Has Brandeis Legal Studies changed your life? Would you like to help those following in your footsteps thrive? Celebrate our program's 50th anniversary with us! Consider donating, no amount is too small!

To donate online, navigate to our 50th anniversary fundraising campaign. If you would rather donate via check, please email melissamckenna@brandeis.edu!

Guberman Lecture

The Legal Studies Program invites you to join us for the 2025 Joshua A. Guberman Lecture! This lecture, which is a collaboration between the Heller School and Legal Studies, honors lawyers and law-adjacent professionals who have committed their careers to the pursuit of social justice. Through their lecture, they inspire and share their wisdom with students, faculty, and alumni. Join us on April 24th at 6:00 p.m. in the Helller Schneider Zinner Forum!

The guest speaker this year will be Lauren Stiller Rikleen '75, one of the first Legal Studies minors at Brandeis. Lauren is the Executive Director of Lawyers Defending American Democracy as well as an experienced lawyer, author, consultant, trainer, speaker and expert on workplace issues. We are honored to host Lauren as the speaker this year and hope you will join us at the event!

Tavern Culture of Colonial Massachusetts



Are you looking to learn more from Professor Breen? On April 10, he will be giving a presentation on the Tavern Culture of Colonial Massachusetts at the Aeronaut Brewery, in Somerville, at 7:00 p.m. All are welcome as long as they are 21! 

Legal Networking Dinner

Are you a Legal Studies student looking to connect with the department? Join the Brandeis Pre-Law society for a legal networking dinner! This is a great opportunity for students to share a meal with legal professionals and build connections. We hope you join us in Skyline Commons on April 26th at 6:30 p.m.!

Rap and Redemption

on Death Row

On March 11, COMPACT and BEJI welcomed Alim Braxton and Mark Katz to campus for a an event titled “Rap and Redemption on Death Row.” The event sought to explore answers to questions such as “What leads someone to take another’s life?”, “Are there limits to redemption?” and “What do we owe those whom we incarcerate?” Braxton (a.k.a. Rome Alone) - a writer, rapper and activist living on North Carolina’s Death Row in Raleigh, North Carolina joined author Katz for this community book release and discussion.

This event was also covered in the Waltham Times, we invite you to read the article!

Experience the Law

On March 24, the Legal Studies Undergraduate Departmental Representatives hosted an event titled “Experience the Law” with the Law and Society and Internship Seminar. The first hour of this event allowed students to connect with law-based student groups on campus and learn how to get involved. After learning about these groups, attendees heard from four local legal professionals to learn more about the field of law.

Networking

Career Panel

On March 2, The Mishelanu partnered with TAMID to host a networking career panel in Sherman Function Hall. Professor Kabrhel met with students during the “Law, Social Impact and Non-Profit” section of the event and shared expertise regarding entering the legal profession.

UDR Positions Available

Are you an undergraduate student looking to get more involved with the Legal Studies program? We encourage you to apply to be come an undergraduate departmental representative! UDRs work to support all minors, plan fun events, engage the community, and more! We would love to have you become a part of our awesome team!

Play a critical role in the fight against antisemitism and other forms of hate.

As part of the Robert Kraft Family-Brandeis Initiative on Antisemitism, there are 2 open full-time roles just for Brandeis students to work with the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism (FCAS). These 1 to 2 year fellowships offer an opportunity to gain valuable experience, mentoring and support from a dedicated team and the ability to make a tangible impact by contributing to the fight against antisemitism. 

Research Fellow

This Research Fellow will be responsible for monitoring and analyzing the news and social media and sharing insights that inform the day-to-day content and marketing at the Foundation. They will also do analysis and create reports for university leaders and community leaders on antisemitism in their areas. This role is part of the FCAS Command Center, which actively monitors antisemitic events and hate speech against Jewish communities on social media.

Philanthropy Fellow 

The Philanthropy Fellow will support the Foundation’s fundraising, strategy and engagement efforts. This role is designed for individuals passionate about antisemitism, philanthropy, and nonprofit engagement, offering a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience and make meaningful contributions to the Foundation’s philanthropic initiatives. Key areas of focus will include donor stewardship and engagement, prospect research, and data management.

Both positions work in person at the FCAS offices at Gillette Stadium! As a Brandeis employee, you'll also be eligible for generous employee benefits.  Apply for these full-time positions through Workday. For questions contact Jason Leturmy, jleturmy@brandeis.edu.

Rachel Klein is the Florence Levy Kay Fellow in Carceral Studies and the Humanities, and her work will connect Legal Studies, English, and AAAS. Klein is a writer, dancer, and PhD candidate in the Department of American Studies & Ethnicity at the University of Southern California. She studies the expansion of the carceral state in the late 20th century through family separation and motherhood. Prior to USC, Rachel worked as a journalist for Salon, writing about criminal justice, race, and culture, and as a professional dancer with the Harlem-based dance company Forces of Nature. She organizes with the California Coalition for Women Prisoners, a grassroots prison abolitionist organization, and volunteers with USC’s Prison Education Project.

We are so excited to welcome Rachel to the Legal Studies program!

What drew you to the program here at Brandeis?

I was initially drawn to the Brandeis Educational Justice Initiative. I have been involved in prison education for almost ten years, and was eager to continue that work. I am also so excited to teach courses to Legal Studies students on mass incarceration and activism. Overall, the opportunity to join a community of students, activists, and scholars who care deeply about justice makes this position especially thrilling.

What are some of your long term goals? 

I hope to publish my dissertation into a book. I am really passionate about the story I am telling about incarcerated women activists in California. I am also eager to continue to develop pipelines for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated students to enter in and thrive in academia. I would also love to establish a carceral studies minor for undergraduate students that is rooted in the study of prisons, policing, and abolition.

How has your carceral research affected the way you view the justice system?

When I began this project, I did not need convincing that the criminal legal system was harmful. But through oral history interviews and forging relationships with currently and formerly incarcerated women, I have learned a lot about how central gendered violence and oppression are to the “justice” system. Nothing has been more impactful to my work and political development than the privilege of being in community with people who are directly impacted by carceral violence and listening to their stories of survival and resistance.

What is one moment you have been particularly proud of in your career so far?

In 2020, during the onslaught of the pandemic, people in prisons were isolated from loved ones, cut off from education and programming, and locked in their cells for months. Incarcerated people requested ways to engage in community and intellectual stimulation. Myself and two collaborators decided to facilitate a correspondence writing course on the topic of open letters in Black Studies. Students engaged with famous open letters in African American history, such as letters from Martin Luther King Jr., Ida B. Wells, and James Baldwin. Students then wrote reflections about these letters and exchanged feedback with other writers in the course. After months of collective writing and feedback, students drafted their own open letters, on topics ranging from grief, anti-Blackness, trans rights, domestic abuse, prosecutorial racism, and police violence. This year-long course was incredibly meaningful to me, and I am proud that we were able to publish their letters in full in a community newsletter and obtain a grant to compensate writers for their work.

Can you share something you're passionate about outside of your research? 

Dance! I have been dancing since I was three years old and transitioned from a professional dance career into academia. Throughout graduate school, I have continued to take dance classes, which has been an absolute joy. When I taught in a prison in Scotland one summer, I was actually able to merge my passions and teach a dance class to incarcerated men there. I look forward to finding spaces to dance in at Brandeis and/or the surrounding community.

Do you have anything else to add?

There is a lot of exciting organizing happening in the Boston area around prison abolition and I am looking forward to fostering relationships with community activists and facilitating community-engaged research with students. 

Need to fulfill your

internship requirement?

Are you interested in taking LGLS 89A Law & Society Internship & Seminar next semester? An information session is required prior to course registration! Sign up here via the QR code. If the timing doesn’t seem like it’s going to work out, consider taking the summer session instead! Email melissamckenna@brandeis.edu for more information.

Summer Internship Course

Do you have a summer law or policy internship at home? Consider taking the summer session of LGLS 89A! This course will be synchronous but virtual, allowing for internships all over the globe. We would love to work with you as you take on the summer!

This year's Guberman Lecture will be given by Lauren Stiller Rikleen ’75, the first graduate of the Brandeis Legal Studies program. Since her graduation, Rikleen has became a lawyer, author, speaker, consultant, mother, and activist as she continues her work in the role of Executive Director of Lawyers Defending American Democracy.

Rikleen has always wanted to be a lawyer, transferring to Brandeis from Clark University as a junior. A sociology major, she was excited to attend Brandeis due to its history of advocacy. Rikleen described the environment as a place where you got a “general sense of high quality education.” Rikleen described an experience she had as she went to the head of the Legal Studies Program for advice. She explained that he suggested she consider becoming a paralegal instead, something Rikleen guessed he never would have said to a male student. Following her graduation from Brandeis, Rikleen enrolled in Boston College Law School.

Rikleen shared a story that has always stuck with her from her time at BC, explaining that a male professor of hers canceled class once because his child was sick and his wife had the more important work responsibilities. This is a philosophy that Rikleen carried with her as she began her family following graduation. She explained that “everything is doable with a supportive spouse.” As she and her husband were both practicing lawyers, the one who stayed home in an emergency was the one with the less important meetings that day. However, Rikleen emphasized the importance of being there for her children over her career. She explained that she never missed events that were important to her family such as school plays and concerts. 

Rikleen shared that as a woman, there was a “constant struggle to gain opportunities” in the industry. She explained that she had to constantly be her own advocate, fighting for the same treatment as her male coworkers. 

Rikleen started her career in government law, finding her footing in the environmental sector. She shared that she got hired right before the job freeze put in place by the Reagan Administration. Rikleen explained that Lawyers Defending American Democracy has been busier than ever, sharing “permission is being given to discriminate and I’ve never seen that.” She explained that if people “can’t talk then the barriers will stay.”

In terms of advice for future lawyers, Rikleen emphasized that it is important to “be realistic about your circumstances”, while also “always being open to opportunities that come along.” You never know where you will be in life when opportunities present themselves. She also emphasized that people should be aware of the “smothering presence of their phones.” Rikleen explained that your children know when you aren’t engaged with them, it is important to “model attentive behavior.” The best way to address work-life challenges is to be present. 

Be sure to attend the Guberman Lecture on April 24 to learn more from Lauren Rikleen!

Current students: are you interested in purchasing some Legal Studies swag? Please fill out the form linked below to demonstrate your interest and share your preferences!

If you already have some Legal studies merchandise, please send us photographs! We would love to feature you in a newsletter!

Are you registered to vote?

The VoteDeis Campus Coalition wants to make sure that if you are eligible, you are able to register and able to vote. Visit the VoteDeis page for the next steps!