David J.S. Ziff

  • Teaching Professor

Contact

Phone: (206) 543-2458
Email: dziff@uw.edu

Download a high-resolution image.

Education

J.D. 2005, Columbia University School of Law, New York, NY, A.B. [Mathematics] & A.B. [Economics] 2000, Brown University

Curriculum Vitae

Areas of Expertise

Legal Research and Writing

Recent Courses

Course Number Course Name
LAW A 506 Legal Analysis, Research and Writing

Selected Publications

See the full list under the Publications tab below.

David Ziff is a Teaching Professor at the School of Law. He primarily teaches in the first-year Legal Analysis, Research, and Writing program. Professor Ziff's scholarship focuses on legal citation and sources of law. He often discusses best practices in legal writing during CLE presentations to the Washington bench and bar. As a member of the national community of legal writing scholars, Professor Ziff has served on the Publications Committee for the Association of Legal Writing Directors and the Discipline Building Working Group for the Legal Writing Institute.
 
Prior to joining the School of Law, Professor Ziff practiced civil litigation in Seattle, Washington and New York, New York. After law school, Professor Ziff clerked for Judge Gerard E. Lynch of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and for Chief Judge Dennis Jacobs of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.  He earned a B.A. in Mathematics and a B.A. in Economics from Brown University and a J.D. from Columbia Law School, where he was a Kent Scholar, a Stone Scholar, and the Executive Managing Editor of the Columbia Law Review. 

Peer Reviewed Journals & Law Reviews

Book Reviews

Professional Publications

  • Panelist, Funded Research Opportunities with Elizabeth Pendo, David M. N. Garavito, Lisa Marshall Manheim, Amanda K. Stephen, UW Law Faculty Colloquium Series: Scholarship Panel, University of Washington School of Law (October 2, 2025)
  • Speaker, "The Quick Fix," Summer Writing CLE, Corr Cronin LLP (September 18, 2024)
  • Panelist, Designing Legal Writing Problems for the NextGen-eration with Lauren E. Sancken, Jaclyn C. Celebrezze, Carrie Sanford, & Amanda K. Stephen, Western Regional Legal Writing Conference, (September 14, 2024)
  • Speaker, Is The Bluebook a Moral Document? Columbia Law Review (February 12, 2024)
  • Speaker, Slavery, Citation, and The Bluebook Western Regional Legal Writing Conference, University of San Francisco School of Law (August 26, 2023)
  • Moderator, "Personal Identity in Public Interest Law: How Me Becomes We," Interview with Justice G. Helen Whitener, University of Washington School of Law (Remote via Zoom) (April 8, 2022)
  • Speaker, "Improving Rule of Law Nationally and Locally," William L. Dwyer Inn of Court, University of Washington School of Law (Remote via Zoom) (February 8, 2022)
  • Speaker, "Editing as Teaching," The Washington Appellate Judicial Conference (Presented remotely via Zoom), (March 24, 2020)
  • Speaker, "Legal Writing Workshop II," with Destinee Evers, CLE Program, Washington State Bar Association (February 27, 2020)
  • Speaker, Best of Legal Writing and Technology, Washington State Bar Association (September 25, 2019)
  • Speaker, "Energizing Your Writing IV: The Medley," with Prof. Mimi Samuel, American Civil Liberties Union of Washington (September 9, 2019)
  • Speaker, "Creating Student Leaders," Biennial Conference, Association of Legal Writing Directors (May 31, 2019)
  • Speaker, Legal Writing Workshop, Washington State Bar Association (March 13, 2019)
  • Speaker, "Reading Like a Lawyer & Class Simulation," Foundations for Legal Study, University of Washington School of Law (September 18, 2018)
  • Moderator, "A Conversation with the LWI Discipline-Building Working Group," Biennial Conference, Legal Writing Institute (July 14, 2018)

Recent UW Law News

Kelly Ruhlig and her puppy Uno

One Year Wrapped, Another Begins

Published:

Students, staff and faculty reflect on highlights from 2025 and share what they’re looking forward to in 2026.

A Change in Presidential Administrations, Part Two

Published:

Faculty organized an expert panel to discuss topics focused on federalism, health care, international implications and tribal and natural resources.
LARW students.

The Write Stuff

Published:

UW Law’s LARW program teaches analysis, research and writing skills, equipping 1L students for both their educational and career journeys through dynamic, hands-on workshops.
Legal Analysis, research and Writing Spring 2023 Update

Legal Writing Program Spring 2023 Update

Published:

As we are nearing the end of the 2022–23 academic year, we want to acknowledge and highlight the work of our colleagues, our students, and share some good news about UW Law’s Legal Analysis, Research and Writing Program.