- About
About USC Gould
USC Gould is a top-ranked law school with a 120-year history and reputation for academic excellence. We are located on the beautiful 228-acre USC University Park Campus, just south of downtown Los Angeles.
- Academics
Academics
Learn about our interdisciplinary curriculum, experiential learning opportunities and specialized areas.
Student Quick Links:
- Admissions
Admissions
USC Gould helps prepare you for a stellar legal career. You can pursue a JD degree, one of our numerous graduate and international offerings, or an online degree or certificate.
- Students
Students
Participate in an unparalleled learning experience with diversity of people and thought. Get involved in the law school community and participate in activities that enhance your studies.
Student Quick Links:
- Careers
Careers
We work closely with students, graduates and employers to support successful career goals and outcomes. Our overall placement rate is consistently strong, with 94 percent of our JD class employed within 10 months after graduation.
- Faculty
Faculty
Our faculty is distinguished for its scholarship, as well as for its commitment to teaching. Our 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio creates an intimate and collegial learning environment.
- Alumni and Giving
Alumni and Giving
The global Trojan network of more than 10,000 law alumni and donors include recognized leaders in numerous fields who are deeply committed to supporting student and law school success.
- Admissions

Faculty Distinctions and Awards
- FACULTY DIRECTORY
- LECTURERS IN LAW DIRECTORY
- EXPERTS DIRECTORY
- FACULTY IN THE NEWS
- SCHOLARSHIP AND PUBLICATIONS
- DISTINCTIONS AND AWARDS
- + CENTERS AND INITIATIVES
- CENTER FOR LAW AND PHILOSOPHY (CLP)
- CENTER FOR LAW AND SOCIAL SCIENCE (CLASS)
- CENTER FOR LAW, HISTORY AND CULTURE (CLHC)
- CENTER FOR TRANSNATIONAL LAW AND BUSINESS (CTLB)
- INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM INSTITUTE (IRI)
- PACIFIC CENTER FOR HEALTH POLICY AND ETHICS
- SAKS INSTITUTE FOR MENTAL HEALTH LAW, POLICY, AND ETHICS
- + WORKSHOPS AND CONFERENCES
Faculty of the USC Gould School of Law have been widely recognized for their achievements in scholarship and teaching and for their contributions to the profession and the public. They are frequently invited to testify before Congress and other bodies and to deliver distinguished lectures at universities, learned societies and national and international meetings. They have also received numerous prizes and been elected to membership in important academies and institutes, including:

American Law Institute (Elected Members)
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
- Elyn R. Saks [MacArthur Fellow, "Genius Grant", 2009]

John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
- Ariela J. Gross [Guggenheim Fellow, 2003]
- Hilary Schor [Guggenheim Fellow, 2001]
- Marshall Cohen [Guggenheim Fellow, 1976]

Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Award Trust
- Elyn Saks [Beckman Award, 2018, for a teacher who has inspired former students to create an organization which has demonstrably conferred a benefit on the community at large]
- Clare Pastore [Beckman Award, 2013, for a teacher who has inspired former students to make a significant contribution to society]

Phi Kappa Phi (Faculty Inductees)
Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences
- Dan Simon [Fellow, 2018-19]
- Ariela Gross [Fellow, 2017-18]
Harvard University Society of Fellows
- Marshall Cohen [Junior Fellow, 1955-58]
Institute for Advanced Study
- Marshall Cohen [Member, 1981-82]
Radcliffe Institute
- Hilary Schor [Fellow, 2012]
Rockefeller Foundation
- Marshall Cohen [Humanities Fellow, 1977]
Stanford Humanities Center
- Hilary Schor [Fellow, 1994-95]
The Justice Collaborative Institute
- Emily Ryo [Inaugural Fellow, 2020]
International Academy of Mediators
- Lisa Klerman [Distinguished Fellow, 2020]
Society of American Historians
- Ariela Gross [Fellow]
Society for Empirical Legal Studies
- Daniel Klerman [Fellow]
American Association of Law Libraries
- Albert O. Brecht [Hall of Fame, 2013]
American Bar Foundation
- Emily Ryo [JPB Foundation Access to Justice Scholar, 2020]
American Law Institute
- Michael Simkovic [Early Career Scholars Medal, 2015]
Association of American Law Schools
- Elyn Saks [Law and Mental Disability Distinguished Service Award, 2020]

California State Assembly
- Clare Pastore [Outstanding Advocacy on Behalf of the Poor in California, 2004, Resolution No. 2638]
- David Cruz [Outstanding Contributions to the LGBT Community, 2010, Resolution No.1420]
Who's Who in America
- Elyn R. Saks [Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award]

Phi Kappa Phi Faculty Recognition Award
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USC Lifetime Achievement Award
- 2020: Ronald Garet
- 2014: Christopher D. Stone
- 2009: Marshall Cohen
- 2007: W. David Slawson

USC Associates Awards for Creativity in Research and Scholarship
- 2009: Edward J. McCaffery
- 2004: Elyn R. Saks
- 1980: Christopher D. Stone

USC Associates Awards for Excellence in Teaching
- 2014: Thomas Griffith
- 1984: Stephen J. Morse
- 1977: Robert C. Ellickson
- 1974: Scott H. Bice
- 1970: Gary Bellow
- 1967: Leonard G. Ratner
- 1962: Victor S. Netterville
- 1961: G. Richard Wicks

Mellon Mentoring Award
- 2015: Hannah Garry (Faculty Mentoring Graduate Students)
- 2013: Martin L. Levine (Special Mentoring Award)
- 2012: Scott Altman (Faculty Mentoring Faculty)
- 2011: Ariela Gross (Faculty Mentoring Graduate Students)
- 2005: Thomas Lyon (Faculty Mentoring Undergraduate Students)
William A. Rutter Distinguished Teaching Award
- 2020: Clare Pastore
- 2019: Scott Altman
- 2018: Robert K. Rasmussen
- 2017: Ariela Gross
- 2016: Michael Chasalow
- 2015: Donald Scotten
- 2014: Thomas Lyon
- 2013: Rebecca Brown
- 2012: Stephen M. Rich
- 2011: Christopher D. Stone
- 2010: Ronald Garet
- 2009: Thomas Griffith
- 2008: Charles Whitebread
- 2007: Scott Bice

Walter Wolf Award for Defense of Academic Freedom (USC Academic Senate)
- 2018: Ronald Garet
- 2016: Alexander M. Capron

Distinguished Faculty Service Award (USC Academic Senate)
- 2017: Jody Armour
- 2017: Rebecca Lonergan
- 2014: Martin Levine
- 2012: Alexander M. Capron
- 2008: Ronald Garet
Book and Article Awards
-
Sam Erman, for ALMOST CITIZENS: PUERTO RICO, THE U.S. CONSTITUTION, AND EMPIRE
- William Nelson Cromwell Foundation Book Prize (best book in American legal history by an early career scholar) 2019, American Society for Legal History
- William Nelson Cromwell Foundation Book Prize (best book in American legal history by an early career scholar) 2019, American Society for Legal History
Ariela J. Gross, for WHAT BLOOD WON'T TELL: A HISTORY OF RACE ON TRIAL IN AMERICA
- James Willard Hurst, Jr. Prize (best book in sociolegal history), 2009, Law and Society Association
- Prize for Best Book on Race, Ethnicity and Politics, 2009, American Political Science Association
- Lillian Smith Book Award, 2009, Southern Regional Council, University of Georgia Libraries and the DeKalb County Public Library/Georgia Center for the Book
- CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title of 2009
-
Elyn R. Saks, for THE CENTER CANNOT HOLD: MY JOURNEY THROUGH MADNESS
- Top Ten Non-Fiction Books of the Year, 2007, Time Magazine
- National Best Books 2008 Awards, Winner in the Health: Psychology/Mental Health Category, USA Book News Award
- Advocacy Award, 2007, Mental Health Advocacy Services
- Best Memoir in Inspirational Category, 2007, Books for a Better Life
- National Alliance on Mental Illness, Outstanding Media Awards: Literary Award
- National Alliance on Mental Illness-NYC Metro's Kenneth Johnson Memorial Research Library, 2008 Ken Book Award
- Jacques Brien Prize, Los Angeles Psychoanalytic Society and Institute
- Mardi Arquette Spirit Award, 2008, Southern California Counseling Center
- Distinguished Citizen Award, 2008, American College of Psychoanalysts
- Top Ten Non-Fiction Books of the Year, 2007, Time Magazine
-
Dan Simon, for IN DOUBT: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROCESS
- Book Award for Authored Book, 2015, American Psychology-Law Society
- Book Award for Authored Book, 2015, American Psychology-Law Society
- Christopher D. Stone, for WHERE THE LAW ENDS
- Best Book Award (Social Issues in Management Division), 1992, Academy of Management
- Daniel Klerman, for Was the Jury Ever Self-Informing?
- Sutherland Prize (best article in English legal history), 2004, American Society for Legal History
- Daniel Klerman, for Settlement and the Decline of Private Prosecution in Thirteenth Century England
- David Yale Prize (distinguished contribution to the history of the laws and legal institutions of England and Wales), 2001, Selden Society
- Michael Simkovic, for Competition and Crisis in Mortgage Securitization
- Best Professional Article, 2012, American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers
Professional Recognition
(Leadership in Scholarly Organizations; National Fellowships; etc.)
- American Council of Learned Societies
- Ariela J. Gross [Collaborative Research Fellowship, 2017-18]
- Ariela J. Gross [Frederick J. Burkhardt Fellowship, 2003-04]
- Hilary Schor [Summer Research Fellowship, 1989]
- American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics
- Alexander M. Capron [President, 1988-89]
- International Association of Bioethics
- Alexander M. Capron [President, 2005-07]
- National Endowment for the Humanities
- Ariela J. Gross [Long-Term Fellowship]
- Organization of American Historians
- Ariela J. Gross [Distinguished Lecturer, 2010-16]
- Society for Empirical Legal Studies
- Daniel Klerman [Co-President, 2008-09]
FACULTY IN THE NEWS
The Guardian
March 3, 2021
Re: Jody David Armour
Jody Armour was interviewed about the lack of change in the LAPD thirty years after the savage assault on Rodney King. "So many activists are calling for defunding the police because the changes that have occurred in cosmetics have not made real changes in how many Angelenos and marginalized communities are experiencing policing," he said.
RECENT SCHOLARSHIP
Thomas D. Lyon
January, 2021
“Understanding expert testimony on child sexual abuse denial after New Jersey v. J.L.G.: Ground truth, disclosure suspicion bias, and disclosure substantiation bias,” (with Shanna Williams & Stacia N. Stolzenberg) Behavioral Sciences & the Law 38 (2020).
Daniel Klerman
January, 2021
“Choice of Law and the Art World” (with Anja Shortland), The Global Law Market (conference), CEGLA Center, Tel Aviv University.
Daniel Klerman
January, 2021
“Art Theft and the Art Loss Register: Law, Norms & Institutions” (with Anja Shortland), Departmental Seminar, Economics Subject Group, Management School, Queens University Belfast.