Sara Rankin

Biography

Sara Rankin is an Assistant Professor of Lawyering Skills at the Seattle University School of Law. Professor Rankin currently teaches applied legal analysis; legal research and writing, including objective memoranda, as well as trial and appellate briefs; and general principles of trial and appellate procedure and advocacy. She has nearly a decade of experience in private practice at major law firms such as Kirkland & Ellis, LLP and Sidley Austin, LLP, where she specialized in complex litigation. Professor Rankin also gained an in-house perspective, serving as assistant general counsel for a national accounting firm.

Prior to her legal career, Professor Rankin received her M.Ed. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she studied under the internationally-known education expert, Howard Gardner. Currently, Professor Rankin continues to support innovation in legal education as a member of the Board of Governors for the Society of American Law Teachers (SALT) and as a member of various committees at the Seattle University School of Law, including the Curriculum & Pedagogy Committee and the University Learning Objectives Committee. Professor Rankin's research interests include the social and political aspects of legal education reform, human rights, and legal skills education.