Kayonia L. Whetstone

Assistant Professor of Lawyering Skills

Biography

Kayonia L. Whetstone is an Assistant Professor of Lawyering Skills.  She teaches first-year legal writing and appellate advocacy.

After having served over one decade as an appellate prosecutor in New York's Bronx and Queens counties, she knows that good legal writing is an essential tool for every attorney. She brings a learner-focused approach to her classroom to demystify the art and science of legal research, analysis, and writing to hone their written and oral advocacy skills.

Professor Whetstone has presented at national and regional conferences on topics including using multi-media forms and criminal statutes to teach legal writing skills, infusing concepts of cultural mindfulness in pedagogy, the importance of building writing communities and encouraging diversity in the legal field. She serves as an at-large member of the 2020 Executive Committee for AALS’ section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research, and on the section’s Diversity & Inclusion committee. Her research interests include legal writing pedagogy, social and economic justice, and criminal justice reform.

She received her B.A. in Economics from Wesleyan University. And Professor Whetstone is thrilled to return home to Howard University School of Law, where she received her J.D., to help produce scholars who are exemplary advocates and are confident in their abilities to serve global communities.