Kristina Swanson

Director, Legal Writing Program
Director, Leadership and Scholarly Excellence (LSE) Program
Associate Teaching Professor

Email: kswanso2@nd.edu
Staff Assistant: Carolyn Dowd
CV: View

Professor Kristina Swanson is a seasoned trial attorney who brings her wealth of experience to Notre Dame Law School as an Associate Teaching Professor of legal writing. Since graduating cum laude from Harvard Law School, Professor Swanson litigated cases in state and federal courts across the country, including aviation accidents and most recently, plaintiff's-side civil rights. She clerked for the United States District Court for the Southern District of California and gained significant trial experience at two prominent AmLaw 100 firms, Kirkland & Ellis (Chicago) and Morrison & Foerster (San Diego).

Professor Swanson is pursuing academic scholarship related to systemic barriers to women in the law and foundational skills for legal analysis and writing. She has presented at conferences on comparing first-year legal writing and research curriculum to present-day legal practice, and on trends and issues impacting women in the law. Professor Swanson is a member of the Legal Writing Institute and AALS sections on Litigation and Women in Legal Education.

Professor Swanson was thrilled to return to Notre Dame Law School after earlier teaching Trial Advocacy and Deposition Skills at the Law School. Professor Swanson transitioned from practice to full-time teaching as a Visiting Professor, teaching legal writing at Indiana University's top-ranked legal writing program. During her time as a Visitor, she taught first-year legal writing and also created and taught an Alternative Dispute Resolution course. Professor Swanson volunteers for the Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic.