Bio

Alexandra D'Italia joined the UNM School of Law faculty in 2026 as Director of the Elements of Legal Argumentation program. She brings nearly two decades of legal writing pedagogy experience from Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles, where she directed the Writing Center and the Moot Court Honors Program. Devoted to ensuring students get as much writing experience as possible during law school, she was recognized four times with Southwestern's Excellence in Teaching Award.

In 2020, Professor D'Italia developed the Storytelling Project to teach the power of narrative in law practice. National Jurist recognized the project for its innovation in 2022. Its workshops and speaker series — for students, alumni, and faculty alike — cover topics ranging from fiction techniques in persuasive writing and evolving language in legal narratives to personal storytelling in interviews and cover letters, drafting declarations, and effective closing arguments. This interest in narrative extends to her research on language in the law, including the role of storytelling in judicial opinions and advocacy.

She has served as a contributing author and editor of treatises on state constitutional law, criminal law advocacy, torts and remedies, and litigation, and has lectured widely on writing and advocacy. As a law student, she was a Public Interest Law Scholar and Managing Editor of the Law Review.

Professor D'Italia's training and accolades in writing extend beyond the law. She earned a master's degree with an emphasis in fiction from the University of Southern California, graduating with honors, and won the Edward W. Moses Award in Fiction for her short story, When He's in the Room. Her stories and plays have appeared in national journals, and her short plays have been staged, including in New York at The Producers' Club Theater.

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