D.C. Bar Announces 2023–2024 Writers in Residence
October 17, 2023
The D.C. Bar has selected Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law student Tynekia Garrett and George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School student Angela Mackie-Rutledge as its 2023–2024 Writers in Residence. Garrett and Mackie-Rutledge will collaborate with D.C. Bar staff writers and editors to produce content for the Bar’s multimedia channels, including Washington Lawyer magazine and Duly Noted blog.
Now in its third year, the D.C. Bar Writers in Residence Program is a collaboration between the D.C. Bar’s Communities Office and Marketing and Communications Department, providing law students a unique opportunity to hone their writing and interviewing skills and benefit from one-on-one interactions with attorneys across various practice areas. The residency runs from October 2023 to June 2024.
“To position themselves for career opportunities after graduation, most law students seek a variety of experiences that add to their professional development while still in school. The Law Student Community’s Writers in Residence Program is one such experience,” said D.C. Bar Communities Director Pamela Robinson. “In addition to providing writing credits to which the students can point on résumés and job applications, the program brings with it the cachet of association with the nation’s preeminent state-level jurisdictional bar. It’s a valuable opportunity that the D.C. Bar Communities Office is gratified to provide for these students.”
Garrett, who earned a master’s degree in environmental law and policy from Vermont Law School, has worked for the Government of the District of Columbia since 2015 and is currently serving as a senior financial analyst at the D.C. Office of the State Superintendent for Education. Last summer she clerked for the senior judges of Maryland Circuit Courts. Garrett was also the D.C. Bar Fellow on the Communities Committee for the 2023 spring semester.
“As a writer in residence, my goal is to expand my legal writing skills in a creative way that highlights exciting topics for the law community,” said Garrett. “While the legal field is rooted in traditionalism, how lawyers consume information has changed significantly. From physical law books to electronic books and online databases, most information is consumed digitally. Legal material should be both entertaining and easily digestible in an online format to grow readership.”
Mackie-Rutledge, an LLM student in global antitrust law and economics, holds a law degree from the University of Law in London. Currently she is a freelance legal writer and researcher assisting attorneys by writing prompts to extract data from ChatGPT, as well as a law clerk in the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, Court of Common Pleas. Mackie-Rutledge has had her writing published in outlets such as Above the Law.
“This opportunity is special to me because I've been a storyteller my whole life — whether it’s concocting bedtime stories for children, writing legal memos to my judge, graduating with a degree in writing (NYU), crafting a research report on law and AI, or writing a freelance article on Black hair and the law,” Mackie-Rutledge said. “The effective communication of ideas and constant search for the mot juste fuels my passion for writing. And now, as both a law student at George Mason University and a writer in residence at the D.C. Bar, I have the opportunity to frame my narrative in a new light, learn from some of the best in the industry, and investigate and write compelling stories to share with a wider audience. This is an absolute honor.”
Both writers in residence are expected to graduate in May 2024.
