About

Iva Johnson Ferrell is an Associate Professor at Widener University Delaware Law School and serves as Co-Director of the Trial Admissions Program.  Professor Ferrell previously served as the Chief Diversity Officer of Widener University from 2016-2018. Professor Ferrell received a B.A. in Economics from the University of Delaware in 1991; a Master of Business Administration in Marketing from Rutgers Graduate School of Management in 1994; and a J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1997. 

After graduating law school Professor Ferrell was employed as associate attorney at Pepper Hamilton LLP in Philadelphia, Pennsylania, where she focused on software licensing, intellectual property, and commercial litigation. As an associate attorney at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLC in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Professor Ferrell’s practice area focused on contract drafting, including licensing, co-branding, and other business agreements. Most recently, prior to joining Widener in Fall 2003, Professor Ferrell was employed as associate counsel for QVC, Inc. in West Chester, Pennsylvania. 


Professor Ferrell’s research interests include: legal writing pedagogy; active teaching/learning pedagogy; experiential learning; issues related to first-generation law students and historically underrepresented groups within the legal profession; access to legal education; and contract drafting.

Professor Ferrell is a member of the Legal Writing Institute.  She also served as the Chair of that organization’s Diversity Initiatives Committee.  Professor Ferrell has presented at the 14th, 15th, and 16th Biennial Conference of the Legal Writing Institute. She has also presented for other audiences, including Region III of the National Bar Association and LWI One Day Workshop at George Washington University School of Law.  In 2014, she co-presented a then work in progress entitled: “No At Risk Law Student Left Behind:  The Convergence of Academic Support Pedagogy and Experiential Education.” That article has since been published.

Professor Ferrell is admitted to practice in New Jersey and is a member of the American Bar Association and the Delaware State Bar Association.

What inspires me to teach?

As the daughter of a master teacher, teaching is in my blood.  It is one of the most important endeavors in which one can engage. I am inspired by the privilege to help shape the next generation of lawyers. Teaching Legal Methods is not for the faint of heart; but it can be very rewarding – especially when I am able to witness a student have her “aha” moment.  That moment, when she begins to fully appreciate what it means to work through the analytical paradigm and “think like a lawyer.”

What is the most important way that I “give back”?

To whom much is given, much is required. I take that mantra very seriously.  “Giving back” is reflexive; it’s second nature really. If I am pressed for a single response, then the most important way that I give back is by being engaged and supportive.  I work hard to provide support to my students, my colleagues and this institution as a whole.  I do this because I know and believe that this makes a difference. Supporting the students doesn’t mean just teaching them once or twice a week. It means doing what I can to help them become honest, productive members of the larger legal profession.  They will then be better positioned to “give back” of their time, talents, and treasures to help, not only the next generation of Widener Law Delaware students and graduates, but to be civically engaged with the wider community.