Thompson, Stephanie

Stephanie Thompson

Professor of Law, Legal Practice
Director of Academic Support
Sacramento
Email Address
Phone Number

"I hope to inspire our students to embrace the struggle of learning to be a successful law student. I encourage them to recognize that mistakes are not failures, but mistakes are our greatest learning opportunities."

Professor Stephanie Thompson teaches in McGeorge's extensive Academic Support Program, to which she contributes her own love of learning, fascination with learning styles and learning theory, along with her experience as a litigator, legal counselor, and legal writing professor. She is a Sacramento native and received her BA from the University of California, Davis in Political Science and History, and also was a member of the U.C. Davis Women's Soccer Team. During her undergraduate education, she lived in Washington, D.C. and had the opportunity to work for then Vice President Al Gore. Inspired by her time in Washington, D.C., Professor Thompson attended Georgetown Law. At Georgetown, she was a member of the Georgetown International Environmental Law Review. She also participated in the school's D.C. Street Law Program where law students are given the opportunity to teach law to high school students throughout the D.C. area. This was where Professor Thompson first developed her love of teaching.

Professor Thompson began her career at a large law firm in Los Angeles, California where she spent several years working on all types of employment-related disputes ranging from discrimination, to sexual harassment, to large wage and hour class actions. Professor Thompson then joined the McGeorge faculty in 2003 as a legal research and writing professor. She helped develop and direct the nationally recognized Global Lawyering Skills program, which is the required two-year skills program that introduces students to a broad range of core lawyering skills that include legal research, writing, and oral advocacy, as well as client interviewing, client counseling, negotiation, and drafting.

Professor Thompson is the co-author of Global Lawyering Skills (West 2013), a legal skills textbook that is unique in the market for its focus on cross-border and cross-cultural considerations in lawyering skills and practice. She also authored a legal writing book that has both a hands-on approach and experiential approach to legal writing entitled, Legal Writing Exercises: A Case File and Formula-Based Approach to Legal Reasoning (West 2010).

Her teaching approach is student-centered with a focus on individual learning styles. This student-centered teaching style is evident in her academic support courses, Principles of Legal Analysis I and II, which are courses that she designed. These courses help students reach their full potential in law school through a continuum of academic support and counseling, as well as introduce them to the skills necessary to be a successful law student and pass the bar exam on the first attempt.

Although Professor Thompson primarily teaches in the academic support program, she has not lost her love of employment law and litigation. She also teaches, on occasion, Employment Law, California Employment Law Practicum, Written Discovery, Global Lawyering Skills I, and Global Lawyering Skills II, and serves as the faculty advisor for the Employment and Labor Law Student Association (ELLSA).

Education

BA, University of California, Davis
JD, Georgetown University Law Center

Curriculum Vitae
Research Focus

Representative Scholarship and Activities

Books

Global Lawyering Skills, Second Edition (West 2018) co-authored with Mary-Beth Moylan and the Global Lawyering Skills faculty.

Global Lawyering Skills, (West 2013) co-authored with Mary-Beth Moylan and the Global Lawyering Skills faculty.

Legal Writing Exercises: A Case File and Formula-Based Approach to Legal Reasoning, West Academic Publishing (May 2010).

Other Publications

Enduring Hope? A Study of Looping in Law School, co-authored with Prof. Mary-Beth Moylan, 48 Duquesne Law Review 455 (Spring 2010).

Using Calibration Sessions to Create Reliable and Fair Assessment, co-authored with Prof. Hether Macfarlane, The Second Draft (Spring 2010).

The Many Faces of Online Course: Using Courses to Facilitate Faculty Interaction, co-authored with Prof. Adrienne Brungess, The Second Draft (Spring 2009).

Presentations

Evolution of an Academic Support Program, Association of Academic Support Educators, Annual AASE National Conference, Seattle University School of Law, May 2019.

Guided Self-Assessment in Peer Review to Advance Student Learning, University of the Pacific Center for Teaching and Learning Assessment Conference, March 2019.

Systematic Approach to Complete Analysis, Association of Academic Support Educators, Annual AASE National Conference, Saint Louis University School of Law, May 2018.

Addressing Everyday Ethical Issues, Legal Writing Institute One-Day Workshop, Berkeley Law, December 2012.

Bring the Audience to Life: Create a Cast of Characters for your Students to Address in Their Writing Assignments, co-author of presentation with Gretchen Franz, Legal Writing Institute Biennial Conference, May 2012.

Teaching Professional and Ethical Conduct in Lawyering Skills Courses, Western Regional Legal Writing Conference, August 2011.

Learn the Latest in Teaching Legal Research; Developing Legal Research Exercises; and How Law Librarians Can Help You, Panelist on Teaching Research and Citation, Legal Writing Institute One-Day Workshop, Santa Clara University School of Law, December 2010.

Interactive Research Workshop, Poster Presentation, Legal Writing Institute Biennial Conference, July 2010.

Rhetoric & Storytelling and Structure & Organization, Essential Lawyering Skills Program, Pacific McGeorge, May 2010.

Integrating International and Transnational Issues into a Legal Research and Writing Curriculum, co-author of presentation with Mary-Beth Moylan and Hether Macfarlane, Global Legal Skills Conference in Monterrey Mexico, February 2010.

Do Worksheets Work?, Innovative Teaching Workshop, Association of Legal Writing Directors Annual Conference, June 2009.

Critiquing Workshop Leader, Legal Writing Institute Biennial Conference, July 2008.

Top Ten Tips for New Legal Writing Faculty, Rocky Mountain Legal Writing Conference, March 2006.