Linda L. Berger
Professor of Law
J.D., Case Western Reserve University,
summa cum laude;
B.S., University of Colorado,
cum laude
Telephone: 619.374.6933
Email: lberger@tjsl.edu
Professor Berger’s research and writing focuses on legal composition, legal rhetoric, metaphor theory, and emerging First Amendment and media law. After graduating from law school, where she was articles editor of the Case Western Reserve Law Review, Professor Berger practiced law with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where she specialized in First Amendment litigation and media defense. Before law school, she was a news reporter for The Associated Press in Washington, D.C.; a spokesperson for the Mayor of Washington, D.C.; and an editor and publications coordinator for the College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University. Professor Berger taught lawyering skills for four years at the University of San Diego School of Law before joining the Thomas Jefferson faculty in 1993. She is a founding member of the editorial committee and the current editor of the Journal of the Association of Legal Writing Directors. Professor Berger was recognized as one of San Diego’s Top Attorneys in Academics in 2006.
Noteworthy
Feb. 25 - 28, 2007: Professor Linda Berger served as a member of the ABA site evaluation team visiting John Marshall Law School in Atlanta, GA.
Scholarship
Editorial
Editor (2003-present), Journal of the Association of Legal Writing Directors
Articles, Book Chapters and Other Article-Length Works
Of Metaphor, Metonymy, and Corporate Money: Rhetorical Choices in Supreme Court Decisions on Campaign Finance Regulation, 58 Mercer L. Rev. 949 (2007)
What is the Sound of a Corporation Speaking? How the Cognitive Theory of Metaphor Can Help Lawyers Shape the Law, 2 J. Ass'n Legal Writing Directors 169 (2004)
Shielding the Unmedia: Using the Process of Journalism to Protect the Journalist's Privilege in an Infinite Universe of Publication, 39 Hous L. Rev.1371 (2003)
Do Best Practices in Legal Education Include Emphasis on Compositional Modes of Studying Law as a Liberal Art?, 1 J. Ass'n Legal Writing Directors 158 (2002)
Lies Between Mommy and Daddy: The Case for Recognizing Spousal Emotional Distress Claims Based on Domestic Deceit That Interferes With Parent-Child Relationships, 33 Loy. L.A.L. Rev. 449 (2000)
A Reflective Rhetorical Model: The Legal Writing Teacher as Reader and Writer, 6 J. Legal Writing 57 (2000)
Applying New Rhetoric to Legal Discourse: The Ebb and Flow of Reader and Writer, Text and Context, 49 J. Legal Educ.155 (1999)
Subjects Include:
First Amendment, Law & Rhetoric, Legal Writing I & II, Media Law, Scholarly Legal Writing.