Document Type
Presentation
Start Date
12-6-2019 4:10 PM
End Date
12-6-2019 4:50 PM
Presenter Biography
Sara Ochs is a teaching fellow at Elon University School of Law in Greensboro, North Carolina, where she teaches Introduction to Legal Studies, Legal Method and Communication, and International Criminal Law. She earned her juris doctor summa cum laude from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, and her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Loyola University Maryland. Prior to entering academia, Sara clerked for the Honorable Carl J. Barbier on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana and practiced law in New Orleans.
Sara currently serves as the co-chair of the American Bar Association’s International Courts and Judicial Affairs Committee, and as an advisory board member for the American Society of International Law’s International Court and Tribunals Interest Group, as well as a researcher for Lawyers, Conflict & Transition’s Cambodia project.
Description
Legal academics often report crippling feelings of insecurity and inadequacy, symptoms of a widespread trend labeled as “imposter syndrome.” Experts have defined this phenomenon as a “deep and sometimes paralyzing belief that we have been given something we didn’t earn and don’t deserve and that at some point we’ll be exposed.” Given the evident hierarchies in legal academia, these feelings are especially prominent among legal writing faculty, and even more so among those in untenured positions. Using empirical data acquired from law professors, this presentation will analyze the prevalence and causes of imposter syndrome among legal writing faculty and will evaluate the detrimental impact this can have on legal writing teaching, relationships with doctrinal faculty, student mentoring, and scholarship. This presentation will further propose steps that can be taken both by legal writing professors and law school faculties to mitigate the growing presence of imposter syndrome in legal academia.
Exposing the Imposter: Imposter Syndrome & Legal Writing Faculty
Legal academics often report crippling feelings of insecurity and inadequacy, symptoms of a widespread trend labeled as “imposter syndrome.” Experts have defined this phenomenon as a “deep and sometimes paralyzing belief that we have been given something we didn’t earn and don’t deserve and that at some point we’ll be exposed.” Given the evident hierarchies in legal academia, these feelings are especially prominent among legal writing faculty, and even more so among those in untenured positions. Using empirical data acquired from law professors, this presentation will analyze the prevalence and causes of imposter syndrome among legal writing faculty and will evaluate the detrimental impact this can have on legal writing teaching, relationships with doctrinal faculty, student mentoring, and scholarship. This presentation will further propose steps that can be taken both by legal writing professors and law school faculties to mitigate the growing presence of imposter syndrome in legal academia.