Law Profs Are People Too

Benjamin Edwards joined the faculty of the William S. Boyd School of Law in 2017. He researches and writes about business and securities law, corporate governance, arbitration, and consumer protection. Prior to teaching, Professor Edwards practiced as a securities litigator in the New York office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. At Skadden, he represented clients in complex civil litigation, including securities class actions arising out of the Madoff Ponzi scheme and litigation arising out of the 2008 financial crisis.

His writing has appeared in the Northwestern University Law Review, Washington and Lee Law Review, University of California Davis Law Review, Georgia State Law Review, William & Mary Law Review Online, Virginia Law and Business Review, Michigan Business and Entrepreneurial Law Review, Journal of Business and Securities Law, Virginia Journal of Social Policy and the Law, InvestmentNews, Wall Street Journal, Salon, The Hill, The Washington Post, BloombergView, Oxford Business Law Blog, and Columbia Blue Sky Blog. He also writes regularly for the Business Law Professor blog.

Professor Edwards earned his law degree from Columbia Law School and clerked for Judge Samuel H. Mays, Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.

Mike Simons is the John V. Brennan Professor of Law & Ethics at St. John’s University School of law, where he has served as dean since 2009. He teaches Criminal Law, Evidence, Sentencing, and Introduction to Law. His scholarship, which is informed by his experience as a criminal defense lawyer and prosecutor, has focused on sentencing, prosecutorial decision-making, and punishment theory.

Ekow N. Yankah is a Professor of Law at Cardozo School of Law in New York City. He teaches criminal law, criminal procedure, jurisprudence, policing and race, and torts. He is a celebrated teacher, scholar, and a voting rights and election law expert. In 2020, he was awarded the Guardian of Democracy Award by the New York Democratic Lawyers Council. He holds degrees from the University of Michigan, Columbia Law School, and Oxford University.

Ellie Margolis is a Professor of Law at Temple Law School. She teaches LRW, Motions, and Appellate Advocacy. Her scholarly work focuses on how technology has changed the way lawyers research and write about the law. Her scholarship is widely cited in textbooks, law review articles, court briefs and judicial opinions.

Tiffany Atkins (Elon) takes over the podcast and interviews me. 

Nicole N. Morris is a member of the faculty at Emory University School of Law. She is a Professor in Practice and Director of the TI:GER program.  TI:GER (Technological Innovation: Generating Economic Results) is an innovative partnership between Emory and Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) that brings together graduate students in law, business, science and engineering to work on ways to take innovative ideas from the lab to the marketplace. Professor Morris has over sixteen years of experience practicing patent law in large and mid-sized law firms and is a frequent speaker on innovation topics including the legal implications of technology,

Melanie Wilson is a Lindsay Young Distinguished Professor at the  University of Tennessee College of Law. On June 30 of this year, she  stepped down after five years as dean of the college. Before that,  Melanie spent four years as associate dean for academic affairs at the  University of Kansas School of Law. Melanie teaches criminal procedure  and criminal law, and she writes about prosecutorial ethics and the 4th  and 6th Amendments. She is currently enjoying a one-semester sabbatical,  catching up various scholarly projects. She spends most of her free  time outdoors with her three large dogs – Stella, Choden, and Leaper.

Sarah Burstein is a Professor of Law at the University of Oklahoma  College of Law. Prior to joining the faculty at OU, Professor Burstein  clerked for the Honorable Robert W. Pratt in the United States District  Court for the Southern  District of Iowa and worked as an intellectual property litigation  associate at Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Professor Burstein has a law  degree from the University of Chicago and B.A. in Art & Design from  Iowa State University. She is currently writing an open-source  Patents casebook, along with two amazing co-authors.

Kayonia Whetstone is an Assistant Professor of Lawyering Skills at Howard University School of Law. She believes good writing is essential for every attorney. Her experience as a former appellate prosecutor informs her teaching and scholarship. She is passionate about creating more practice-ready lawyers, increasing diversity in the law, and shaping a more balanced criminal justice system. Thus, her scholarship focuses on legal writing pedagogy, social and economic justice, and criminal justice reform.

Tiffany D. Atkins is an Assistant Professor of Law at Elon University School of Law, in Greensboro, NC, where she teaches Legal Method and Communication, Public Interest Legal Writing, and Race Law. Prior to academia, Tiffany was an attorney with Legal Aid of North Carolina, where she practiced family law, public housing, and education law, among other areas. Tiffany is a native of Washington, DC, and is married with three children, ages 15, 7, and 3. She enjoys reading, watching documentaries, and fantasizing about all the places she will travel when “outside” is reopened. Connect with her on Twitter @ProfessorAtkins 

Leslie Y. Garfield Tenzer is the host/producer of Law to Fact podcast and the James D. Hopkins Professor of Law at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University in White Plains, NY where she teaches Criminal, Tort, Contract and Social Media Law. She is the author of several articles, most notably “The Death of Slander,” 35 Columbia L. Rev. 17 (2012).Professor Tenzer has received several awards during her tenure at Pace including Professor of the Year, the Ottinger Prize for Faculty Achievement, and the Goettel Prize for Faculty Scholarship. In addition to her regular teaching at Pace Law School, Professor Tenzer serves as a contributing editor to Matthew Bender Criminal Defense Techniques. Professor Tenzer was one of the first academic support professionals in the legal academy and  was the founding chair of the AALS section on Academic Support.  She is a student of improv and had a featured role in the 2018 movie “Larchmont.”

Katherine Silver Kelly is a clinical professor of law and director of academic support at THE Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. In addition to teaching legal writing and helping her #BuckeyesPassTheBar, Katherine is the creator of the almost-famous blog, The Bar Exam Wizard, and serves as faculty advisor to the best BLSA chapter in the country. Her research focuses on high stakes testing and legal education learning theory. Outside of school, Katherine coaches Special Olympics track and soccer, and spends time with her husband Andrew and their two rescue dogs Yellow Jacket and Kentucky Wildcat (aka Jack and Tuck).

Professor Katherine Macfarlane teaches and writes about civil procedure and civil rights. Her scholarship has appeared in the Alabama Law Review, the Utah Law Review, the Stanford Journal of Civil Rights & Civil Liberties, the Michigan Journal of Race & Law, and the Yale Law Journal Forum. Professor Macfarlane serves as chair-elect of the AALS Section on Disability Law, and co-founded an affinity group for professors with disabilities. Her healthcare and disability commentary has been featured in Ms., The Mighty, Creaky Joints, and BUST. She received her B.A. from Northwestern University and her J.D. from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles.

Doron Dorfman is an Associate Professor of Law at Syracuse University College of Law. His interdisciplinary research focuses on disability law and health law through the prism of law & psychology, using doctrinal analysis and mixed-methods social science methodology.

Melissa Hale is the Director of Academic Success and Bar Programs at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Currently, she teaches bar preparation related courses, and oversees the Academic Enhancement Program. She also advises the First Gen Law School Student Group and feels passionate about making first generation and minority students feel welcome in a law school space. Melissa was part of the 2019 CALI fellowship on law school success, and is the current president-elect of the Association of Academic Support Educators. She grew up in Michigan, has an undergraduate degree in political science and psychology, graduated law school in 2006 and used to practice small business law. She will also talk to you about growth mindset, or ballet or Marvel, as long as you let her.

Tracy Norton joined the faculty of Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center on Long Island in 2006 after teaching in her native Texas for 10 years. She teaches first-year and upper level legal analysis and persuasion with occasional forays into Criminal Law and Disaster Law. Tracy is an inaugural faculty member in Touro Law's hybrid JD program, FlexTime JD. Her current scholarly interests are digital legal education and judicial narratives in times of emergency. Tracy is a mother of 4: Emma, Kate, Curtis, and Lizzie.

Katrina Lee is a San Francisco native and a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley. On faculty at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law since 2011, Katrina teaches business of law, legal negotiations, and legal writing. She wrote the course book “The Legal Career: Knowing the Business, Thriving in Practice.” The second edition will be out in May. Katrina was previously a law firm equity partner and practiced law for more than 12 years in San Francisco. Katrina is the proud mommy of two daughters.

Professor Curtis is a Teaching Professor at the Syracuse University College of Law. She teaches torts, professional responsibility, and courses on gender and the law. Her scholarly interests include legal ethics and feminist legal theory. Before joining the faculty at Syracuse, Professor Curtis spent eight years on the faculty at Cleveland-Marshall. While in practice, Professor Curtis focused primarily on criminal appellate practice and has argued multiple cases in the Supreme Court of Ohio and the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. She received her law degree from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and her undergraduate degree from Saint Mary’s College.

Larry Cunningham has been a Professor of Legal Writing at St. John’s University School of Law since 2008, and an administrator since 2010.  He served as Dean of Students, Dean of Academics, and Vice Dean, before becoming the first Dean of Assessment.  Prior to joining St. John’s, he was a prosecutor in the Bronx where he primarily litigated appeals.  In July, he leaves St. John’s to become the third Dean of Charleston School of Law in South Carolina.  He has a J.D. from Georgetown, a B.S. from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and graduate certificates in assessment and strategic leadership from Sam Houston State and Villanova, respectively.  He lives with his husband, Jonnathan, and their 7-year-old dog, Lexi.

Anna is a Professor of Law at St John's University, where she teaches criminal law, evidence, and torts. She previously taught at Seattle University School of Law, and is a former public defender. She writes in the areas of criminal law and evidence, with a particular interest in assumptions and interpretations of guilt.

Maybell Romero joined the NIU Law faculty in 2017. Her teaching and writing interests focus on criminal law, criminal procedure, legal ethics, and law and rurality. She has served as both a state’s attorney and defense attorney during her decade of practice in Utah, where she also handled child welfare and civil litigation matters. Professor Romero is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. She also holds a B.A. from Cornell University, where she studied both English and government.

Zack is an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Tennessee College of Law in Knoxville. He writes about Health law. His research examines the enforcement of laws that affect health and health care in the United States. Most recently, his writing has focused on the future of the Affordable Care Act, the legal rules that govern overtreatment, and the regulation of pharmaceutical drug prices.