Ann Ching elected to the Board of the Association of Legal Writing Directors

Ann Ching, a clinical professor of law at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, has been elected to the Board of Directors for the Association of Legal Writing Directors. She will serve a four-year term beginning August 1.

ALWD is a nonprofit professional organization made up of more than 400 members from over 130 law schools in the United States and Canada. The board helps guide the organization’s mission, which includes supporting legal writing faculty through events, scholarship grants, publications and national advocacy. ALWD also serves as the legal writing affiliate to the American Bar Association.

Ching said the opportunity came at just the right time.

“Professor Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff, a legal writing colleague, reached out to see if I would be interested in running for a board seat,” she said. “Her inquiry was fortuitous, as I had been considering ways to increase my involvement in the national legal writing community.”

As she prepares to start her role, Ching said her first goal is to learn.

“Because I’m new to this role, I’d like to start by learning more about the organization and the board’s role in its governance,” she said. “I’d also like to network with leaders in the national legal writing community and connect with more legal writing colleagues.”

She also sees the new position as a way to help amplify ASU Law’s national presence in the field.

“I believe it is important for ASU Law to have a strong presence in the national legal writing community,” she said. “Many of my colleagues currently hold or have held leadership positions in ALWD and the Legal Writing Institute, and I’m excited to help support our program in this new role.”

Ching’s election comes just ahead of the 2025 ALWD Biennial Conference, which will take place July 16–18 at ASU Law. The event is one of the largest legal writing conferences in the country, drawing faculty, scholars and professionals from across North America. https://alwd.org/conference. 

Ching called the election a meaningful moment in her teaching career.

“My election to the ALWD board has boosted my confidence as a legal writing professor and strengthened my motivation to promote legal writing excellence for all ASU Law students,” she said.

For more information on the legal method and writing program, visit https://law.asu.edu/programs/legal-method-writing.

Written by Crystal Jimenez