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Cara Cunningham

Assistant Dean of Academic Initiatives and Assistant Professor of Legal Writing and Research
  • Cara CunninghamJ.D. University of Detroit Mercy '96
  • B.A. Michigan State University '93

Before coming to UDM, Professor Cunningham litigated at both the trial and appellate levels,  specializing in employment, civil rights, and tort litigation.   She also served as clerk to United States Magistrate Judge Virginia M. Morgan of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.  She is a member of the Legal Writing Institute and is admitted to practice in the State of Michigan. 

Professor Cunningham puts her work experience to use in the classroom where she teaches the demanding and nationally ranked first-year writing course, Applied Legal Theory and Analysis, and an upper-level course, Advanced Appellate Advocacy. 

Professor Cunningham also uses her thirteen years of moot court experience and membership in the National Order of Barristers to enrich UDM’s moot court program.  In addition to presenting advocacy techniques at the state and national levels, Professor Cunningham and her colleague, Professor Michelle Streicher, have developed and expanded the moot court competition experience for UDM students,  which has resulted in various national honors for our moot court teams. Professor Cunningham  has been recognized for her efforts and has been named Professor of the Year three times by the Moot Court Board of Advocates and has had a moot court award named in her honor. 

Professor Cunningham also serves as Assistant Dean of Academic Initiatives.  Among other things, she is responsible for course scheduling, adjunct faculty members, the implementation of UDM’s new curriculum, including the innovative Law Firm Program, and coordinating academic events. 

Recent Presentations

  • The Methodology of Persuasion:  Exploring the Irony that Standardized Methods Foster Creative Thinking and the Creation of Compelling Arguments
    Legal Writing Institute 12th Biennial Conference  (Atlanta, Georgia)
  • Teaching First-Year Law Students to be Practicing Attorneys:  A Contextual Approach to Legal Writing and Research
    Legal Writing Institute 12th Biennial Conference  (Atlanta, Georgia)
  • Appellate Brief Writing
    CORT Appellate Advocacy & Legal Writing Skills Training Seminar (Novi, Michigan)