Contact Information

Biography

Tara Willke is associate dean for strategic academic programs and associate professor of law at Duquesne University School of Law. After serving four years on active duty in the United States Air Force as a command post crew commander, Willke attended Southern Illinois University. She received her undergraduate degree, summa cum laude, in 2000 with a major in history and minor in political science. She earned her J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 2004, where she graduated magna cum laude and was elected for membership in the Order of the Coif. While at the University of Pittsburgh, Willke served as the senior managing editor of the Law Review and was a teaching assistant for legal research and writing. After graduating from law school, Willke was a litigation associate with the Pittsburgh law firm of Babst, Calland, Clements & Zomnir, P.C., where her practice included commercial, construction and environmental litigation, as well as other types of complex litigation matters.

Willke teaches legal research and writing and, together with Julia Glencer and Erin Karsman, co-created and team-teaches Writing in Law Practice at Duquesne. She directs Duquesne's summer program in Ireland and serves as faculty advisor to the Military Law Society and Juris; her committee work includes serving on the Curriculum and Technology Committees.

Willke lives with her husband and daughter on a farm north of Pittsburgh.

Education

  • J.D., Law, University of Pittsburgh, 2004
  • B.A., History, Southern Illinois University, 2000

School

About

Advanced Legal Writing:Law Firm Simulation

Advanced Legal Writing: Writing in Law Practice

Repres Veterans

Legal Research and Writing

Three Wrongs Do Not Make a Right: Federal Sovereign Immunity, the Feres Doctrine, and the Denial of Claims Brought by Military Mothers and Their Children for Injuries Sustained Pre-Birth
Tara Willke, Three Wrongs Do Not Make a Right: Federal Sovereign Immunity, the Feres Doctrine, and the Denial of Claims Brought by Military Mothers and Their Children for Injuries Sustained Pre-Birth, 2016 Wis. L. Rev. 263 (2016).

Military Mothers and Claims Under the Federal Tort Claims Act for Injuries that Occur Pre-Birth 
Tara Willke, Military Mothers and Claims Under the Federal Tort Claims Act for Injuries that Occur Pre-Birth, 91 Notre Dame L. Rev. Online 160 (2016).

Got Skills - Adding Skills through Professional & Business Development Exercises
Tara Wilke, Erin Karsman, Julia Glencer, Got Skills - Adding Skills through Professional & Business Development Exercises, 27 Second Draft 17 (2013-2014).

The Fruits of Hope: Student Evaluations
Julia Glencer, Jan M. Levine, Erin Karsman, Tara Willke, The Fruits of Hope: Student Evaluations, 48 Duq. L. Rev. 233 (2010). SSRN

But You're Not a Real Law Professor
co-presenter, ALWD Directors 2021 Biennial Conference, University of Michigan Law School (June 2021)

Assessing Legal Research in an Outcome Assessments World
Ann Schiavone and Tara Willke, Assessing Legal Research in an Outcome Assessments World, Association of Legal Writing Directors' Biennial Conference, Suffolk University, Boston, Mass. (May 31, 2019).

The Educational Benefits Provided by the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008: Illusion or Reality?
Willke, T. (2015). The Educational Benefits Provided by the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008: Illusion or Reality? Junior Faculty Exchange, Akron, Ohio.

Adult Learning Theory Applied to Legal Research
Willke, T. L. (2016). Adult Learning Theory Applied to Legal Research. Legal Writing Institute Biennial Conference, Hilton Portland, Portland, Oregon, Portland, Oregon.

Uncle Sam Can Draft Your Daughter, But Will He?
Willke, T. L. (2016). Uncle Sam Can Draft Your Daughter, But Will He?  U.S. Feminist Judgments Conference, University of Akron School of Law, Akron, Ohio, Akron, Ohio.

Ethical Legal Writing, Including the Ghostwritten E-Mail and Other Such Things
Willke, T. (2015). Ethical Legal Writing, Including the Ghostwritten E-Mail and Other Such Things.   Duquesne University School of Law CLE, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Taking a Quantum Leap: Entering the Mind of the Millennial Researcher
Willke, T. (2014). Taking a Quantum Leap: Entering the Mind of the Millennial Researcher.   Southeastern Regional Legal Writing Conference, Tampa, Florida.

Designing Spaces: Planning the Physical Space for a LRW Program
Julia M. Glencer, Jan M. Levine, Ann Schiavone, & Tara Willke, Designing Spaces: Planning the Physical Space for a LRW Program, presentation at ALWD Conference (June 2013).