Rate My Professor Jim Dimitri

James D. Dimitri is a Clinical Professor of Law at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. He joined the faculty full-time in 1998, following a period as an adjunct professor starting in 1997. Prior to academia, Dimitri practiced law at the Indianapolis firm Frank & Kraft and served three years as a deputy attorney general in the Indiana Attorney General’s Office, litigating civil and criminal appeals, post-conviction relief proceedings, federal habeas corpus cases, and matters arising under the Indiana Tort Claims Act. He holds a B.S. from Indiana University (1990) and a J.D. summa cum laude from Valparaiso University School of Law (1993).

Dimitri teaches courses in legal analysis, research, and communication; intramural moot court competition; and advanced persuasive writing and oral advocacy. His research interests encompass teaching trial and appellate advocacy, best practices in typography and document design for legal writing, using technology for legal research, analysis, and writing, and applying neuroscience to lawyers' editing processes. Notable publications include co-authoring The Moot Court Advisor’s Handbook (2d ed. 2023, Carolina Academic Press) with Melissa E. Love Koenig and Susie Salmon; “Writing Engaging, Realistic, and Balanced Appellate Advocacy Problems,” 16 Perspectives: Teaching Legal Research and Writing 93 (2008); “Stepping Up to the Podium with Confidence: A Primer for Law Students on Preparing and Delivering an Appellate Oral Argument,” 38 Stetson Law Review 75 (2008); and contributions to Res Gestae such as “WordWise: Writing for Screen Readers in the Wake of Indiana's E-Filing Initiative” (Dec. 2015). He has delivered numerous presentations at conferences including the Legal Writing Institute Biennial Conference (2024), Rocky Mountain Legal Writing Conference (2024, 2022, 2016), and Central States Legal Writing Conference (2025, 2021, 2019), covering topics like AI in legal writing, hybrid pedagogy, neuroscience, and document design. Dimitri served as faculty advisor to the Moot Court Society for over 20 years. Awards include two Indiana University Trustees’ Teaching Awards, the American Association of Law Schools’ Teacher of the Year Award, and Dean’s Fellow recognition for 2024–25.