Top Law Students Name Their Favorite Professors

USC Gould's Donald Scotten

USC Gould’s Donald Scotten


THEY ARE MINDFUL OF THEIR STUDENTS
Professor Donald Scotten is my favorite professor. He breaks down the material in a way that allows all students to learn. He uses a combination of visual and lecture to teach us the law, and for me it provided the first opportunity to learn about corporations and partnerships. I often wonder why so few Latinos venture into corporate law, but I realize that it’s very possible not every Latino student has a Professor Scotten. So for all the reasons above, that is why Professor Scotten is my favorite.” – Andrés Cantero Jr., USC Gould School of Law
David Walker. His teaching style really suits me. He’s conscious of his audience and how well people are comprehending his lectures. If he can see he’s losing people, he’ll immediately stop to review. He also does little things that I think reflect careful thought about how to help people understand the material.” – Kelvin Chan, Boston University School of Law
William & Mary's Allison Larsen (Center)

William & Mary’s Allison Larsen (Center)


Professor Allison Larsen is my favorite professor. She was my professor for both Constitutional Law and Administrative Law. I admire her dedication to her students and her personal achievements. She goes out of her way to ensure her students understand the material, and that they can advocate on both sides of any issue. When she teaches, it is very clear that she is passionate about her profession and wants to impart that to her students as well.” – Kaylee Gum, William & Mary Law School
Allison Orr Larsen. I had the privilege of learning Administrative Law from Professor Larsen. She is clearly passionate about the law, and her excitement is always contagious. She works hard to find creative and useful ways to explain complex concepts, and she is always willing to help her students. A professor as qualified as she is, having such a joy and gift for teaching law, is a true treasure.”   Katie Chounet, William & Mary Law School
THEY ARE ENTERTAINING, ENERGIZING, AND PASSIONATE
“My favorite professor is probably Dean Altman. He taught Property my first semester at Gould. Altman is clear, concise, and hilarious. His dry sense of humor made my 8 a.m. Monday class bearable.”  Madi DiPietro, USC Gould School of Law
Berkeley Law's Fred Smith

Berkeley Law’s Fred Smith


Professor Fred Smith has been favorite professor both for the clarity of his teaching style and breadth of subjects he covers, but also for his personality, pop culture references, and neat stories from his time as a clerk for (Supreme Court) Justice Sotomayor. I had him for Constitutional Law and Federal Courts (we called it Fred Courts). He was also willing to note inconsistencies and hypocrisies in the law, something which, when unacknowledged, can make you feel like a crazy person when you notice them and no one says anything. Professor Smith does a killer impression of some of the Justices, too.” – Misha Tsuckerman, UC-Berkeley School of Law
Susan Provenzano: I took Employment Discrimination with Professor Provenzano. She brings an energy to the classroom that is rare in higher education and makes the course material easier to digest.”  Jarrett Burks, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
THEY ARE ‘SERVANT LEADERS’ WHO GO ABOVE AND BEYOND
“Professor Michael Krauss. He is the professor who taught my first-year Torts class. He is an amazing professor with a wealth of experience teaching, and his focus on students is unparalleled. For instance, he has extensive office hours every week, and those office hours are always packed. He actively creates and participates in TWEN discussion groups, learns all of his students’ names very early in the semester, responds to student emails almost instantly at any time of the day or night (I don’t know when he sleeps) and grades a full midterm in his first-year Torts class so that finals will not be the first time students are experiencing a test. He is always willing to stay after class or schedule an extra office hour to talk with any student who wants to talk either about academic or personal issues.” – Peter Donahue, George Mason University School of Law
“My favorite professor in law school has thus far been Professor John Matheson. He was the professor for my first law school class 1L year and treated our class like ‘home room.’ He made himself available to answer questions both about law school and life. He would go out of his way to make time to meet with students regarding resume review, courses to take, job searches, and ways to get involved. He also went the extra mile to make the course accessible to the students; the first year of law school can be overwhelming and he did what he could to help students understand and succeed. Beyond that, with his work experience, he also strives to make his courses practice. Instead of simply teaching the statute or case law, he takes the time to explain and elaborate how concepts would be treated in legal practice, making the course as practical as possible, which has served me well in my work and volunteer experience working with business clients.”  Amber Kraemer, University of Minnesota Law School
University of Washington's Sarah Kaltsounis

University of Washington’s Sarah Kaltsounis


Professor Sarah Kaltsounis is my favorite professor because, aside from being a fantastic legal writing instructor, she provides invaluable support to her students outside of the classroom. She has been an ongoing resource for students in search of jobs, study tips, and mentorship.” Manmeet Dhami, University of Washington School of Law
Professor Robert J. Miller is my favorite professor. He served as my advisor for my paper titled, ‘A New Formula for Tribal Internet Gaming,’ which will be published in Jurimetrics this fall. This paper also won first place for the Ross-Blakely Law Library Award for Exemplary Student Research at my law school. Professor Miller is a citizen of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma and he helped guide me through law school with a lot of fatherly advice from a Native-American perspective. He strongly encouraged me to apply for judicial clerkships several times throughout law school. Ultimately, I received a judicial clerkship with Chief Justice Bales on the Arizona Supreme Court. I am very grateful for his encouragement and his support of my legal career. I also think he’s a genuinely great person with a wonderful sense of humor and a joy to be around.” Racheal M. White Hawk, Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law

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