Harmony Decosimo

Biography

Professor Decosimo graduated magna cum laude and Order of the Coif from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law where she was a Dean’s Scholar. As a law student, she served on the executive board of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review as an articles editor, and was recognized for extraordinary dedication to public service.

Following graduation, Professor Decosimo worked at Dechert LLP, focusing on complex white collar and securities litigations matters and participating in the firm’s varied pro bono practice. In 2017, she joined Boston University Law School as a Career Advisor within the Office of Graduate & International Programs and was appointed as a Lecturer of Legal Writing in both the LLM and Legal English Programs shortly thereafter. Professor Decosimo has been teaching in Suffolk’s Legal Practice Skills program since 2018, and is an active member of the national legal writing community, currently serving on committees for the Legal Writing Institute, the Association of Legal Writing Directors, and the AALS Section on Legal Writing and Rhetoric. Her scholarly interests include legal ethics, pedagogy, and professional identity formation.

Education

• JD, University of Pennsylvania Law School, magna cum laude
• BA, Covenant College, magna cum laude

Selected Publications

Articles

• Taxonomizing Professional Identity Formation: The Soul of Legal Education, 67 St. Louis U.L.J. __ (forthcoming 2023)
• Professor Mom: The Pandemic’s Disruption of the Personal-Professional Divide in Legal Academia, 25 Legal Writing: J. Legal Writing Inst. 67 (2021)

Media

• Do This, Not That! Tips for Summer Success, Legal Writing Matters blog, Suffolk University Law School, (2021)
• More than Grades: Prioritizing the Development of Trustworthiness, Legal Writing Matters blog, Suffolk University Law School, (2019)

Bar Admittance

• New Jersey
• U.S. District (NJ)