advocacy," presented at The University of Wyoming College of Law "Law Week 2014," Laramie, WY, October 7, 2014.

"Rhythm as Reason: The Power of Alliterative Antithesis in Legal Persuasion," presented at the 2014 Legal Writing Institute's Biannual Legal Writing Conference, Philadelphia, PA, July 1, 2014.

"Speed Mentoring on Legal Scholarship," conducted at the 2014 Legal Writing Institute Biannual Legal Writing Conference, Philadelphia, PA., July 2, 2014 (panel project).

"The Sociological and Cognitive Dimension of Policy-Based Persuasion," presented at The Impact of Cognitive Bias on Persuasion and Writing Strategies Symposium at Brooklyn Law School, March 1, 2013.

"Fog on the Lens: Confusion Over Standard of Review in Judicial Opinion Writing", presented at a Faculty Colloquium at the University of Miami School of Law, March 8, 2012.

"Metaphors of the Mind: A Critical Analysis of Metaphors for Cognition Under Doctrinal Law," presented at the 2011 Applied Legal Storytelling Conference, University of Denver Sturm College of Law, July 9, 2011.

"Legal Scholarship," presented at the AALS Workshop for Beginning Legal Writing Teachers in Washington, D.C., June 23, 2011 (plenary presentation).

"Linguistic Hooks: Overcoming Adverse Cognitive Stock Structures in Statutory Interpretation," presented as the J.ALWD Visiting Scholar in Rhetoric and Writing at Rutgers Law School, Camden, NJ, April 7, 2011.

"The Sociological and Cognitive Dimensions of Policy-Based Persuasion," presented at The Second Colonial Frontier Legal Writing Conference, at Duquesne University School of Law, Pittsburgh, PA, March 5, 2011.

Plenary Session Panel, "The History and Future of Advanced Legal Writing Courses," presented at the The Second Colonial Frontier Legal Writing Conference, at Duquesne University School of Law, Pittsburgh, PA, March 5, 2011 (panel presentation).

"The Substance of Legal Writing and Reasoning: Rhetoric and Persuasion," presented as part of the Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research Program at the 2011 AALS Annual Meeting in San Franciso, CA, January 8, 2011 (panel presentation).

"Effective Judicial Opinion Writing - Part 3", presented to the Wyoming Judiciary (state and federal courts) and their clerks and staff attorneys, Laramie, WY, September 2010.

"Ethos: Establishing Credibility in Persuasive Legal Writing," presented at the 2010 Legal Writing Institute's Biannual Writing Conference, Marco Island Marriott Beach Resort, Marco Island, Florida, June 28, 2010.

"Stetson's Virtual Legal Writing Conference: What is Legal Writing Scholarship?," a Webinar hosted by Stetson University College of Law, February 26, 2010 (panel presentation).

"Legal Writing's Struggle for Disciplinary Identity," presented at the Law and Rhetoric Conference: Legal Writing Through a Rhetorical Lens, sponsored by Mercer University School of Law and held in San Diego, California on January 6, 2009.

"Cognition and Rule-Based Analysis," presented at the Southeastern Regional Legal Writing Conference, Stetson University College of Law, Gulfport, Florida, September 12, 2009.

"The Future is Now: A Ten-Year Update on Interdisciplinary Skills Scholarship," presented at the Central Region Conference on Legal Research, Analysis, and Writing, Marquette University Law School, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, October 10, 2009.

"Reconciling Colliding Images: Overcoming Adverse Stock Structures in Statutory Interpretation" presented at the international conference, Applied Storytelling in Law, held at Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon, July 23, 2009.

"Overcoming Adverse Cognitive Stock Structures in Statutory Interpretation," presented at a Faculty Colloquium at Stetson University College of Law, Gulfport, Florida, September 14, 2009.

Keynote Address: "Keeping the Flame: The Noble Pursuit of Advocacy Doctrine," presented at A Dialogue About Persuasion in Legal Writing and Lawyering sponsored by the Rutgers Law School-Camden and the University of Wyoming Law School and held in Camden, New Jersey, September 19, 2008.

"How Policy Persuades: Policy Arguments from a Classical Rhetoric Perspective," presented at the 2008 Rocky Mountain Region Legal Writing Conference, University of Utah College of Law, Salt Lake City, Utah, March 21, 2008.

"Advice From the Editors: Getting Your Legal Writing Article Published," presented on behalf of Editorial Board of the Journal of the Association of Legal Writing Directors at the 2008 Legal Writing Institute Conference, Indiana University School of Law -- Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana, July 15, 2008 (panel presentation).

Presentation and Co-Facilitator of a Discussion on "Upper-Level Legal Writing Programs," at the 2007 Biennial Conference of the Association of Legal Writing Directors, held at The University of Denver Sturm College of Law, Denver, Colorado (June 15, 2007).

"Fog on the Lens: Appellate Court Confusion Between Standards of Review and Substantative Rules," presented at the Rocky Mountain Region Legal Writing Conference, UNLV School of Law, Las Vegas, Nevada, March 9, 2007.

"Stock Stories and the Power of the Parenthetical: The Cognitive Dimensions of Illustrative Parentheticals in Legal Writing," presented at the international conference, Applied Storytelling in Law, held at the City University's Inns of Court Law School in London, England, July 20, 2007.

"Publishing Legal Writing Books: How We Did It, and How You Can Do It , Too," presented at the 2006 Legal Writing Institute Conference, Atlanta, Georgia, June 9, 2006 (panel presentation).

"Metaphoric Strategies for the Legal Advocate," presented at the Mercer Law Review Symposium, Using Metaphor in Legal Analysis and Communication, held at Mercer University School of Law, Macon, Georgia, November 10, 2006.

"The Five Levels of Metaphor in Persuasive Legal Writing," presented at the 2006 Legal Writing Institute Conference, Atlanta, Georgia, June 9, 2006.

"Once Upon a Time: A Three-Part Collaboration to Start the New Discipline of Applied Storytelling in Law," poster presentation at the 2006 AALS Conference on Clinical Education, New York, New York, April 30, 2006 (with Ruth Anne Robbins and Brian J. Foley).

"Psyched Up: Teaching the Psychology of Persuasion," presented at the 2005 New England Consortium of Legal Writing Teachers Regional Conference, Albany Law School, Albany, New York, June 10, 2005 (with Ruth Anne Robbins).

"Summoning Dreams and Swords: Exploring the Power of Literary Allusion in Persuasive Discourse," presented at the international conference, The Power of Stories: Intersections of Law, Culture, and Literature, University of Gloucestershire, Gloucester, England, July 26, 2005.

"Analyzing Lawyer-Client Relationships in Film," presented annually (1999-2005) as part of the Introduction to Client Counseling Program required for all second-year law students at Mercer University School of Law, Macon, Georgia.

"Shared Stories: Exploring the Functions of Literary Allusion in Persuasive Discourse," presented at the 2005 Conference of the Association for the Study of Law, Culture, and the Humanities, College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, March 12. 2005.

"Shared Stories: Exploring the Functions of Literary Allusion in Persuasive Writing," presented at the 2004 Rocky Mountain Regional Legal Writing Conference, University of Nevada Las Vegas School of Law, March 6, 2004.

"Scholarship Guides: Journals, Passports, Roadmaps," presented at the 2004 Legal Writing Institute Conference, Seattle University School of Law, July 24, 2004 (with Linda L. Berger).

Moderator/Facilitator, Roundtable Discussion on "Upper-Level Legal Writing Courses," at the 2003 Association of Legal Writing Directors Biennial Meeting, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, July 19, 2003.

"The Cognitive Dimensions of Illustrative Narratives in the Communication of Rule-Based Analysis," presented at the 2003 Notre Dame Law School Colloquium on Legal Discourse, June 11, 2003.

"Alternative Approaches to Designing Advanced Legal Writing Courses," presented at the 2002 Legal Writing Institute Conference, University of Tennessee College of Law, May 30, 2002 (with Amy E. Sloan).

"Theories and Strategies of Persuasive Writing: An Overview," presented at the Southeastern Conference of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS), Hilton Head Island, S.C., July 16, 2001.

"Alternative Approaches to Designing Advanced Legal Writing Courses," presented at the 2001 Southeastern Regional Research and Writing Conference, Stetson University College of Law, September 8, 2001.

"Legal Writing 'Skills' Scholarship: Proposals for the Future," presented at the 1998 Legal Writing Institute Conference, University of Michigan School of Law, June 19, 1998.

"The Total Integration of Legal Research, Legal Writing, and Legal Analysis," presented at the 1998 Legal Writing Institute Conference, University of Michigan School of Law, June 20, 1998 (panel presentation).

"Creating Hypothetical Legal Research and Writing Problems Through 'Reverse-Engineering,'" presented at the Temple University School of Law Grad-fellow and Adjunct Professor Orientation (August 6, 1997).

"Skills' Scholarship in Legal Writing: Toward an Interdisciplinary Future," presented at the 1997 Atlantic Region Legal Research and Writing Conference, Temple University School of Law (May 30, 1997).

CLE Presentations

"Writing More Effective Administrative Orders: Towards a Reader-Friendly 'Conclusions of Law' Section," presented at the 2014 Annual Meeting of the Wyoming Office of Administrative Hearings, Encampment, Wyoming, September 7, 2014.

"Fog on the Lens: Confusion Over Standard of Review in Judicial Opinion Writing," presented at the Writing Better Briefs CLE event in Denver, CO, November 1, 2013.

"A Refresher on Effective Citation Form in Legal Writing," presented at 2012 Seminar of the Legal Assistants of Wyoming, held in Laramie, Wyoming, September 14, 2012.

"Commanding Favorable Attention: Establishing Credibility in Legal Writing," presented at the Advanced Topics in Persuasive Legal Writing Conference, in Cheyenne, Wyoming, July 17, 2012.

"Clearing the Lens: Understanding Standard of Review by Exploring What It Isn't," presented at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the Wyoming State Bar, Cheyenne, Wyoming, September 14, 2011.

"Effective Judicial Opinion Writing - Part 3," presented to members of the Wyoming judiciary (state and federal courts), and their clerks and staff attorneys, Laramie, Wyoming, September 16, 2010.

"The Power of Metaphor in Legal Advocacy," presented in Denver, Colorado, July 29, 2008.

"Commanding Favorable Attention: Establishing Credibility in Legal Writing," presented in Denver, Colorado, July 29, 2008.

"Effective Judicial Opinion Writing - Part 2," presented to members of the Wyoming judiciary (state and federal courts) and their clerks and staff attorneys, Cheyenne, Wyoming, March 26, 2007.

"Writing Effective Administrative Orders," presented at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the Wyoming Office of Administrative Hearings, Cheyenne, Wyoming, September 23, 2007.

"Communicating Rule-Based Analysis," presented at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the Wyoming State Bar, Jackson, Wyoming, September 14, 2007.

"The Foundations of Persuasion Reasoning, Values, and Credibility," presented in Cheyenne, Wyoming, April 24, 2007.

"Communicating Rule-Based Analysis," presented at the 2007 Wyoming State Public Defender Seminar, Sheridan, Wyoming, September 28, 2007.

"Effective Judicial Opinion Writing - Part I," present to members of the Wyoming judiciary (state and federal courts) and their clerks and staff attorneys, Cheyenne, Wyoming, October 25, 2006.

"Persuasive Writing: How to Persuade in Argument," presented at the "Essentials for Appellate Practice" CLE Program sponsored by Mercer Law School and the Macon Bar Association, Mercer University School of Law, Macon, Georgia, February 9, 2001.