Featured Content Slideshow

Michael Horowitz speaking to students

Inspector General Michael Horowitz Visited The Legal Studies Program

Attorney Horowitz '84, Inspector General of the Department of Justice, came to speak to LGLS 118 and LGLS 89A on March 9, about law school, the Inspector General statute, and the way it structures his role as IG of the Justice Department.

a picture of Ariel Ludwig

Legal Studies is excited to welcome Dr. Ariel Ludwig!

Legal Studies is excited to welcome Dr. Ariel Ludwig as the 2022 Florence Levy Kay Fellow in Machine Learning, Law, and Racial Justice! She will teach courses in Anthropology and Legal Studies during her Fellowship in the fall semester. Welcome!

Mock trial

Not Guilty!

Students in Professor Aaron Bray's criminal law class argued their case at the Roxbury District Court, and a jury including two prosecutors ruled in their favor. Well done!

Mock trial

Not Guilty!

Students in Professor Aaron Bray's criminal law class argued their case at the Roxbury District Court, and a jury including two prosecutors ruled in their favor. Well done!

An Image of Howard Scher

The Legal Studies Program congratulates alumnus Howard Scher '67 who is the 2021 recipient of the Pennsylvania Innocence Project's Hero In Justice Award.

Attorney Scher is the Immediate Past President of the Pennsylvania Innocence Project. He was honored with the Hero in Justice Award at a ceremony on October 20, 2021. His sustained commitment to achieving justice for all is an inspiration!

Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Play

Ruth Bader Ginsburg visits campus

Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg spoke with legal studies students during a visit to Brandeis celebrating Louis D. Brandeis' centennial.

The Legal Studies Program deals with broad questions about justice arising in a complex world. Our courses are open to students from all departments and majors. The only prerequisites are the curiosity to ask critical questions and the passion to explore practical steps to social change.

Legal Studies at Brandeis builds on the liberal arts model. In the words of the famous Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, "The study of law should be introduced as part of a liberal education, to train and enrich the mind."

You cannot major in Legal Studies because justice requires the specialized knowledge found in sciences, social sciences, humanities and creative arts. Justice also requires close familiarity with local problems and global challenges. Whatever your primary field of study, you will find Legal Studies courses that draw out the social justice dimension. With knowledge about legal systems, and with skills of legal analysis and advocacy, you are ready to find a richer balance between theory and practice.

Minor

The interdepartmental Legal Studies Program presents law in the broad context of history, economics, politics, philosophy, literature and the sciences. By tracing law's impact within the fields of health, business, environment and creative arts, graduates are prepared for a wide range of educational and professional opportunities. The scope of legal concerns studied in the program ranges from the local (town, city and state) to the national and expands to the global (regions and international bodies).