Brooke D. Coleman
Co-Associate Dean For Research And Faculty Development And Professor Of Law
Curriculum VitaeBiography
Professor Coleman's research and teaching interests focus on procedure and procedural justice. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in the New York University Law Review, Boston College Law Review, and Notre Dame Law Review, among others. She is also the co-author of an innovative civil procedure casebook, Learning Civil Procedure.
Prior to joining the faculty of Seattle University, Professor Coleman was a Thomas C. Grey Fellow at Stanford Law School. She also clerked for Honorable David F. Levi, district judge in the Eastern District of California and then-chair of the Standing Committee on the Federal Rules of Practice and Procedure. During that time, she worked on a variety of procedural amendments, including the civil rule amendments to account for electronic discovery and the appellate rule amendments governing citation to unpublished opinions. Before her clerkship, she practiced as an attorney at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian in Palo Alto, California.
Professor Coleman's teaching interests include civil procedure, advanced litigation, and federal courts. She has received numerous honors for her teaching, including the law school's Outstanding Faculty Award in 2013, 2015, and 2016.
Publications
Law Review Articles
#SoWhiteMale (federal civil rulemaking), NW. U. L. REV. (online and in print) (forthcoming 2018)
A Legal Fempire?: Women in Complex Civil Litigation, 93 IND. L. J. __ (forthcoming 2018)
· Selected for peer review in JOTWELL (2017)
· Selected for the Ninth Annual Federal Courts Workshop
Reinvigorating Commonality: Gender & Class Actions, 92 N.Y.U. LAW REV. 895 (2017)
(with Elizabeth Porter)
One Percent Procedure, 91 WASH. L. REV. 1005 (2016)
The Efficiency Norm, 56 B.C. L. REV. 1777 (2015)
· Selected for peer review in JOTWELL (2016)
Civil-izing Federalism, 89 TUL. L. REV. 307 (2014)
· Selected for the Seventh Annual Federal Courts Workshop
Prison is Prison, 88 NOTRE DAME L. REV. 2399 (2013)
· Cited in BARBARA BABCOCK ET AL., CIVIL PROCEDURE: CASES & PROBLEMS (5th ed. 2013)
The Vanishing Plaintiff, 42 SETON HALL L. REV. 501 (2012)
Recovering Access: Rethinking the Structure of Federal Civil Rulemaking, 39 N.M. L. REV. 261 (2009)
Books
LEARNING CIVIL PROCEDURE (2D. ED. WEST, 2015) with Jeffrey W. Stempel, Michael J. Kaufman, David F. Herr, & Steven Baicker-McKee
Selected Blogs and Other Works
Discovering Innovation: Discovery Reform & Federal Civil Rulemaking, 51 AKRON L. REV. ___ (forthcoming 2018) (invited symposium)
Federal Civil Rulemaking, Discovery Reform, & the Promise of Pilot Projects, ACS Issue Brief, March 2018, https://www.acslaw.org/mandatoryinitialdiscovery (invited response)
Dear White Men: You Are the Key to Women's Success in Law Firms, Bloomberg, September 12, 2017
Recent Activity
In the News
Midterm takeaway: Women voters are more diverse than given credit forNovember 07, 2018 | KIRO Radio
Professor Brooke Coleman discusses victories by women in the 2018 midterm elections.
The Committee That Dictates the Rules of American Courts Looks Nothing Like America—or the Federal JudiciaryOctober 24, 2018 | Slate
Professor Brooke Coleman argues for more diversity on the Federal Civil Rules Committee.
Seattle University Professor Brooke Coleman - What's Really on Trial in the Kavanaugh ConfirmationOctober 01, 2018 | KIRO Radio
Professor Brooke Coleman explains the difference between the Kavanaugh hearings and a criminal or civil trial.
From Anita Hill to Christine Blasey Ford, what's changed?October 01, 2018 | KUOW
Professor Brooke Coleman and law student Akua Asare-Konadu talk about how the U.S. Senate is handling sexual assault allegations against a Supreme Court nominee.
'History in the making': Kavanaugh hearing becomes the day’s lesson for law students and othersSeptember 27, 2018 | The Seattle Times
Professors Brooke Coleman and Deborah Ahrens, along with law students, comment on the hearing.
VIDEO: Tackling the Kavanaugh hearingSeptember 27, 2018 | KIRO
Professors Brooke Coleman and Deborah Ahrens debrief with students after the Senate committee hearing.
Seattle U law students disappointed with the politics of the Kavanaugh hearingSeptember 27, 2018 | KOMO News
Professors Brooke Coleman and Deborah Ahrens lead students in a legal discussion after the hearing.
Deceptive Wine Pricing Parties Reach Out-of-Court DealAugust 14, 2018 | Bloomberg Law
Bypassing the court could become the new normal, says Professor Brooke Coleman.
#SoWhiteMale: Civil Rules Group’s Makeup Limits Its WorkMay 18, 2018 | Big Law Business
Monsanto's Cancer Fight Judge Pictures Weed Killer ShowersMarch 13, 2018 | Bloomberg Technology
Professor Brooke Coleman explains the importance of expert witnesses in product liability litigation.
Hyundai Class Ruling 'Gift to Corporate Defendants'January 25, 2018 | Bloomberg
Brooke Coleman says a ruling that appears to be pro-plaintiff might actually benefit corporate defendants.