Photograph: Antonina Kowalska.

Antonina A. Kowalska

Professor of Law
B.A., Political Science, University of Florida, 1992
J.D., Duke University School of Law, 1995
Contact Information:
785.670.1668
Room 215
"At Washburn Law, passionate and caring teachers help students to govern their own learning so that they quickly can become self-sufficient professionals with excellent, independent, critical judgment. I truly am fortunate to be teaching here, where faculty and students support each other and work together in a largely collaborative environment. I am also lucky to be teaching what I love to do the most. Legal reasoning and writing are the heart and soul of the law. One way to turn these difficult tasks into a powerful and satisfying experience is to tap into our students' tremendous personal creativity and desire to make a difference in the world. My goal is to work with students to demonstrate how much creative potential they can unleash through analysis and writing, so that they can find joy in their new profession while using their skills to solve human problems."
  • Professor Kowalska is a contributing faculty member in the Institute for Law Teaching and Learning, co-hosted at Washburn Law.
  • Before joining Washburn Law, Professor Kowalska was a Visiting Assistant Clinical Professor in the Indian Legal Clinic at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.
  • Professor Kowalska spent several years litigating commercial, domestic, and appellate cases in Oregon and Washington as well as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She also worked as a legal writing consultant.
  • During law school, she was a member of the Duke Law Journal and a co-director of the Domestic Violence Advocacy Project.
  • Her writing affiliations include membership in the Association of Legal Writing Directors, The Legal Writing Institute, and Scribes: The American Society of Legal Writers.

Professor Kowalska teaches in the law school's Legal Analysis, Research, and Writing Program, is the Director of International Legal Programs, and Co-Director of the International and Comparative Law Center.

Professor Kowalska's Justice Quote:

"Our world is increasingly interdependent, but I wonder if we truly understand that our interdependent human community has to be compassionate; compassionate in our choice of goals, compassionate in our means of cooperation and our pursuit of these goals. *** [T]here cannot be peace and stability as long as there is oppression and suppression. It is unfair to seek one's own interests at the cost of other people's rights" – H.H. XIV Dalai Lama, Human Rights, Democracy and Freedom

Professor Kowalska's Recommended Reading on Racial Justice:

Teaching Responsibilities
  • Legal Analysis, Research, and Writing
  • Legal Writing for Clerkships and Externships
  • Tribal Law and Government
  • International Law of Indigenous Peoples
Support Staff
Penny Fell
785.670.1669
Room 232