Legal Definitions - ALWD

ALWD stands for the Association of Legal Writing Directors.

ALWD is a professional organization primarily composed of law school faculty who teach legal research and writing. The association is dedicated to improving legal writing instruction and scholarship. It is widely recognized for publishing the ALWD Guide to Legal Citation, an alternative to The Bluebook, which provides rules for citing legal authorities in academic and professional legal documents.

Here are some examples of how the term ALWD might be used:

• During her first year of law school, Sarah learned to cite cases and statutes using the ALWD Guide to Legal Citation, as her legal writing professor preferred it over other citation manuals for its clarity and user-friendly format. This illustrates ALWD's role in providing a widely used standard for legal citation in legal education.

• Professor Miller, a seasoned legal writing instructor, regularly attends the annual ALWD conference to share best practices with colleagues and stay updated on new pedagogical approaches in legal writing. This demonstrates ALWD's function as a professional association that fosters community and professional development among legal writing educators.

• The curriculum committee at State University Law School decided to update their legal writing program, opting to standardize all student assignments and publications to follow the ALWD citation rules. This shows how ALWD, through its guide, influences institutional standards for legal writing and citation within academic settings.