University of St. Thomas

J.D., University of Iowa College of Law
B.A., University of Chicago

Leah Christensen was born in Madison , WI and has lived throughout the Midwest in Illinois ,Wisconsin , Iowa , and Michigan. Professor Christensen received her undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago in 1992 and graduated with High Honors in East Asian Languages and Chinese. Professor Christensen began law school at the University of Iowa College of Law, and graduated in the top 10% of her class with High Distinction. Christensen was also a member of the Iowa Law Review. Following law school, Christensen was a judicial clerk for Justice William A. Bablitch of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. In 1996, Ms. Christensen began as a litigation associate with Bell , Metzner, Gierhart & Moore , S.C. , in Madison , WI , and then was a senior associate and founding member of Corneille Law Group, L.L.C. For several years, Ms. Christensen specialized in civil litigation, representing plaintiffs and defendants in claims involving medical malpractice, insurance bad faith, insurance defense (personal injury), commercial litigation and environmental law. Christensen participated in various jury trials throughout the state of Wisconsin , including state and federal courts. In 1999, Christensen worked as the Assistant Legal Counsel for the Madison Metropolitan School District where she investigated and defended the school district in litigation claims, developed board policy on discipline matters, and provided recommendations to the board on student expulsions. In 2003, Christensen was appointed as an Administrative Law Judge for the Madison Metropolitan School District presiding over student expulsion hearings and trials.

Professor Christensen joined the faculty of the University of St. Thomas School of Law in 2005. She teaches Education Law and Lawyering Skills I and II. Her scholarship focuses on empirical research involving law students, specifically on how law students read legal text, and the correlation between how law students read a judicial opinion and their success in law school. She has presented her research findings at national conferences across the country. Professor Christensen also writes about education law issues, including educational reform, tort liability and school districts, and school bullying. In addition, Professor Christensen has completed the first empirical study on law students with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), focusing on how these students read and understand the law, and on their law school experience.

Representative Scholarship

Major Articles

“Navigating the Article Selection Process:  An Empirical Study of Those With All the Power---Student Editors,” 59 South Carolina Law Rev. ___ (Fall 2007)(co-authored with Professor Julie Oseid);

“Law Students Who Learn Differently:  A Narrative Case Study of Three Law Students with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD),” __ J. of Law and Health __ (Fall 2007).

“ The Paradox of Lawyer Expertise: A Study of Experts and Novices Reading the Law," Brigham Young Journal of Education and Law (forthcoming Fall/Winter 2007).

“ Legal Reading and Law School Success: An Empirical Study ” 30 Seattle University L. Rev. 603 (2007).

“ The Psychology of Case Briefing: A Powerful Cognitive Schema ,” Lead Article, 29 Campbell L. Rev. 5 (2006).

“Going Back to Kindergarten: Considering the Application of Waldorf Principles to Legal Education ,” 40 Suffolk U. L. Rev. 315 (2007).

Works In Progress

“ The Social Inclusion Approach: Combating Bullying In Our K-12 Schools ” (accepted for presentation/publication at the 2007 Education Law Conference, San Diego , CA , November 2007).

Shorter Articles and Essays

“ Show Me Don't Tell Me: Using the Think Aloud To Teach Case Analysis ” Perspectives, (Spring 2007)

“ Legal Reading for the Practice of Law ,” Volume 21, No. 2, The Second Draft (2007).

“ Teaching the Difficult Concept of Respect ,” Volume 20, No. 1, The Second Draft (2005).

Presentations

Upcoming Presentations

“ Through a Different Lens: A Study of Law Students with ADD ,” Humanizing Legal Education Conference, Washburn Law School , October 2007.

“ Combating School Violence: The Social Inclusion Approach ,” Education Law Association, Annual Conference, San Diego , CA , November 2007.

Major Presentations

“ The Three “R”'s of Law School Reading ” (co-presenting with Ruth Ann McKinney and David Novotny), LSAC Academic Support Training, University of Florida at Miami , June 20-23, 2007.

“ Legal Reading and Law School Success: An Empirical Study ,” Institute for Law School Teaching 13th Summer Conference. Suffolk University Law School Boston , Massachusetts June 8 & 9, 2007.

“ Successful Reading Strategies for ESL Students ,” The John Marshall Law School , Global Legal Skills Conference, May 2007.

“Empirical Research Principles as Applied to the Study of Law Students and Lawyers Reading Cases , Midwest Qualitative Research Conference, The University of St. Thomas, April 2007.

“ Reading Success and Law Students ,” University of Nevada at Las Vegas , The Rocky Mountain Regional Legal Writing Conference, March 7-8, 2007

“Legal Reading and Law School Success ,” AALS Annual Meeting, Section on Academic Support, Integrating Academic Success Across the Curriculum, January 4, 2007, Washington, D.C.

“ Legal Reading and Law School Success: An Empirical Study , AALS Annual Meeting, Poster Presentation, January 5, 2007 , Washington , D.C.

“ The Qualities Women Lawyers Bring to the Legal Profession ,” University of St. Thomas School of Law , Women's Law Student Legal Symposium, April 21, 2006 .

“ Make Em' Laugh:” Using Humor to Teach Difficult Legal Concepts, University of Arizona , The Rocky Mountain Regional Legal Writing Conference, March 17-19, 2006 .

“ Using the First Year Writing Curriculum to Explore Legal Ethics ,” Boston College , The Northeastern Regional Writing Conference, Boston University , December 10-11, 2005 .

“ Teaching Teachers ,” Seattle University Law School , The Bi-Annual Legal Writing Institute Conference, July 2005.

Courses Taught

Lawyering Skills I and II

Education Law

Mailing Address

MSL 400
1000 LaSalle Avenue
Minneapolis , MN 55403-2015

Lawyering Skills I: Legal Reasoning, Research & Writing