Biography

Professor VanWye is an Assistant Professor of Lawyering Skills at Howard University School of Law, where she teaches Legal Writing I and II. She has presented nationally and internationally at legal writing conferences on topics related to social justice narrative and rhetoric. Professor VanWye devotes her pro bono work to a local immigrant rights organization.

Prior to joining the Howard University School of Law faculty in 2015, Professor VanWye served as a staff attorney at the United States Court of Federal Claims in Washington, DC, where she helped launch the court's pro bono program. Before that, she clerked at the Court of Federal Claims for four years, first for Senior Judge Robert H. Hodges and then for Chief Judge Patricia E. Campbell-Smith. Professor VanWye has also worked as an English as a Second Language teacher and Spanish-language interpreter.

Professor VanWye received her J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of South Carolina School of Law, where she was an editor of the South Carolina Law Review and served as a legal writing tutor. She graduated with a B.S. in marine science from the University of South Carolina Honors College. Professor VanWye is a member of the District of Columbia and South Carolina bars.

Publications and Presentations 

“Up for Debate: Finding the balance between social justice themes and ‘triggering’ students,” Presentation, Legal Writing Institute Biennial Conference, University of Minnesota, July 17, 2026.

“Coercion Rhetoric:  Identifying and combatting the words being used to erode our rights,” Presentation, Applied Legal Storytelling Conference, University of Michigan, July 11, 2025.

“Legal conception?: Telling the story of a reasonable expectation of reproductive privacy in the digital age,” Presentation, Applied Legal Storytelling Conference, The City Law School, University of London, July 28, 2023.

“’Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda:’ Ways we haven’t collaborated and what we’re going to do about it,” Presentation with Prof. Keri Foster (Director of Academic Success and Bar Preparation, Howard University School of Law), Legal Writing Institute Workshop, Charleston School of Law, December 6, 2019.

“Asylum Law Narratives:  Bringing to Life the Stories of Domestic Violence Victims,” Presentation, Applied Legal Storytelling Conference, University of Colorado, July 11, 2019.

“Reckoning with the Challenges of Using Social Justice Legal Writing Problems,” 31 The Second Draft 1 (Spring 2018).

“Reasons to Use the United States Court of Federal Claims in a Skills Problem,” Presentation, Global Legal Skills Conference, Facultad Libre de Derecho de Monterrey, Mexico, March 16, 2017.