The Legal Studies Major is under the academic supervision of the law school faculty. The core faculty of the Jurisprudence and Social Policy Program have a special responsibility for program oversight and for teaching in the program. Other members of the law faculty teach Legal Studies courses, however, some on a regular basis. In addition, in any given semester, visiting faculty members can usually be found teaching in the program.
Lauren Edelman
Legal Studies Chair
Associate Dean and Chair of the Jurisprudence and Social Policy Program and the Legal Studies major, Agnes Roddy Robb Professor of Law and Professor of Sociology.
Michael Musheno
Legal Studies Director
Michael Musheno is the director of the Legal Studies Program. He is also available to speak to students contemplating writing an Honors Thesis or undertaking an Independent Study project. His office hours vary from semester to semester; call (510) 642-2008, or e-mail for an appointment: mmusheno@law.berkeley.edu
Lauri La Pointe
Student Academic Advisor for the Legal Studies major
Questions about the Legal Studies Program should be directed to Lauri at 2240 Piedmont Avenue. She can be reached by e-mail at lauri@berkeley.edu
Meg Gentes
Administrative Assistant & Course Scheduler
Meg Gentes handles many administrative aspects of the Legal Studies Program including course scheduling, textbook orders and final exams. mgentes@law.berkeley.edu
Legal Studies Graduate Student Instructors (GSIs)
The Legal Studies Department frequently enlists the help of Graduate Student Instructors, or GSIs, to help teach its larger lecture courses. These courses generally consist of two or three lectures per week taught by a faculty member, plus several small discussion sections led by GSIs. Each student is assigned to one discussion section, which meets once per week. Legal Studies GSIs are largely doctoral students in the Jurisprudence and Social Policy Program.
Berkeley Legal Studies Association (BLSA)
The Berkeley Legal Studies Association, formerly known as TULSA (the Undergraduate Legal Studies Association), is a group of motivated students committed to enriching the undergraduate education in Legal Studies. Interaction in small groups such as BLSA allows students to meet with others who share the same interests in the law. BLSA is the perfect starting point from which to start a study group for a particular class, or a topical reading group in a specific law related field (e.g., criminology, constitutional law, feminist jurisprudence, etc.). BLSA also publishes an undergraduate law journal, the California Legal Studies Journal. To join BLSA, leave a note in the BLSA mailbox located at 2240 Piedmont Avenue, or ask the Undergraduate Advisor about the next meeting. BLSA Website.