Visiting Scholar Workshop: Meera Deo

Professor Meera E. Deo (Thomas Jefferson School of Law) will present her work on Diversity in Legal Academia, drawing from empirical research to examine issues of inequality among American law faculty.
Meera Deo
Meera Deo, UC Irvine School of Law Visiting Scholar

March 27, 2017
UC Irvine School of Law, Room Law 3500
12:05 p.m – 1:00 p.m.
RSVP here >

Abstract: Diversity in Legal Academia

Only 7% of law professors are women of color; yet, few scholars have investigated how this disparity may affect legal education. Professor Deo investigates ongoing inequality among law faculty using original empirical research findings from her Diversity in Legal Academia (DLA) project. DLA is the first comprehensive multi-method study of American law faculty utilizing an intersectional (race/gender) lens to examine challenges and opportunities facing women of color law professors from all stages of the career, across all regions of the United States, and from elite through “access” schools. In Professor Deo’s published articles drawing from DLA data she has investigated implicit bias in hiring and promotion, “mansplaining” in faculty meetings, race and gender privilege in the classroom, and faculty insights on educational diversity. She is currently crafting a book manuscript tying together various aspects of the DLA project, including strategies and solutions to combat these challenges and improve legal education as a whole.

Bio: Meera E. Deo

Professor Meera E. Deo, J.D., Ph.D., is an interdisciplinary scholar who utilizes empirical methods to interrogate trends in legal education, institutional diversity, and affirmative action. Professor Deo is currently on research leave from Thomas Jefferson School of Law to be a Visiting Scholar at UC Irvine School of Law; she also has held visiting positions at Berkeley Law and UCLA School of Law. Professor Deo collects original survey, focus group, and interview data from law students and law faculty to investigate inequality, marginalization, and other current challenges in legal education. Her scholarship has been published in leading law journals around the country including the Journal of Legal Education, Fordham Law Review, Hastings Law Journal, Michigan Journal of Race & Law, and Harvard Journal on Racial & Ethnic Justice. Her research also has been cited in numerous amicus briefs filed in the U.S. Supreme Court.  Professor Deo currently serves on the Executive Committee for the AALS Section on Law and the Social Sciences and is an appointee to the California Commission on Access to Justice.