Jan Baker, a member of the legal writing faculty at the University of South Carolina School of Law, has been named the new associate dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion, effective January 1, 2021. She takes over for Susan Kuo, who served in the position since 2016, and was named the associate dean for academic affairs in November 2020.
“I am honored to have the opportunity to work with everyone in our Law School community to make this great Law School a welcoming and inclusive place to work and study,” says Baker.
Baker, a 1994 law alumna, is also the director of the Konduros Leadership Development Program. She teaches several legal writing and drafting courses, as well as an undergraduate class on storytelling and argumentation ethics in legal advocacy for the university’s top-ranked Honors College. She began working for the School of Law in 1997 as an adjunct legal writing instructor until 2006 when she began teaching full-time.
In 2018, she began serving as a member of both the law school’s faculty and staff diversity task force and the South Carolina Bar’s diversity committee.
“I am grateful that Jan Baker, one of our most dedicated faculty members, will help guide our law school to be a national leader in encouraging and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion,” said William C. Hubbard, dean of the School of Law. “We must not only insure that our school is fair and welcoming to all, we must also promote the future health of and trust in our justice system, which depends on having a system that truly represents all of the people it serves.”
Baker began her legal career as a law clerk to The Honorable George L. Proctor, United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Middle District of Florida. Prior to becoming a South Carolina Law faculty member, she was in private practice with King & Dalrymple, P.A., dedicating her practice to representing consumers and small businesses in personal and corporate bankruptcy cases. She is a co-author of The South Carolina Bankruptcy Practice Manual. On the lighter side, Baker also co-authored two coloring books for the South Carolina Bar, one addressing the role of lawyers in society and another addressing the sensitive issue of divorce. She is an author, a frequent lecturer and moderator at seminars focusing on legal writing, legal citation, and bankruptcy practice.