Georgetown Law

B.A., William & Mary; Ph.D., University of Connecticut; J.D., University of Texas. Professor Hoffman is a linguist and a lawyer who has specialized in transactional writing and negotiating during his nine years of practice in Austin, Texas and Washington, D.C. Professor Hoffman is currently the Professor of United States Legal Discourse at Georgetown.  He is also the Director of the Graduate Writing Program.  Professor Hoffman focuses on acculturating Georgetown’s foreign LL.M. students into United States Legal Discourse by teaching courses that introduce students to the ways that U.S. lawyers use language to communicate about the law.  Professor Hoffman teaches classes and consults with law schools around the world on issues of language and the law.  He also consults with law firms on the interpretation of statutes and contracts.  Professor Hoffman has received several fellowships in linguistics, cognitive science, business, and writing.  His areas of scholarship include forensic linguistics, statutory and contract interpretation, discourse analysis, and genre analysis.