Professor Patrick Barry is a clinical assistant professor and the director of digital academic initiatives at the University of Michigan Law School. His teaching and research focus on creating a new vocabulary to talk about advocacy.

An All-American soccer player in college, Professor Barry earned his law degree from the University of Chicago, where he was a member of the Law Review and won both the Thomas R. Mulroy Prize in Appellate Advocacy and the Ann Barber Watson Prize for Outstanding Service. After law school, Professor Barry completed a PhD in English at the University of Michigan, with a special focus on the theatrical aspects of Supreme Court confirmation hearings. During that time, he worked with other Michigan faculty to create Clinnect, a global network of legal clinics devoted to combatting human trafficking. He then did a dual clerkship in Las Vegas with the Hon. Jennifer A. Dorsey and the Hon. Andrew P. Gordon.

Among Professor Barry's teaching awards are the Wayne Booth Prize for Excellence in Teaching, the Provost's Innovation in Teaching Prize, and the Outstanding Research Mentor Award. In addition, he was recently selected as a Faculty Fellow by the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion's Center for Educational Outreach and as a Faculty Diversity Ally by the Rackham School of Graduate Studies. A member of the California bar, he splits his teaching time between the University of Michigan Law School, the University of Chicago Law School, and the UCLA School of Law. He also regularly collaborates with law firms, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations.

Here is a list of his other online series with Coursera, as well as the books he has created as companion texts.

Coursera

Good with Words: Speaking and Presenting

• Poise

• Pitches and Persuasion

• Conversation Starters

• Tact

Good with Words: Writing and Editing

• Word Choice and Word Order

• Structure and Organization

• Drafting

• Revising

Books

Good with Words: Speaking and Presenting

Good with Words: Writing and Editing

Notes on Nuance

Punctuation and Persuasion

The Syntax of Sports: The Words Under the Words (Class 1)

The Syntax of Sports: The Power of the Particular (Class 2)

The Syntax of Sports: The Rule of Three (Class 3)

The Syntax of Sports: Parallel Structure (Class 4)