Jesse D. McLain is an experienced litigator, trained mediator, and multi-genre teacher. She has taught classes at the undergraduate and law school levels, including: College Composition; Writing Arguments; Writing in the Discipline of Social Sciences; Topics in Language, Law, and Justice, and Advanced Trial Practice.
While working as a reporter in college, Jesse became particularly motivated to tell the stories of those impacted by crime. During law school, she was the first student in school history to be selected as a member of the American Bar Association’s Traveling Trial Team and an Editorial Board member of the DU Law Review simultaneously. She joined the Child’s Law Clinic, where under the Student Practice Act, she served as a Guardian ad Litem in Dependency and Neglect cases. After law school, she received the Faculty Fellowship Award for DU’s Advocacy Department and became a prosecutor, trying over 25 jury trials to verdict by the end of her first year.
In her time within and beyond the college classroom, Jesse noticed the significant overlap between legal and academic language and the power of giving audiences access to justice through a better understanding of both. This connection inspired the creation of this course as a capstone project for a Master’s Degree in Writing, Rhetoric, and Social Change.
At Colorado State, Jesse also serves as the Faculty Chair for Academic Misconduct Appeals. She directed the International Writing Across the Curriculum Conference in 2025, which she co-directed in 2021.
Jesse is a strong advocate of free speech, clear communication, and education that empowers all students. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Colorado State University, a Juris Doctor from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, and has been a practicing attorney since 2013.
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to my advisor, Dr. Sue Doe, whose expertise, guidance, and many (20+) years of mentorship have been invaluable.
I am also grateful to Dr. Michael Palmquist for his combination of humor and professionalism and for opening opportunities to learn from international communities of writers. Thank you to Dr. Martín Carcasson for his support of this project and commitment to deliberative democracy. I am proud to have a Committee dedicated to making academia more accessible for all.
To all the faculty of the English Department at CSU, who have honed my writing skills since I began as an undergraduate in 2002, and continue to support me now, particularly to Dr. Tobi Jacobi and Dr. Lisa Langstraat who have been there since the beginning.
To my late Constitutional Law professor, Ann C. Scales, for encouraging me to fight for the underdog and teaching me the cases that matter most.
Finally, to my son, Wyatt, I hope you always mind your heart and then feel free to speak your mind. Thank you for the inspiration, and the laughter. I love you. ❤️
Writing in the Law 