Professor Cecily Banks serves as a Professor of Legal Writing.  A member of the RWU faculty since 2003, Professor Banks teaches classes in legal methods, contract drafting and business skills.  Her students learn how to understand a client's business deal, and how to translate the deal into contract concepts, the building blocks of contracts. They also learn the process for drafting the contract concepts in clear and unambiguous provisions in a well-organized complete contract that reflects accurately the parties' deal and how to add value to a client's deal by drafting and recognizing nuances in language that change the deal and shift risk between the parties.

After graduating from the University of Virginia School of Law, Professor Banks worked in commercial litigation at law firms in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Virginia.  She has extensive experience in writing legal briefs, presenting oral arguments, trying cases and conducting settlement negotiations.  Her training in commercial litigation and her general practice background serve as experience for teaching her various skills-oriented courses.