Laura Pedraza-Fariña, a scholar whose work focuses on the cutting edge of developments in science and technology, will join UCLA School of Law as a professor of law in January 2024.
She comes to UCLA Law from Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law. She has been a member of that law school’s faculty since 2013, including as a professor of law and, since 2021, associate dean for innovation and partnerships. Previously, she was a visiting lecturer and law research fellow at Georgetown University Law Center.
On August 18, the UCLA Law community convened at its annual convocation ceremony, which was held outdoors on Dickson Court.
The law school’s incoming students include 315 who are pursuing a juris doctor degree (J.D.), 228 who are working toward a master of laws degree (LL.M.) and 54 who are earning a master of legal studies degree (M.L.S.).
The J.D. class of 2026 is among the most academically accomplished in the law school’s history with a median LSAT score of 170 and a record-high median grade point average of 3.92.
On Aug. 1, 2023, Michael Waterstone began his term as the 10th dean of UCLA School of Law.
The moment marked a change in leadership at the law school, following the departure of Dean Jennifer Mnookin, who now serves as the chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the tenure of Interim Dean Russell Korobkin.
Five outstanding professors are boosting the excellence and breadth of UCLA School of Law’s faculty as they join the law school this fall and in the coming year. Alexander Arnold, Shirin Bakhshay, Ariela Gross, K-Sue Park and Laura Pedraza-Fariña bring expertise in areas including law and economic theory, criminal adjudication and punishment, international organizations, property and legal history, race and civil rights.
UCLA School of Law is pleased to welcome Ariela Gross, who joins the law school’s faculty as a distinguished professor of law.
A renowned scholar of legal history, Gross comes to UCLA Law from USC Gould School of Law, where she was the John B. and Alice R. Sharp Professor of Law and History and founder and co-director of the Center for Law, History, and Culture. Gross served on the University of Southern California faculty for 27 years.
Shirin Bakhshay, a legal scholar and social psychologist whose research focuses on criminal adjudication and punishment processes, has joined UCLA School of Law as an assistant professor of law. Bakhshay comes to UCLA Law from Stanford Law School, where she was a Thomas C. Grey Fellow and lecturer in law since 2020.
UCLA School of Law is pleased to welcome Alexander Arnold, whose scholarship uses tools of intellectual and legal history to explore the relationship between law, economic theory and social facts, as an assistant professor of law.
Arnold often relies on his fluency in several languages to place legal history and economics in a global context, with projects encompassing issues in the United States, Europe and elsewhere.
UCLA School of Law professor David Marcus has been elected to the membership of the American Law Institute, among the most prestigious positions for legal academics and professionals.
For over 25 years, Professor Hannah Garry has been laser focused on seeking justice and accountability for human rights abuses and atrocity situations across the globe, while making the U.S. a destination for the study and practice of human rights law. Starting in July, she will lead UCLA School of Law’s Promise Institute for Human Rights to new heights as its next executive director and a professor from practice.
This article was originally published on the UCLA Newsroom website on April 17, 2018. We share it here with UCLA Newsroom's permission.
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