Ann Sinsheimer is a Professor of Legal Writing and Associate Dean of Equity and Inclusive Excellence at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. She holds an MA in Applied Linguistics from the University of Michigan, a JD from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, and a PhD in Rhetoric from Carnegie Mellon University. Her research interests include international legal education and the study of law and language. She also teaches legal English to international attorneys in the U.S. and abroad, including teaching in China, Oman, Ethiopia, Serbia, and Belgium.
Her publications include Listening to Our Students: Fostering Resilience and Engagement to Promote Culture Change in Legal Education, 26 Legal Writing 81 (2022) (with Dr. Omid Fotuhi) and Lawyers at Work: A Study of the Reading, Writing, and Communication Practices of Legal Professionals, 21 Journal of the Legal Writing Institute (2016) (with Dave Herring). She has co-authored two textbooks: Legal Writing: A Contemporary Approach (with Teresa Brostoff and Nancy Burkoff) and Legal English: An Introduction to the Legal Language and Culture of the United States (with Teresa Brostoff). She has received a University of Pittsburgh Momentum Fund Teaming Grant to advance her work at the law school on resilience and engagement. See more about this project here.
- PhD, Carnegie Mellon University
- JD University of Pittsburgh School of Law
- MA, University of Michigan
- BA, University of Michigan
Education & Training
Books:
Sinsheimer, A., Brostoff, T., Burkoff, N., Legal Writing: A Contemporary Approach (2014); second edition (2018).
Brostoff, T., Sinsheimer, A., Legal English: An Introduction to the Legal Language and Culture of the United States (3d ed. 2013).
Articles:
Sinsheimer, A., Culture Box, The Second Draft, Bulletin of the Legal Writing Institute (Spring 2019).
Sinsheimer, A. and D. Herring, Lawyers at Work: A Study of the Reading, Writing, and Communication Practices of Legal Professionals, 21 Journal of the Legal Writing Institute (2016).
Sinsheimer, A., The meaning of “international student’ post-9/11: A rhetorical analysis of how organizational change altered perceptions of international students in the United States, UMI ProQuest (2012).
Legal Writing
Rhetoric
Law and Language
English as a Second Language
Personalized Education Award from the Office of the Provost, University of Pittsburgh: 2019-2020. (Project: Persistence, Performance, and Law School: Implementing Interventions to Encourage Growth Mindset, Maximize Education, and Ensure Practice-Ready Professionals.)
Innovation in Teaching Grant from University Pittsburgh School of Law to develop Environmental Law and Practice course: 2009-2012.
