::Beckett, Cheryl

Cheryl A. Beckett Associate Professor and Director Legal Research and Writing Program cbeckett@lawschool.gonzaga.edu (509) 323-3721 B.A., cum laude, Rutgers University, 1974 J.D., magna cum laude, Gonzaga University School of Law, 1981

Biographical Information

Before joining the Gonzaga faculty in 1991, Professor Beckett served as counsel for United Food and Commercial Workers' Union, Local 1439, Spokane, WA.  She has also practiced labor law with the National Labor Relations Board in Anchorage, Alaska and with the firm formerly known as Hafer, Cassidy, and Price in Seattle.

Professor Beckett continues to serve as arbitrator on both public and private labor issues when called upon by employers and unions.  She is a member of the American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section; the Washington State Bar Association, Labor and Employment Section; the Association of American Law Schools, Labor and Employment Law Section and Legal Research and Writing Section; and the Association of Legal Writing Directors.

She has presented at various seminars, workshops, and conferences on both labor and employment issues, as well as on legal writing topics.

Teaching Areas

• Legal Research and Writing
• Labor Law
• Employment Law
• Professor Beckett has also taught Comparative International Labor Law in Gonzaga's Summer Program in Florence, Italy.

Publications

• Publisher's Review, Employment Law by Richard Carlson (March 2005, Aspen Publishers).
• Editor, 2000 Proceedings Issue of Legal Writing: The Journal of the Legal Writing Institute.
• Editor, Legal Research and Writing for Paralegals by Joanne Hames and Yvonne Ekern (Prentice Hall 1999).
• Editor, 1996 Proceedings Issue of Legal Writing: The Journal of the Legal Writing Institute.
• Book Review, Persuasive Writing for Lawyers and the Legal Profession, by Louis J. Sirico, Jr. and Nancy L. Schultz, published in AALS Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research Newsletter, Fall 1995.
• Beckett, Goldberg, Mechanic, and Schendel, Defending the Rights of Construction Workers, in EMPLOYMENT AND UNION MEMBER GUIDE TO LABOR LAW, National Lawyers Guild (New York: Clark Boardman Co., Ltd., 1986). 

Presentations

• November 1, 2007, presented Ask the Arbitrator: Scenarios and Case Handling Tips at the Labor and Employment Relations Conference for the Inland Empire Chapter of the Labor and Employment Relations Association in Spokane, Washington. 
• October 18, 2007, presented on Compliance with State and Federal Anti-Discrimination Laws at the WSBA Benefits, Compliance & Consequences of Diversity CLE at Gonzaga University School of Law. 
• August 2007, Associate Professor Cheryl Beckett and Associate Professor Kevin Shelley organized the 2007 Northwest Regional Legal Research & Writing Conference: Teaching LR&W in Changing Times, held at Gonzaga School of Law. 
• April 2006, Law and Practice: Fair Labor Standards Act, Family Medical Leave Act, Trade Secrets and Covenants Not to Compete, ABA Section on Labor and Employment Law; Co-Sponsored by Gonzaga University School of Law, Spokane, Washington.
• Oct. 2006, A Factor By Any Other Name: Using the Bennett Amendment as a Defense in Contraceptive Equity Claims Under Title VII, First Annual Colloquium on Current Scholarship in Labor and Employment Law, Marquette University School of Law, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  
• Sept. 2005, Teaching Legal Analysis: The Early Years-From Deconstruction to Construction, Northwest Regional LR&W Conference, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
• Oct. 2004, Persuasive Approaches To Legal Analysis, Eastern Washington Women Lawyers, Spokane, Washington.
• Feb. 2003, Legal Writing for Legal Assistants, Half Moon Seminars, Spokane, Washington.
• Dec. 2001, Public Service Ethics CLE, Spokane County Bar Association, Spokane, Washington.
• Feb. 1999, Shooting The Rapids: Avoiding Workplace Discrimination Rocks, Moderator, Panel Discussion, Thomas More Scholarship Program, Gonzaga University School of Law.
• Oct. 1998, The Sex Trials of '98: A Review of the U.S. Supreme Court's Recent Treatment of Sexual Harassment Issues, Associated Industries Management Services, Inc., Spokane, Washington.
• Feb. 1998, Writing Workshop Brown Bag, Washington State University (extension), Spokane, Washington.
• Sept. 1996, The Law School Experience, 1996 West Coast Consortium Recruitment Fair, Fairbanks, Alaska.
• July 1995, Professional Status for the Legal Writing Instructor, Legal Writing Directors' Conference, San Diego, California.
• Sept. 1994, The Law School Experience, 1994 West Coast Consortium Recruitment Fair, Fairbanks, Alaska.
• March 1993, Organizing in the Public Sector, Panel Member for Presentation to Spokane Professional City Workers.
• Oct. 1992, Conscious Drafting: Simplify Your Writing and Simplify Your Practice, Continuing Legal Education Program, Sponsored by the Spokane County Bar Association.
• March 1988, Developments in Labor Law, Continuing Legal Education Program, Sponsored by the Spokane County Bar Association.
  

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