Alexandra D'Italia

Since high school, when she published her first short play, Alexandra D'Italia has had a passion for writing and has pursued a varied career path that requires that skill. As a result, she brings a unique perspective to her role as Director of the Writing Center at Southwestern. Early in her career, she was a communications specialist in press and Congressional relations, then earned her law degree so she could have a more hands-on role in advocacy. She went on to serve as a criminal defense appellate attorney representing indigent defendants through the Sixth District Appellate Program. She was also a contributing author to legal treatises, a freelance journalist, and a writer of fiction.

Regardless of its form, Professor D'Italia believes that all good writing has the same basic rule: "Know the audience and engage it." She explains, "You have to trust your reader, but at the same time you need to be generous to the reader. That balance is tough to learn, and so many students just give up." But she doesn't believe there are any "bad" writers out there, just "unpracticed ones."

Professor D'Italia joined Southwestern's Legal Analysis, Writing and Skills faculty in 2006, and later became an adjunct faculty member to concentrate on her own writing as well as the advanced legal writing elective. She returned to the full-time faculty in Fall 2013 when she was appointed as the Writing Center Director. She also currently serves as Director of Southwestern's Moot Court Honors Program. Professor D'Italia is devoted to ensuring that students get as much writing experience as they can while they are in law school. She has been recognized for her teaching, winning the Excellence in Teaching Award four times.

Prof. D’Italia developed the Storytelling Project in 2020 to teach the power of narrative in law practice. In 2022, The National Jurist recognized the project for its innovation. The Project’s workshops and speaker series for students, alumni, and faculty cover topics such as fiction techniques in persuasive writing, evolving language in legal narratives, personal storytelling in interviews and cover letters, drafting declarations, effective closing arguments, and more.  She hosts the annual Faculty StorySlam, which is a favorite among faculty and students alike. 

She has served as a contributing author and editor of treatises on State Constitutional Law, Criminal Law Advocacy, Texas Torts and Remedies, Texas Litigation Guide, Illinois Tort Law, Illinois Civil Trial Guide, and Business Insurance Law, among other areas. She has also lectured on a variety of topics related to writing, public interest, and other areas of law. While a law student, she was a Public Interest Law Scholar and Managing Editor of the Law Review.

Professor D'Italia's training, experience, and accolades in writing are not limited to the law. She earned a Masters in Professional Writing with an emphasis in fiction from the University of Southern California, graduating with honors and winning the Edward W. Moses Award in Fiction. Her stories and plays have been published in national journals, including Gold Man Review, Meat for Tea, Red Rock Review, Arcadia and South Loop Review, and a number of her short plays have been produced, most recently in New York at The Producers' Club Theater.

Professor D’Italia also volunteers at the Jacaranda School for Orphans in Limbe, Malawi. There, she teaches English, writing, and storytelling. She publishes a literary journal featuring the students’ work.

Excellence in Teaching Award, Southwestern Law School (2023-2024, 2017-2018, 2012-2013, and 2011-2012). 

Literary Hero, Volunteer of the Year, Jacaranda Foundation (2019)

Adjunct Excellence in Teaching Award, Southwestern Law School (2012-2013)