Erin Walczewski, Immediate Past Chair

Erin Walczewski serves as pro bono counsel for Cooley LLP, helping attorneys firmwide develop the skills they need to serve pro bono clients effectively. Her focus is nonprofits and low-income entrepreneurs. Erin earned her JD from Harvard Law School and graduated valedictorian from Truman State University in Missouri. She is a Lecturer on Law on the faculty of Harvard Law School and served as the director of the Kirkland Pre-Law Program at Harvard College from 2008 – 2018. Erin is based in Boston and Cincinnati, and became Chair of the PDC in 2021.  A frequent speaker and presenter, Erin has taught workshops and seminars at Harvard, MIT, NYU, Tufts, NALP, and professional conferences across the country. 

Frequent Speaking Topics:

• Design Thinking and Human-Centered Design
• Negotiation
• Entrepreneurship and Startup Law
• Small Talk, Interviewing Skills, and Public Speaking
• Lawyer Learning and Executive Professional Development 

About Erin

What law school classes do you teach at Harvard Law school?

I teach an upper level seminar on design thinking for lawyers with Scott Westfahl, and a 1L class on advocacy strategies. I also teach workshops on negotiation, small talk, and leadership at Harvard and other places.

What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?

Write and sell screenplays.

If you were a superhero, what powers would you have?

Teleportation, but I need the kind that lets me take other people with me, otherwise my insta-trip to preschool to pick up my kids isn’t so helpful.

Favorite guilty pleasure?

Binge-watching Netflix on a near-nightly basis.