Fall semester is in full swing, and we are thrilled to see so much interest in Legal Studies among our first year students. We had a busy table at the curriculum fair and a great turn out for our first "Meet the Minor" event. Our incredible UDRs have helped us plan several engaging academic and social events for the semester, giving us even more opportunities to connect with our students.

We are especially excited to welcome two new faculty members: Eric Greene, who is offering a new course, Resolving Conflicts: Introduction to ADR and Mediation, and Rachel Klein, who is teaching Carceral Studies this fall. Their expertise and fresh perspectives are wonderful additions to our program.

We are also deeply grateful for the continued support of our alumni. Whether through campus visits, guest lectures, student mentoring, or generous donations, your involvement plays a vital role in our success. Thank you!

— Professor Rosalind Kabrhel

Has Brandeis Legal Studies changed your life? Would you like to help those following in your footsteps thrive? Consider donating! No amount is too small!

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

Meet Representative Thomas Stanley

On October 9th from 2:30 to 3:30pm, Massachusetts State Representative Thomas Stanley will visit Legal Studies class LGLS121a: Legislation for Change: Research, Policy, and Social Determinants of Health to discuss his journey to the state house and his current legislative priorities. The event is open to all Brandeis students and provides an opportunity for students to share their ideas for future legislation.

Location: Shiffman 219. Please RSVP as soon as possible (walk-ins welcome).

The Theater of the Law

Please join Professor Andie Berry, Professor Daniel Breen and Professor Rosalind Kabhrel on October 23 for a look at the intersection of law and performance. Topics include courtroom drama, the staging of a persuasive argument, the law in Shakespeare, and more. This event will take place in Mandel 303 from 12:00 - 1:00 pm.

Brown Bag Lunch with Michael Bien

Calling all current Brandeis Legal Studies students!

Michael Bien is the co-founding partner of Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld LLP, where he leads a litigation practice spanning complex commercial disputes, class actions, constitutional and civil rights law, antitrust, and intellectual property. Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld LLP He has served as managing partner for nearly three decades and has tried and argued cases at all levels, including before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Michael will be joining us on the Brandeis campus on October 29th to discuss the Brown v Plata case, where he addressed the extreme overcrowding of California prisons, as well as poor treatment of incarcerated individuals.

On October 29, he will be having a brown bag lunch with students from 1:00 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. in the conference room on the third floor of the Brown Social Science Center. This lunch has first come first serve registration with a limit of ten students. Fill out the form below to secure your spot, we encourage students from all class years to join us!

Professor Smith

Professor Doug Smith's article with Christine Cimini, Bridging the Justice Gap: Elite Capture, Deference Politics, and a Path to Democratic Experimentalism, including a short and spicy description of the work of The Right to Immigration Institute ("TRII") will be published in Volume 16 of the UC Irvine Law Review.

This summer, Doug chaired a panel on responses to authoritarian immigration enforcement in Nativist states, presented on Minimal Group Paradigm Effects in Case Congregations, Legal Complexes and Local Legal Assemblages, and presided over the annual meeting of the Law and Social Movements' Collaborative Research Network at the Law and Society Conference, with by-now customary Oreos and Champaign, in Chicago. Doug participated in SEIU's Louisiana Justice Journey in June and July, and Uganda's National Unity Platform's Convention in Burlington, Mass. in August. In September, Doug presented a paper on The Right to Immigration Institute's (TRII's) contributions to the definition of justice, as well as access to it, at the International Access to Justice Conference in New York.

While Doug was off flitting about, TRII was even more active in responding to immigration enforcement crackdowns/the overwhelming fascist occupation of Waltham, with great and creative legal work by Brandeis students Nemma Kalra, Trishna Nikte, Aaron Rosendorf and Annalise Chapdelaine, 2025 Brandeis graduates Alejandro Bracamontes and Theo Brandt, 2024 graduate Berta Muza, and Brandeis faculty member/DOJ accredited immigration representative Lynn Kaye.

Professor Kabrhel

This summer, Professor Kabrhel worked with an amazing team of undergraduate and graduate students on the 14th cohort of the Partakers Empowerment Program (PEP). PEP is a 14-week long reentry course designed and facilitated by the Brandeis Educational Justice Initiative (BEJI) in collaboration with Partakers, a non-profit that supports education for people in and emerging from prison. The summer course graduated 15 reentry students, and the fall course is already underway!  

Professor Kabrhel also rode in her 4th Pan Mass Challenge, a 167 mile bike ride and the largest annual fundraiser for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. She was joined by colleagues John Plotz (ENG) and Sarah Lamb (ANTH).  

It’s important to make a plan for registering to vote and casting your ballot, and to figure it out early. It's not difficult — just follow these steps:

1. Go to Vote.org to check whether you are already registered to vote.
2. If you are not registered, Vote.org will walk you through the registration process, help you locate your polling place and even let you sign up for election reminders.
3. Planning to request an absentee ballot and/or vote by mail? Vote.org can help you with that, too.



If you need stamps and/or envelopes to send in your ballot, please ask at the Brandeis library. Check your ballot instructions to see if you need to have it notarized - these services are also being scheduled at the library. Also don't forget to check with your state voter portal (if it has one) on where your ballot might be in the process.

Are you interested in ordering a Legal Studies hoodie? Fill out the form linked below and Venmo Professor McKenna by November 1st!

Want a hoodie but don't want to pay? It's almost the holiday season! Feel free to send this form to a friend or loved one. Just make sure they include your name in the Venmo description so you are able to pick it up!

Are you an alumnus of the Brandeis Legal Studies program? We would love to hear from you and learn about what you have been up to! Please fill out the form linked below to share with our community!

ENACT is excited to announce Cohort Four of the ENACT Faculty Fellowship: Neal Allen (Wichita State University, Kansas), Douglas Cantor (Rutgers University - New Brunswick, New Jersey), Brian Dille (Mesa Community College, Arizona), Holly Foster (Texas A&M University, Texas), Keesha Greer-Effs (Berea College, Kentucky), Austin Harrison (Rhodes College, Tennessee), Daniella Mascarenhas (Xavier University of Louisiana), Jamie Palmer-Asemota (Nevada State University), Shawnika Perdue-Johnson (Pitzer College, California), Delphia Shanks (Hendrix College, Arkansas), and Emily Stacey (Rose State College, Oklahoma). 

On May 19, ENACT hosted the newest faculty fellows for a virtual institute, during which they connected with experienced ENACT professors through a series of sessions about what it means to engage students in their state's legislative process. 

They are joining a national network of professors at colleges and universities across the United States teaching experiential courses based on the ENACT model. In those courses students engage directly in the state legislative process. Students learn to be active participants in democratic processes through connecting with policymakers and community organizations; conducting research and analysis; and informing public policy with evidence and expertise.

Read more about the newest ENACT Faculty Fellows here. [https://www.brandeis.edu/enact/news-events/2025-03-13-new-fellows.html]