Faculty Making a Difference

Law Professor Thomas Healy

Law Professor Thomas Healy appears on two top national podcasts, Radiolab and Code Switch (NPR)

In one program, Thomas Healy explores the failed social experiment of a community based on principles of black economic empowerment, Soul City. In another, he examines the mystery of one judge’s change in position about free speech, how that moment changed the minds of others, and whether it’s time to change minds again.  Read more >>



Margaret K. Lewis - Professor of Law

Professor Margaret Lewis to present on panel discussing the Justice Department's China Initiative

“The Human and Scientific Costs of the ‘China Initiative’” is the first of a series of webinars to examine the ramifications of the U.S. Justice Department’s “China Initiative” on the civil rights and security of Chinese Americans, Chinese immigrants, and Chinese Nationals working in the U.S., as well as the consequences for the broader American society. Read more >>



Professor Paula Franzese Tenant Rights

Senator Cory Booker and Professor Paula Franzese Advocate for Tenant Rights

U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) met with housing advocates and New Jerseyans affected by tenant blacklisting to discuss legislation he will introduce this week to reform tenant screening practices. Landlords in New Jersey and across the nation are using tenant screening reports prepared by third-party reporting agencies as a legal means to discriminate against potential tenants for simply asserting their legal rights.  Sen. Booker’s legislation would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to enact stricter regulations on tenant rating agencies and provide tenants additional protections. Read More >>



Lori Nessel

Seton Hall Law Professor, Lori Nessel, Comments on New Jersey's Immigration Court

From NJ.com: Courts handling immigration matters these days are overwhelmed across the country, with backlogs of pending cases now at an all-time high, say U.S. Department of Justice officials. Through the end of January, there were 542,646 pending cases, according to the Justice Department's Executive Office for Immigration Review, or EOIR, and those numbers continue to climb. "It is a system that is already notoriously overburdened," said Lori Nessel, director of Seton Hall University School of Law's Center for Social Justice. Read more >>



Professor Maggie Lewis

Seton Hall Law Professor Presented with Fulbright Grant

Seton Hall University School of Law Professor, Margaret Lewis, was recently awarded a grant from the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program to spend the 2017-2018 academic year researching human rights and criminal justice reforms in Taiwan. She will be based at Taiwan’s premiere law school, National Taiwan University. Lewis received one of six annual Fulbright research grants awarded for the arts, education, humanities, professional fields, and social sciences. Read More >>



Professor Thomas Healy

Professor Thomas Healy Awarded a New Grant
A new book explores the rise and fall of Soul City, a concept developed and nurtured by a civil rights leader in the 1970s

Adding to his recognition by the Guggenheim Foundation and by Harvard’s Hutchins Center for African and African American Research, Professor Thomas Healy has just been awarded a Public Scholar Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities in support of his latest project, Soul City: The Lost Dream of an American Utopia. Full story >>.



Professors Thomas Healy and Andrea McDowell

In Two Years, Two Guggenheims
Professors McDowell and Healy are both writing books that bring dramatic insights to our nation's history and who we are as society

Professor Andrea McDowell followed Professor Thomas Healy to become the second Seton Hall Law faculty member to receive the coveted Guggenheim Fellowship in two consecutive years. Dean Boozang congratulated Professors McDowell and Healy for their brilliant scholarship, adding, "They bring that same brilliance to the Seton Hall Law classroom, challenging and empowering our students to excel as they pursue their legal studies and subsequent careers in the law.” Full story >>



CSJ Students Win Asylum for Honduran Family

CSJ Secures Asylum for a Honduran Family
Professor Farrin Anello: “By granting asylum to adults and children fleeing domestic violence, the United States immigration courts are recognizing that these survivors are refugees, and that their governments have failed to protect them.”

Students of the Seton Hall Law Center for Social Justice Immigrants' Rights/International Human Rights Clinic obtained asylum for a woman and her two children, survivors of severe domestic violence in their native Honduras. Diane Lopez '16 (pictured, center), worked on the case:  “The look on their faces when we won the case...meant more than I ever imagined. It will stay with me forever.” Full story >>



Veterans Access to Healthcare

Improving Healthcare Access for Veterans
A new initiative, led by Professors John Jacobi and Tara Adams Ragone, will help vets take advantage of their healthcare benefit entitlements

Building on prior projects directed to primary and behavioral health, the Center for Health & Pharmaceutical Law & Policy, along with the Seton Hall Law Center for Social Justice and the Student Veterans’ Association, will provide guidance, referrals, and peer counseling for veterans in Central and Southern New Jersey. Full story >>



Professor Niteesha Gupte

Introducing New Faculty: Niteesha Gupte
Professor Gupte launched her first semester teaching a compliance skills course which examines the roles and responsibilities of a compliance officer.

Seton Hall Law welcomes Assistant Professor Niteesha Gupte, who joined the Law School in Fall 2015. She brings more than 15 years of experience within the compliance and health regulatory law fields, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to global pharmaceutical companies. "I find that my professional experience in government, private practice and industry has helped me appreciate issues from various perspectives and will allow me to think about and research a topic holistically,” she said. Full story >>



Marielle Dugan

Honoring Mariellen Dugan '91
“Being a lawyer puts you in an unparalleled position of trust,” Dugan said to a group of first-year students at Professor Franzese’s bi-annual “Loving the Law” celebration on February 15

The Women’s Law Forum student organization presents Mariellen Dugan with the Woman of Substance award, recognizing her enduring dedication to excellence in the legal profession. February 24, 6 pm. Full story >>



Professor John V. Jacobi

Professor John Jacobi: Recognized for His Extraordinary Advocacy
Dean Boozang calls Professor Jacobi "an unsung hero in the fight for healthcare for vulnerable citizens."

On Thursday, October 22, the Community Health Law Project, which provides legal services, training and support to individuals with disabilities, will present the Ann Klein Advocate Award to Professor John Jacobi. Dean Boozang: "There is no one more dedicated than John to ensuring that our nation’s healthcare system serves those most in need." Read more >>



Diversity Speaks 2015

Welcoming FTC Chair Edith Ramirez
Past guests of the Diversity Speaks series include Harvard Law Professor Charles J. Ogletree and U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor

Seton Hall Law hosts Diversity Speaks, an annual lecture series featuring leaders in the law who share their perspectives on critical legal issues. We are pleased to host Federal Trade Commission Chair Edith Ramirez, who will discuss the ways in which the FTC fights to protect consumers in our data-driven economy. The lecture will take place on October 21 at 4 p.m. Read more for details >>



Professor Paula Franzese

Professor Paula Franzese: Inspiring Middle School Students
Professor Franzese is recognized not just as an acclaimed law professor, but as a volunteer who teaches life skills at a middle school in Cedar Grove

It’s not news that Professor Paul Franzese is a gifted and acclaimed teacher of subjects like Property and Commercial law. But it is news that blog SheKnows.com has recognized Professor Franzese in its post, “20 Inspiring Women Who are Transforming the Way Kids Learn” for her volunteer work, teaching vital life skills to middle school students.  Read more >>



Professor Mark Denbeaux on "Due Process"

Professor Mark Denbeaux on "Due Process" regarding Mohamedou Slahi
Professor Mark Denbeaux appears on legal affairs show, "Due Process" to discuss a GTMO detainee's plight

Professor Mark Denbeaux, Director of the Center for Policy & Research, appeared as a guest on Thirteen WNET/NJTV's legal affairs show, Due Process, along with Hina Shamsi, Director of the ACLU National Security Project. They discussed the controversial book, Guantanamo Diary, published by detainee Mohamedou Slahi. Slahi has been held for 13 years at GTMO and though he was cleared in 2010, he has yet to be released. Read more >>



Dean Kathleen Boozang

Kathleen M. Boozang Named Dean of Seton Hall Law
Professor Boozang is the third woman to serve as Dean of the Law School

Seton Hall University has named Kathleen Boozang the new Dean of the Law School. Dean Hobbs: “She is the right person to lead Seton Hall during this time of extraordinary change in legal education and the practice of law. Under her leadership I am confident our Law School will reach even greater heights.” Full story >>



Professor Nessel in Haiti ESDROJ Commencement

Professor Lori Nessel in the <em>Atlantic</em> on Haiti and the Rule of Law
A feature story describes the challenge to foster and sustain the justice system in Haiti, and how law school ESDROJ is making a difference

Professor Lori Nessel, who directs Seton Hall Law's Haiti Rule of Law Project, spoke of her support for ESDROJ, Seton Hall Law's sister law school in Jérémie: "The school is fulfilling its initial mission to create lawyers . . . who will go on to change the system there." She is pictured, left, after speaking at the ESDROJ commencement in 2010. Read the Atlantic article >>



Thomas-Healy

Professor Thomas Healy Named a Guggenheim Fellow
With his new book on Soul City, “I plan to tell the fascinating story of its rise and fall and to explore the lessons it offers us about race relations and economic inequality today,” said Professor Healy

Professor Healy, author of the acclaimed book, The Great Dissent: How Oliver Wendell Holmes Changed His Mind – and Changed the History of Free Speech in America, is among 175 scholars, artists and scientists chosen from among 3,100 applicants. As a Guggenheim Fellow, Professor Healy will write the story of the planned community or Soul City, North Carolina, and its implications for the civil rights movement. Read the press release >>



Professor_Marina_Lao2

Professor Marina Lao at the FTC
Professor Lao’s professional career, and legal scholarship, has given her in-depth knowledge of competition law and policy

Professor Marina Lao has assumed the role of Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Office of Policy Planning in Washington, D.C. She will help develop long-term policy initiatives to encourage competition and protect consumers, and advise FTC staff on cases when new, complex policy and legal issues arise. Read more >>



Rachel Godsil

New report on reducing racial bias and anxiety in education and health care
Professor Rachel Godsil: the mind sciences show us that racial bias and anxiety still affect behavior even when people believe in equality, but the science also provides promising interventions

Professor Rachel Godsil served as lead researcher for, "Addressing the Impact of Implicit Bias, Racial Anxiety, and Stereotype Threat in Education and Health Care." From the report introduction: "We live in a time when discrimination looks less like a segregated lunch counter and more like a teacher never calling on your son or a doctor failing to inspire trust in your daughter and improperly diagnosing her illness as a result." Read the overview on Seton Hall Law's Health Reform Watch blog >>



Bernard Freamon

Professor Bernard Freamon Blogs about ISIS and slavery for CNN
Post title: "ISIS says Islam justifies slavery - what does Islamic law say?"

CNN's human rights endeavor, The Freedom Project, invited Professor Freamon to explain Islam's historic view of slavery, as terrorist organization Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) justifies its use ostensibly according to traditional Islamic law. Professor Freamon calls that assertion "an affront to right-thinking Muslims everywhere and a criminal perversion of Islamic law, particularly its primary source, the Glorious Quran." Read the blog post >>



jessica-miles-368x146

In the Media: Professor Jessica Miles
Professor Miles in Time: "The NFL showed zero understanding of domestic violence. It’s like they didn’t even Google it."

Professor Jessica Miles of the Family Law Clinic in the Seton Hall Law Center for Social Justice, spoke to the media regarding the domestic violence case against NFL player Ray Rice, addressing all aspects from the NFL's initial nominal response to proposed New Jersey legislation to protect future victims. Read more >>



Charles-Sullivan

Professor Charles Sullivan on Becoming a Lawyer
Delivers traditional keynote address at 2014 Orientation

Charles Sullivan, Professor of Law and Director of the Rodino Library, at the 2014 Orientation program, shared his perspective on the traditional theme, "On Becoming a Lawyer." "I’ve always liked the notion of 'becoming' because it conveys the sense of a journey, not a destination," he said. "And that means that all of us – you and I – are on the same road." Read Professor Sullivan's speech >>



Farrin-Anello

Professor Farrin Anello on the front page of the Star-Ledger
Increased immigration rates of children raises wrenching questions about safety, human rights and enforcement agencies' response

The Star-Ledger asked Professor Farrin Anello to discuss the implications of a new bill passed in the House addressing the 30,000 children who, since January alone, have entered the U.S. illegally. Read more >>



rachel-godsil

Rachel Godsil Appointed Chair of New York City Rent Guidelines Board
Professor Godsil Specializes in issues of housing, land use and social justice

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed Professor Rachel Godsil to lead the board that determines annual rent adjustments for approximately 1 million apartments across the city subject to the Rent Stabilization Law. The Mayor’s office press release : “Godsil is an accomplished attorney and professor specializing in issues of housing, land use and social justice.” Read more >>