Profile:
Linda L. Berger
Professor of Law
Walter F. George School of Law
B.S., University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
cum laude, general studies, very special honors, Journalism
J.D., Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
summa cum laude
Prof. Berger’s research, writing, and teaching converge on the study of legal rhetoric, drawing upon composition, rhetorical, metaphor, and narrative theory. She is a founder and the current editor of the peer-reviewed Journal of the Association of Legal Writing Directors (ALWD); she initiated the Law & Rhetoric e-Journal on SSRNs Legal Scholarship Network (with co-editor Jack Sammons). Prof. Berger currently serves as a member of the national boards of directors of ALWD and the Legal Writing Institute.
Prof. Bergers scholarship first focused on application of New Rhetoric composition theory to the teaching of legal writing in articles addressing law students and law teachers reading and writing processes. More recently, she has been applying rhetorical analysis and metaphor and narrative theory to interpret persuasive briefs and judicial opinions; these articles also recommend methods for professional legal writers to strengthen their effectiveness and persuasiveness.
After graduating from Case Western Reserve University School of Law, Prof. Berger practiced law with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where she specialized in First Amendment litigation and media defense, drawing on her pre-law school experience as a news reporter for The Associated Press. Before joining Mercer in July 2008, she was a Professor of Law at Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, CA, where she designed and developed the legal writing program and taught Legal Writing, Law and Rhetoric, First Amendment Practice, Media Law, Constitutional Law, Scholarly Legal Writing, and Legal Drafting.
