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David Spratt Legal Rhetoric Instructor WCL Faculty

Degrees
J.D., American University Washington College of Law 1994
B.A., The College of William and Mary 1991

Bio

Professor David H. Spratt received a B.A. degree in Government and Psychology from The College of William and Mary and graduated summa cum laude from The American University, Washington College of Law. Prior to joining WCL as a full-time faculty member, Professor Spratt taught Legal Writing and Research at the George Washington University School of Law, Legal Analysis and Writing at Concord School of Law, and Legal Methods at the Washington College of Law. Professor Spratt is a member of the Virginia and District of Columbia bars, and he is an active participant in state, local, and national bar associations and organizations. He is a past chair of the Virginia Bar Association, Domestic Relations Section and the Northern Virginia Regional Advisory Committee. In the past, he has moderated and/or presented continuing legal education programs on attorney impairment, vocational rehabilitation experts, defined duration support, imputation of income, amendments to the Virginia child support statute, legal ethics, research and citation, the use of electronic evidence in litigation and family law cases, and child custody evaluations. In 2001, Professor Spratt was a founding partner of Schwartz & Spratt, PLC, a family law firm in Fairfax, Virginia. Previously, Professor Spratt has worked as an associate at the Law Office of Betty A. Thompson, Ltd., and at The Lewis Law Firm, in Washington, D.C. Professor Spratt writes a regular column, “Writer’s Block,” for the Virginia Bar Association News Journal. In January 2013, Professor Spratt was appointed to the Virginia State Bar Section on Education of Lawyers Task Force on Legal Writing and planned and implemented a Legal Writing Bootcamp for practicing Virginia attorneys, now in its fifth year. Professor Spratt served as the Civil Reporter of Decisions for the Virginia Court of Appeals for more than three years, stepping down in October 2021, and he currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Virginia State Bar Section on Education of Lawyers. Professor Spratt is the 2021 Recipient of the Washington College of Law Excellence in Teaching Award.

Areas of Specialization
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Appellate Advocacy
Contracts
Family Law
Legal Writing, Reasoning and Research
Trial Advocacy
For the Media
To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.