Omarr Rambert ’20 wanted to be a lawyer since he was in fifth grade. While studying at UCLA Law, Rambert specialized in entertainment law, served as an editor of the UCLA Law Review and the National Black Law Journal and as social chair of the Black Law Students Association. Now, as an entertainment lawyer at Sheppard Mullin, Rambert has been named to the Forbes "30 Under 30" list.
UCLA School of Law’s academic excellence and national prominence has been highlighted in a new publication that tabulates the most influential and impactful current legal scholars.
Borders and Belonging: Toward a Fair Immigration Policy (Oxford University Press, 2025) is the third book in UCLA School of Law professor Hiroshi Motomura’s trilogy on immigration law and policy. It offers a comprehensive look at migration, assessing immigration from multiple perspectives and reflecting on the law and larger questions.
In the latest study to measure the impact of law school faculties based on their research and writing, 14 UCLA School of Law professors have been recognized as leaders of legal scholarship.
UCLA School of Law emeritus professor Daniel Lowenstein has earned the 2025 John Hart Ely Prize in the Law of Democracy, which is presented by the election law section of the Association of American Law Schools. Lowenstein was the first American law professor to specialize in election law, and he established a leading reputation in that field over several decades.
UCLA School of Law professor Scott Cummings has been awarded the Fred C. Zacharias Memorial Prize for Scholarship in Professional Responsibility, the top annual honor in legal ethics that the Association of American Law Schools presents.
UCLA School of Law distinguished professor Kimberlé Crenshaw, one of the nation’s most renowned scholars and thought leaders in civil rights law and policy, has received the W.E.B. Du Bois Medal from the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University.
At the Oct. 1 awards ceremony, Crenshaw recounted her participation in student protests when she attended Harvard Law School. She told the audience of more than 300 academics, alumni and students to stand up against institutional attacks on knowledge and education. “We have to fight against the selective use of ‘comfort’ to suppress uncomfortable conversations,” she said.
Crenshaw holds the Promise Institute Chair in Human Rights at UCLA Law. She is known for coining the term “intersectionality” — the way in which the effects of racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination combine and overlap to create unique experiences. She is also a founder and leader of critical race theory. In 2000, she was one of the faculty members who launched UCLA Law’s trailblazing Critical Race Studies program.
As the co-founder and executive director of the African American Policy Forum think tank, Crenshaw has led grassroots movements and campaigns such as #SayHerName, the Freedom to Learn Network and the Critical Race Theory Summer School.
An earlier version of this story ran in the UCLA Newsroom.
One area sure to be upended by a second Trump presidency is environmental and climate policy. President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to roll back myriad environmental regulations and refocus America’s energy policy on the fossil fuels that are driving the climate crisis. In this Q&A, UCLA School of Law experts Cara Horowitz and Ann Carlson weigh in on the possible impacts.
UCLA School of Law’s Ahilan Arulanantham, who is among the nation’s leading authorities and advocates in immigration law, has earned the Distinguished Alumni Award from Equal Justic
When the winners of the 45th News and Documentary Emmy Awards were announced on September 26, the filmmakers behind one triumphant production were quick to credit a number of UCLA School of Law students and faculty members who helped make it all happen.
Alexandra Kolsky ’22 is now an associate at Venable, and she also worked on Free Chol Soo Lee as a student in the clinic. “It was one of the highlights of my time at UCLA Law,” she says. “The clinic not only gave me a strong foundational education in media and intellectual property law but also taught me how to use that education to help real clients solve real problems. I often reflect on the invaluable lessons I learned from my teammates and my wonderful professors in the clinic as a practicing IP attorney now.”
This year, clinic participants had special reason to keep tabs on the Emmy proceedings because, aside from Free Chol Soo Lee, two other films on which they had worked were nominated. Love in the Time of Fentanyl, about people who took an innovative approach to managing overdoses in Vancouver, Canada, had also played on Independent Lens on PBS. It was nominated in the Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary category. And Anonymous Sister achieved many accolades for its personal portrayal of the opioid crisis even before it was named as an Outstanding Social Issue Documentary nominee.
While neither of those movies won, the filmmakers who worked on them were very satisfied with the attention that the nominations afforded them – and with the work of the clinic students who helped bring the projects to fruition.
“It’s extremely gratifying to provide our students with the opportunity to work directly with these creative and inspiring filmmakers,” Cohen says. “Over the course of one or two semesters, we get to watch the clinicians grow from bright and aspiring lawyers into confident practitioners who are making a real difference.”
Stream Free Chol Soo Lee for free through Nov. 14.