Welcoming Christine Lesicko back to Mizzou Law

Mizzou Law has recently welcomed back alumnae Christine Lesicko as a visiting assistant teaching professor of legal writing. Lesicko has previously worked as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for the Boone County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Assitant Attorney General for the Missouri Attorney General’s Office, and Assitant General Counsel for the Missouri Department of Labor & Industrial Relations. We had Professor Lesicko answer the following questions about her return to MU Law:

 

What does this position mean for you?

It is an honor to return to Mizzou Law, where I received my law degree, to teach first-year students legal writing. 

 

How will your department help students?

Strong legal research and writing skills are vital for all attorneys regardless of their practice area. The legal research and writing department provides practical skills for students that they will use throughout their careers. 

 

What does it mean for Mizzou Law? 

When former students teach at Mizzou Law, it both allows us to give back to the place that started our journey to being attorneys and allows current students to see that a degree from Mizzou Law allows for a variety of career opportunities, including those beyond traditional law practice like teaching. 

 

How do your background and experience help you in this role?

I have been a writer my whole life, so naturally, my career as an attorney has been focused primarily on legal research and writing. I’ve practiced primarily in appellate law here in Missouri, so I can provide my students with real-life, concrete examples about how important legal research and writing is in practice. 

 

What do you want to accomplish in this position?

I want my students to understand the value of legal research and writing even, and maybe especially if they do not see themselves focusing on a writing-intensive practice area. 

 

Why are you excited about this new role?

I am excited both to be back in Hulston Hall and to have the opportunity to teach my favorite subject to students who will soon become colleagues in the profession.

 

What does success in this new role look like?

Success, to me, happens when students leave my class and know how to approach any research or drafting assignment they get regardless of where they practice. And it’s an extra bonus when students get excited and have fun researching and writing. There can be so much joy in finding a perfect case to cement your argument.