Jen McCloskey

Jennifer Taylor McCloskey

Executive Director of Advocacy and Legal Skills Programs


BA magna cum laude, Harvard University
JD magna cum laude, Boston University School of Law


Biography

Jen McCloskey is a 2005 graduate of the Law School. During law school, Jen was on Law Review and served as a 1L mentor and Lawyering Fellow. After graduating, she worked as an associate at Ropes & Gray in Boston before joining the BU Law staff in 2008. Jen previously taught in the Law School’s Lawyering Program (and its previous incarnation, the First Year Writing Program), and has also created and taught upper-class courses on persuasive writing and advocacy skills. She teaches advocacy skills through a moot court competitions course and in the BU Law Summer Pre-Law Academy program.

As Executive Director of Advocacy and Legal Skills, Jen supervises all of BU Law’s internal and external advocacy competitions and programs, including moot court, mock trial, negotiation, and client counseling. Additionally, she administers advocacy-related student programming, including the Law School’s Discovering Justice mentorship program and visiting court and judge programs. Finally, Jen oversees operations for our student Law Journals.

Outside of work, Jen enjoys cycling, video games, traveling, and finding fun and weird things to do in the Boston area with her husband and daughter.

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Activities & Engagements

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Courses

LAW JD 901

APPELLATE ADVOCACY PROGRAM DIRECTOR

3 credits

This class is restricted to third-year students who applied and were accepted as directors of the BU Law Moot Court programs (Stone and Albers). NOTE: This class may be used to satisfy the Upper-class Writing requirement.


FALL 2025: LAW JD 901 A1, Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am 3 Jennifer Taylor McCloskey
LAW JD 706

Competitions: Brief Writing

1 credits

This class is designed to prepare and support the 3L members of BU Law's extramural moot court teams who also serve as Stone and Albers competition preceptors. This seminar will focus on improving students' appellate brief writing skills through a series of course meetings that involve skills training and in-class exercises. The seminar will meet weekly as a group for the first half of the semester and will focus on competition brief writing skills, including research, organization, persuasive writing, and editing. The course will make use of former competition problems to prepare students to write their competition briefs in their specific competitions. For the second half of the semester, students participating in the National Moot Court competition (who serve as Albers preceptors in spring) will meet on an arranged schedule to conduct at least six one-hour formal oral argument practices. The National Moot Court competition students will also be required to write a reflection paper due no later than two weeks after the close of their competition. Students participating in spring competitions will serve as Stone competition preceptors, scoring briefs or oral arguments. These Stone preceptors will meet to work on editing and feedback skills. There will be no final exam. Note that students who are participating on extramural moot court teams that are assigned to serve as either Stone or Albers preceptors must still serve as preceptors even if they do not enroll in this course. ENROLLMENT LIMIT: 25 students. GRADING NOTICE: CR/NC graded. NOTE: This class may not be used to satisfy the Upper-class Writing Requirement. ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENT: A student who fails to attend the first class or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar will be administratively dropped from the course.


FALL 2025: LAW JD 706 A1, Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Fri 10:30 am 12:30 pm 1 Jennifer Taylor McCloskey LAW 203
LAW JD 714

Competitions: Oral Advocacy

1 credits

This class is designed to prepare and support the 3L members of BU Law's extramural moot court teams who also serve as Stone and Albers competition preceptors. This course will focus on improving students' appellate oral advocacy skills through a series of course meetings that involve skills training and in-class exercises. For the first month of the semester, the seminar will meet weekly as a group and will focus on oral advocacy skills, including how to prepare, argument organization, and presentation best practices. For the remainder of the spring semester, students participating in spring competitions will meet on an arranged schedule to conduct at least four one-hour oral argument practices for their competition and to attend and to serve as judges for at least two other one-hour oral argument practices for other competitions. Students serving as Albers preceptors will score briefs and oral arguments. These Albers preceptors will meet to work on editing and feedback skills. All students participating in spring competitions will be required to write a reflection paper due no later than two weeks after the close of their competition. There will be no final exam. Note that students who are participating on extramural moot court teams that are assigned to serve as either Stone or Albers preceptors must still serve as preceptors even if they do not enroll in this course. ENROLLMENT LIMIT: 25 students. GRADING NOTICE: CR/NC graded. NOTE: This class does not satisfy the Upper-class Writing Requirement. ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENT: A student who fails to attend the first class or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar will be administratively dropped from the course.


SPRG 2026: LAW JD 714 A1, Jan 12th to Apr 22nd 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Fri 10:30 am 12:30 pm 1 Jennifer Taylor McCloskey
LAW JD 602

Lawyering Skills 1

3 credits

Provides training in legal research, legal writing, oral advocacy, client interviewing, and client counseling through simulations of real-world legal disputes.


FALL 2025: LAW JD 602 M1, Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon,Wed 11:45 am 12:40 pm 3 Claire Bishop Abely LAW 419
FALL 2025: LAW JD 602 M10, Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon,Wed 11:45 am 12:40 pm 3 Cody Jacobs LAW 204
FALL 2025: LAW JD 602 M11, Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon,Wed 11:45 am 12:40 pm 3 Kathleen Luz LAW 416
FALL 2025: LAW JD 602 M12, Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon,Wed 11:45 am 12:40 pm 3 Jarrod F. Reich LAW 417
FALL 2025: LAW JD 602 M13, Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon,Wed 11:45 am 12:40 pm 3 Seth Reiner LAW 420
FALL 2025: LAW JD 602 M2, Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon,Wed 10:40 am 11:35 am 3 Marni Goldstein Caputo LAW 410
FALL 2025: LAW JD 602 M3, Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon,Wed 10:40 am 11:35 am 3 Laura E. D’Amato LAW 203
FALL 2025: LAW JD 602 M4, Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon,Wed 10:40 am 11:35 am 3 Cody Jacobs LAW 204
FALL 2025: LAW JD 602 M5, Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon,Wed 10:40 am 11:35 am 3 Kathleen Luz LAW 416
FALL 2025: LAW JD 602 M6, Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon,Wed 10:40 am 11:35 am 3 Jarrod F. Reich LAW 417
FALL 2025: LAW JD 602 M7, Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon,Wed 10:40 am 11:35 am 3 Seth Reiner LAW 420
FALL 2025: LAW JD 602 M8, Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon,Wed 11:45 am 12:40 pm 3 Marni Goldstein Caputo LAW 410
FALL 2025: LAW JD 602 M9, Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon,Wed 11:45 am 12:40 pm 3 Laura E. D’Amato LAW 203
LAW JD 603

Lawyering Skills 2

3 credits

Provides training in legal research, legal writing, oral advocacy, client interviewing, and client counseling through simulations of real-world legal disputes.


SPRG 2026: LAW JD 603 M1, Jan 12th to Apr 22nd 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon,Wed 11:45 am 12:40 pm 3 Claire Bishop Abely
SPRG 2026: LAW JD 603 M10, Jan 12th to Apr 22nd 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon,Wed 10:40 am 11:35 am 3 Cody Jacobs
SPRG 2026: LAW JD 603 M11, Jan 12th to Apr 22nd 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon,Wed 10:40 am 11:35 am 3 Kathleen Luz
SPRG 2026: LAW JD 603 M12, Jan 12th to Apr 22nd 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon,Wed 10:40 am 11:35 am 3 Jarrod F. Reich
SPRG 2026: LAW JD 603 M13, Jan 12th to Apr 22nd 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon,Wed 10:40 am 11:35 am 3 Seth Reiner
SPRG 2026: LAW JD 603 M2, Jan 12th to Apr 22nd 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon,Wed 11:45 am 12:40 pm 3 Marni Goldstein Caputo
SPRG 2026: LAW JD 603 M3, Jan 12th to Apr 22nd 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon,Wed 11:45 am 12:40 pm 3 Laura E. D’Amato
SPRG 2026: LAW JD 603 M4, Jan 12th to Apr 22nd 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon,Wed 11:45 am 12:40 pm 3 Cody Jacobs
SPRG 2026: LAW JD 603 M5, Jan 12th to Apr 22nd 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon,Wed 11:45 am 12:40 pm 3 Kathleen Luz
SPRG 2026: LAW JD 603 M6, Jan 12th to Apr 22nd 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon,Wed 11:45 am 12:40 pm 3 Jarrod F. Reich
SPRG 2026: LAW JD 603 M7, Jan 12th to Apr 22nd 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon,Wed 11:45 am 12:40 pm 3 Seth Reiner
SPRG 2026: LAW JD 603 M8, Jan 12th to Apr 22nd 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon,Wed 10:40 am 11:35 am 3 Marni Goldstein Caputo
SPRG 2026: LAW JD 603 M9, Jan 12th to Apr 22nd 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon,Wed 10:40 am 11:35 am 3 Laura E. D’Amato