Candace Centeno

Candace Centeno is a Professor of Law and the Director of the Duane Morris LLP Legal Writing Program; she serves as the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and teaches Legal Analysis and Writing I & II and an upper-level medical malpractice course. She is a graduate of Muhlenberg College (summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa) and Boston College Law School (cum laude). Prior to joining the Legal Writing Faculty at Villanova Law School in 2006, Dean Centeno was a defense litigator for thirteen years at White & Williams in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she represented physicians, hospitals, and other healthcare professionals in medical malpractice and premise liability actions; she also served as an Arbitrator for the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. Dean Centeno continues to practice as a volunteer attorney at the Support Center for Child Advocates, and she served as a Hearing Officer for the Pennsylvania Disciplinary Board from 2011-2017. Dean Centeno is actively involved in the national Legal Writing Institute (LWI): she served as Treasurer on the LWI Executive Board from 2014-2018, and she has helped coordinate and plan three national conferences (2010 program committee member and poster presentation chair, 2012 co-chair of program committee, and 2014 conference co-chair). Dean Centeno current serves on a number of committees for AALS (LRW section), ALWD, and LWI. Dean Centeno has published articles in Perspectives and the Second Draft, and she regularly presents at regional and national conferences; her scholarly interests focus on legal writing and analysis, with a particular interest in the incorporation of skills training in the classroom.

Practice Experience

1. Volunteer Attorney, Support Center for Child Advocacy. 2005-present
2. 2018 Distinguished Advocate Award
3. Hearing Committee Member, Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. 2011-2017
4. Arbitrator, Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. 2003-2007
5. Senior litigation associate, Health Care Practice Group, White and Williams, LLP, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1993-2006