Associate Director for Graduate Writing and Academics

The Graduate Program’s Associate Director for Graduate Writing and Academics is a member of a team that supports graduate law students (candidates for the LLM (Master of Laws) and SJD (Doctor of Juridical Science) degrees) and visiting researchers in their academic, student life, and co-curricular pursuits.  

The Associate Director for Graduate Writing and Academics provides high-level academic and writing support to LLM and SJD students, most of whom received their primary legal education outside the U.S. The position helps students to find their scholarly voice and develop their academic skills and interests. 

As an Associate Director for Graduate Writing and Academics you will:

• Advise and support LLM and SJD students in their legal/academic research and writing, including in formulating research projects, crafting effective paper proposals, and organizing and presenting arguments effectively, and develop and implement innovative programming related to these skills

• Advise and assist LLM and SJD students and recent alumni in moving projects toward publication and serve as a liaison between current students and alumni with common academic interests

• Assist students in complying with academic rules and requirements, including with respect to plagiarism and proper paraphrasing

• Work with HLS faculty supervisors and research librarians to address specific LLM and SJD research and writing needs

• Maintain primary responsibility for the structure and presentation of SJD theory and methodology seminar

• Select, train, supervise, and mentor student writing advisors; run writing and response paper workshops and conduct informal events for students to present their work in progress

• Review and advise LLM students on their applications to the Winter Term Writing Program and SJD program

• Review initial SJD study plans and make bibliographical suggestions and recommendations for revisions and refinement of research fields

• Read drafts of SJD dissertation chapters and offer suggestions on structure, sources, and methodology

• Review, evaluate, and make recommendations on LLM applications, including assessing substantive legal essays for cogency 

• Support SJD students in developing teaching skills, including advising on teaching fellowship opportunities across Harvard schools 

• Perform other duties and tasks as needed