Leslie D. Callahan

Leslie Callahan joined the Fundamentals of Lawyering Program in 2022 after teaching legal writing at Notre Dame Law School for more than fifteen years. Her research interests include integrating professional identity development into the first-year curriculum and incorporating non-litigation skills into the FL experiential curriculum.

Professor Callahan graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School, serving as a member and officer of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau where she represented clients primarily in family law matters. After law school, she clerked for two years for Judge Orinda Evans in the U.S. District Court in Atlanta, Georgia. She then practiced complex commercial litigation with Morrison & Foerster in New York, focusing on securities, ERISA, and intellectual property. While with the firm, she engaged in substantial pro bono work, focusing on women’s rights impact litigation. Relocating to the Midwest in connection with her spouse’s academic career, she served as General Counsel to the University of Kansas Research Foundation and then practiced in South Bend before teaching legal writing at Notre Dame Law School. Professor Callahan has been an active volunteer with nonprofit organizations and currently serves as a Board Member for the Harvard Law School Association of Washington DC.