Melissa J. Marlow
Clinical Associate Professor of Law

Biography

Professor Melissa Marlow joined the law faculty in 1998 and helped create the Lawyering Skills I and II programs, which now enjoy high national rankings in recent U.S. News and World report surveys. She teaches legal writing, analysis, advocacy, interviewing, counseling, and negotiation as well as coordinates the simulated-based learning projects in the course. In addition, she teaches in the summer bar preparation program, assisting recent graduates in passing state bar examinations.

Professor Marlow has presented at numerous regional legal writing conferences as well as national and international conferences. She has served on the By-Laws Committee of the AALS Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research and currently holds an assistant editor position with the Legal Writing Institute Journal. Professor Marlow is an active participant in the life of the university, contributing in various capacities on a university as well as law school level. She is chair of the Professional Development committee and serves as faculty advisor to the Justinian society at the law school.

Her scholarly interests include student evaluation of teacher performance and legal education topics. She has published two empirical pieces on student evaluation, one study having been funded by a grant from the Association of Legal Writing Directors.

Marlow graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in education from Southern Illinois University and magna cum laude from Southern Illinois University School of Law. During her study at SIU School of Law, she served as both an articles and comment editor for the Southern Illinois University Law Journal. Before accepting the teaching position at the law school, Professor Marlow taught and served as an administrator in elementary schools, worked as a legislative aide, and practiced law as an associate for the firm of O’Neill & Proctor.