Education

Law School/Year: Harvard Law School, 1980

College/Year: Michigan State University, 1977

Bar Admissions

California (inactive); Northern Mariana Islands (inactive); formerly member of the bars of the Republic of Palau and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.

Practice Areas

Appellate, Discrimination & Civil Rights

Major Cases

My recent work in the area of gender takes an interdisciplinary approach, using research in social science, investigating ways that cognitive bias affects judicial perceptions of the categories of male and female. I have published and spoken on this topic, as well as other areas of constitutional law. In my pre-academic life, I am most proud of the work that I did on behalf of nonresident workers in the Northern Mariana Islands, which included lawsuits against employers, as well as testifying before Congress concerning the abuses. After joining academia, I published articles that explored the legal and political relationship of U.S. territories.

Professional Background

After a year clerking with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, I worked as a staff attorney at the Micronesian Legal Services Corporation in the Northern Mariana Islands in the western Pacific. I began a private law firm in the islands, engaging in a general law practice for six years, emphasizing trial and appellate work. During that time, I served as counsel to several public agencies and corporations. I joined the faculty of Thomas Jefferson School of Law in 1991 and served as associate dean between 1994 and 2002. I currently teach Constitutional Law, Law and Psychology, and Advanced Constitutional Law. In the past I have taught Contracts, Evidence, and Appellate Advocacy.

Professional Affiliations

I am a member of the San Diego County Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Lawyers Club, and California Women Lawyers. My most important professional affiliation for the past 17 years has been with Thomas Jefferson School of Law. As associate dean for eight of these years, I was extensively involved in improving the quality of the legal education at Thomas Jefferson during a period of dynamic growth.

Personal Affiliations

I have a husband (married 27 years) and two kids (14 and 19 years old). They are, of course, wonderful, but parenting is harder than any of the above activities.