Sandra Simpson

Sandra Simpson is a Professor of Law, Director of Experiential Learning & Institutional Assessment, and Managing Attorney for Clinical Legal Programs at Gonzaga University School of Law. She joined Gonzaga in 2007 as an Assistant Professor, was promoted to Associate Professor in 2012, and to Professor in 2020. Her academic roles include serving as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs (2013-2017) and co-director of the Institute for Law Teaching and Learning (2013-2023).

• Education:
  • J.D., University of Iowa
  • M.I.T., Whitworth College
  • B.A., University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh

Simpson specializes in legal education pedagogy, experiential learning, and institutional assessment. Her research also explores death penalty statistics and legal protections for caregivers in the workplace. She has designed innovative assessment rubrics and coordinated curriculum-wide reforms to align with American Bar Association (ABA) standards.

Her publications focus on integrating assessment tools into legal education, advocating for student-centric reforms, and analyzing systemic inequalities in criminal justice and workplace law. She has presented extensively at conferences like the Legal Writing Institute Biennial Conference and the Institute for Law Teaching and Learning Annual Conference.

Simpson previously co-edited the book Experiential Education in the Law School Curriculum (2018) and authored the LRW Modular On-line Textbook (2022). She is actively involved in training adjunct faculty and improving pedagogy through workshops on rubric creation and multi-generational classroom dynamics.