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Colin Black

Associate Professor of Legal Writing; Director, Advocacy Programs

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Biography

Professor Colin M. Black is an Associate Professor of Legal Writing and Director of Advocacy Programs at Suffolk University Law School. His teaching, scholarship, and program leadership focus on preparing students to become practice-ready, ethical, and effective lawyers. He teaches Legal Practice Skills, Professional Responsibility, and Generative AI and the Delivery of Legal Services, with particular emphasis on legal analysis, legal writing, oral advocacy, professional identity formation, legal ethics, and the responsible use of emerging technology in law practice.

As Director of Advocacy Programs, Professor Black leads Suffolk Law’s effort to coordinate and elevate its advocacy-related curriculum and co-curricular opportunities. He designed Suffolk’s Advocacy Programs initiative around a central goal: building a deliberate bridge between Suffolk’s nationally recognized Legal Practice Skills curriculum and its clinical, experiential, competition-based, and professional advocacy opportunities. Through this work, he is helping to build a more visible and intentional pathway for students to develop as complete advocates.

Professor Black’s scholarship addresses the future of legal education and the legal profession. His recent work examines generative AI disclosure obligations in law practice, professional identity formation in the first year of law school, the lawyer’s oath and democratic responsibility, and the history of mental-health inquiries in bar admission. He regularly presents on generative AI, legal ethics, professional responsibility, advocacy education, and student professional development.

Before joining Suffolk Law, Professor Black practiced as a litigator in Boston, representing clients in business disputes, employment matters, professional malpractice claims, contract disputes, and negligence cases. He served as a Partner and Director of Professional Development at Donovan Hatem LLP, where he supervised and mentored associates, law clerks, and paralegals. Earlier in his career, he clerked for the Honorable James F. McHugh, III of the Massachusetts Appeals Court and served as Associate Director of Advocacy Programs at Boston University School of Law.

Professor Black is active in national legal writing and legal education organizations. He has served in leadership positions with the Legal Writing Institute, previously chaired LWI’s Awards Committee, and has served on committees for the Association of Legal Writing Directors and the Association of American Law Schools Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research.

Professor Black is also profiled on AILawProf.com as a leading voice on generative AI in the legal profession. Professor Black has provided training and resources on the ethical use of generative AI tools to students, practitioners, faculty, and judges.

Professor Black is a graduate of Suffolk University Law School, where he served as Vice President of the Moot Court Honor Board and participated on the National Moot Court and Mock Trial teams. He now serves as faculty advisor and coach for Suffolk’s National Moot Court Team and as faculty advisor to the Suffolk University Veterans Association. Before law school, Professor Black served as an Intelligence Analyst in the United States Air Force.

Education

  • Suffolk University Law School (JD, cum laude)
  • University of Massachusetts, Amherst (BA)

Selected Publications

Bar Admittance

  • Massachusetts 2002
  • U.S. District Court (D. Mass.) 2003
  • U.S. Court of Appeals (1st Cir.) 2003
Portrait of Colin Black

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Courses Taught

  • Legal Practice Skills
  • Professional Responsibility and Identity Formation
  • Generative AI and the Delivery of Legal Services

Curriculum Vitae