Clinical Professor Emerita

School of Law

Director of Legal Research and Writing Emerita

About Melody Richardson Daily

Before retirement, Melody Richardson Daily taught Legal Research & Writing, Advocacy & Research, Education Law, and Client Interviewing & Counseling. She also provided one-on-one writing instruction to law students through the Mizzou Law Writing Center.

As the Externship Director for 19 years, Daily supervised more than 500 law student externs who provided 50,000 hours of unpaid work for judges, federal and state government agencies, public defenders, prosecuting attorneys, and public interest organizations. She also taught six summer programs for CLEO (Council on Legal Education Opportunity), which were hosted by the Law School.

She has received the Loyd E. Roberts Memorial Prize in the Administration of Justice; the Spurgeon Smithson Award for outstanding contributions to the legal profession by members of Missouri Bar; Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award; the Disability Mentoring Award; the Gold Chalk Award for Excellence in Professional Student Education, Training and Development; and the Board of Advocates Faculty Achievement Award.

Daily has served on the Editorial Board of Legal Communication and Rhetoric: J ALWDsince 2005. She is an active member of the Legal Writing Institute and the Association of Legal Writing Directors.  She regularly presents programs on legal writing at regional and national conferences.

Daily received her BA in English, her MA in English, and her JD from Missouri University. Before attending law school, she taught English composition to high school and university students. She practiced law in Glasgow, Missouri.

Educational Background

BA, University of Missouri, '69
MA, University of Missouri, '71
JD, University of Missouri, '86