Sandra Simpson, J.D., M.I.T.

Director, Experiential Learning & Institutional Assessment; Managing Attorney, Clinical Legal Programs; Professor of Law

Sandra Simpson joined the law faculty as an Assistant Professor of Legal Research and Writing in August 2007 and was promoted to Associate Professor in August of 2012. Sandra was appointed to Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in June of 2013, serving...

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Sandra Simpson

Contact Information

Education & Curriculum Vitae

M.I.T., Whitworth College

J.D., University of Iowa

B.A., University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh

Courses Taught

Legal Research & Writing

Real Estate Transactions

Civil Procedure

Professional Responsibility 

Sandra Simpson joined the law faculty as an Assistant Professor of Legal Research and Writing in August 2007 and was promoted to Associate Professor in August of 2012. Sandra was appointed to Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in June of 2013, serving in that capacity until 2017 when she returned to full-time teaching. Being dedicated to teaching excellence she has served as the co-director of the Institute for Law Teaching and Learning since 2013. In addition, Sandra was appointed to direct innovation for the Legal Research and Writing Department in 2019. She regularly conducts teaching workshops at various law schools around the country, focusing on rubric creation and institutional assessment. In addition to teaching pedagogy, Simpson has published articles in the area of the death penalty and protecting caregivers in the workplace. Professor Simpson was promoted to Professor of Law in the spring of 2020.

Prior to joining the law faculty at Gonzaga Law School, she spent three years teaching at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington. Before entering the teaching field, Sandra spent two years in general practice in Iowa City, Iowa, and five years as an employment defense litigator for Workland and Witherspoon, P.L.L.C., in Spokane, Washington.

In her spare time, Sandra loves working out, running, and hiking. She is also an avid skier, enjoying the many great ski resorts in the Pacific Northwest. Additionally, she loves spending time with her husband of 30+ years and her two adult children. Lastly, being raised in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Sandra can often be seen wearing her Packer jersey around the law school.

Books

  • LRW Modular On-line Textbook, West Academic, Series Editor, released summer 2022.
  • From the Associate Dean's Desk: An Essential Handbook, Sandra L. Simpson. West Academic, 2019 
  • Experiential Education in the Law School Curriculum, co-edited the book with Profs Emily Grant and Kelly Terry. Carolina Academic Press, 2018.

Articles

  • Law Students Left Behind: Law Schools’ Role in Remedying the Devastating Effects of Federal Education Policy, 107 Minn. L. Rev. Vol. 106, No. 6 (forthcoming, June 2023), available at https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4188994
  • Coordinating Formative Assessment Across the Curriculum: A View From the Associate Dean's Desk, 95 U. Det. Mercy L. Rev. 91 (2017-2018)
  • The Elusive Quest for Equality: Women, Work, and the Next Wave of Humanism, Gonzaga Law Review, Volume 48, No. 2, 2012/13
  • Everyone Else is Doing It, Why Can’t We? A New Look at the Use of Statistical Data in Death Penalty Cases, Iowa Journal of Gender, Race, & Justice, 2008
  • Riding the Carousel: Making Assessment a Learning Loop Through the Continuous Use of Grading Rubrics, 2011 Canadian Legal Education Annual Review. (Peer-edited journal). 

Presentations

  • Law Students Left Behind: Ameliorating the Devastating Effects of Federal Education Policy, Minnesota Law Review Symposium, October 2022
  • Involving Students in the Assessment Process, Legal Writing Institute Biennial Conference, Georgetown Law School, July 2022.
  • So You want to be an Administrator?: Moving from Legal Writing Professor to Associate Dean, LWI Biennial Conference, July 2020
  • Coordinating Assessment Across the Curriculum, AALS Annual Conference, January 2020
  • How Interaction with and Exposure to Technology Effects Gen Z’s Self & Professional Identities, Western Legal Writing Conference, September 2019 
  • Kids These Days: Learning to Thrive in a Multi-generational Classroom and Workplace, Institute for Law Teaching and Learning Conference, June 2019
  • Exploring Cultural Competency Through 1L Workshops, Legal Writing Institute Biannual Conference, Marquette University Law School, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 2018.
  • Formative Assessment Techniques for Adjuncts, University of Texas A&M Law School, Spring 2018 Conference for Adjuncts.
  • Creating Mandatory 1L Workshops to Explore Cultural Competency, University of Arkansas Little Rock, Summer 2017 Conference on Teaching Cultural Competency in the Law School Curriculum.
  • Coordinating Assessment Across the Curriculum, Detroit Mercy School of Law Assessment Symposium, March 2017
  • Coordinating Assessment Across the Curriculum, Emory University School of Law, Spring 2017 Conference on Assessment
  • Coordinating Formative Assessment Across the Curriculum: A view from the Associate Dean’s Desk, 91 University Detroit Mercy Law Review 573, 2017
  • Identifying and Assessing Institutional Outcomes, Boston University School of Law, Spring 2016 Conference on responding to ABA Outcome Standards.
  • Course Design and Imbedded Classroom Assessment, Whittier Law School, Fall 2015
  • Best Practices in Evaluating and Assessing Institutional Learning Outcomes, Concordia Law School, May 2015
  • Experiential Learning Across the Curriculum: Institute for Law Teaching annual conference, June 2015
  • Best Practices in Assessment and Creation of Rubrics, Appalachian School of Law, April 2014 and March 2015
  • Best Practices in Assessment and Creation of Assessment Plan for Law Classrooms, Presented to a Cohort of Chilean Law Professors, January 2015
  • Assessment Across the Curriculum: Formative Assessment in Large Classrooms, UALR, Bowen School of Law, Little Rock, AR, April 2014
  • Hybrid Law Teaching, Co-presented two plenary sessions, Washburn University School of Law, Topeka, KS, June 2013Law Teaching for Adjunct Law Faculty, Western State College of Law, Fullerton, CA, April 2013
  • Co presenter of Plenary Session, Institute for Law Teaching and Learning Annual Conference, Spokane, WA June 2012
  • Everyone Else is Doing it; Why Can't We?, Texas Wesleyan School of Law Justice Conference, March 2012
  • Better Ways to Teach Synthesis by Using the Thread Method, Las Vegas, NV., March 2011
  • Designing and Using Effective Rubrics to Improve the Learning of Teachers and Students, Tucson, Arizona, March 2010
  • Thinking Critically About Teaching Goals Through Designing Effective Assessment Rubrics, Institute for Law Teaching and Learning Conference, June 2009
  • Everyone Else is Doing it; Why Can't We?, 2009 Law and Society Annual Conference in Denver, May, 2009Family Feud: The Bluebook Edition, Rocky Mountain Legal Writing Conference, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, March, 2009
  • Applying educational theories on classroom management and student engagement to the law school classroom, Annual Rocky Mountain Legal Research and Writing Conference, March, 2008