Heather Kolinsky Professor of Practice and Legal Writing Instructor

Email: hkolinsky@wlu.edu

Office: 444 Lewis Hall

SSRN  •  Scholarly Commons •  CV

Area of Expertise

Legal Writing, Gender and Law, Vulnerability Theory

Education

LLM, Emory University School of Law

JD, Rutgers University School of Law - Camden

BA, Stetson University

About

Professor Kolinsky joined Washington and Lee University School of Law as a Professor of Practice in 2021.  She teaches legal writing and professional responsibility. 

Prior to joining W & L, Professor Kolinsky served as a law clerk to Magistrate Judge Gregory J. Kelly in the United States Middle District Court of Florida from 2018 to 2021. She also practiced appellate law, representing clients in civil and family law appeals in Florida.  Professor Kolinsky was recognized as one of Florida Trend's Florida Legal Elite in appellate practice in 2017 and 2018. She was also an Associate Professor of Law at Barry University School of Law where she taught legal research and writing, professional responsibility, and advanced appellate advocacy. 

Professor Kolinsky's scholarly writing focuses on the intersection of gender and the law as well as the relationship between the individual, institutions, and the state, particularly as it relates to corporate personhood. 

Professor Kolinsky earned an LL.M. from Emory University School of Law, a J.D. and an International Law Honors Certificate from Rutgers University School of Law-Camden, and a B.A. from Stetson University.

Recent Publications

Situating the Corporation within the Vulnerability Paradigm: What Impact Does Corporate Personhood Have on Vulnerability, Dependency, and Resilience, 25 Am. U. J. Gen. Soc. Pol'y & L. 51 (2017).  

The Shibboleth of Discretion: The Discretion, Identity and Persecution Paradigm in American and Australian LGBT Asylum Claims, 31 Berkeley J. Gen., Law & Justice 206 (2016).

The Intended Parent:  The Power and Problems Inherent in Designating and Determining Intent in the Context of Parental Rights, 119 Penn. St. L. Rev. 1 (2015).  

The Ties that Bind:  Reevaluating the Role of Legal Presumptions of Paternity, 48 Loyola Los Angeles L. Rev. 221 (2014).