Law, Justice and Society
- Department Interdisciplinary
- Academic Division The College
- Offerings Minor
The Law, Justice and Society program brings together the Law School, Williams School and College in a curricular concept unlike what any other liberal arts college can offer. The program focuses on the philosophical, historical and cultural elements of law, and on the legal dimensions of civic, commercial and professional life.
Law, Justice and Society
The Law, Justice and Society Program at W&L engages students in an interdisciplinary exploration of the nature of law and justice. It challenges students to think freely, critically and humanely about the role of law at a variety of levels: locally, regionally, nationally and globally. It seeks to equip students to critically examine law and justice across cultural, chronological, topical and institutional settings.
The program faculty includes the individuals listed below, plus numerous faculty from around the undergraduate and law campuses, many of whom have both law degrees and higher degrees in another field. They teach a wide variety of interdisciplinary courses that focus either on substantive areas of the law or on law and its role in various facets of society.
The curriculum includes dozens of courses in the College and the Williams School, including from such varied disciplines as art history, chemistry, classics, economics, journalism and politics. In order to earn the LJS minor, a student must take LJS 1001 (Introduction to Law, Justice, and Society), plus at least five electives from a wide array of law-related courses offered by numerous departments and the Law School, and an additional Law School course or 3000-level LJS elective.
In addition to undergraduate courses that examine the law from a liberal arts perspective, LJS minors enroll in one or more courses taught at the law school. LJS minors participate in the course side by side with the law students. A few examples include:
- Corporate Social Responsibility
- Cyber Policy and Privacy Law
- Death Penalty
- Election Law and Voting Rights
- Law and Economics Workshop
- Poverty Law
The LJS program is designed for any student who is interested in an interdisciplinary examination of the law and its role in society. Earning an LJS minor is not a requirement for applying to law school, nor is the program limited to those students planning a career in the law. It may be of particular interest to pre-law students, but the program is open to all W&L students interested in approaching the study of law from a liberal arts perspective. W&L’s LJS program is unique among similar programs offered at other highly ranked liberal arts colleges in that W&L’s law school offers LJS minors the opportunity to choose from among dozens of interesting seminars and courses taught by law professors and to learn side by side in classes with second- and third-year law students.
Opportunities
The LJS program is young but already offers a host of varied opportunities for undergraduate students. During the academic year, students can participate in inter-collegiate mock trial competitions, attend events with invited speakers, and serve as jurors and witnesses for mock trials at the law school. They can also work in the community, for instance by providing volunteer income tax assistance to members of the public and by securing summer internships at law firms and government agencies. LJS students are encouraged to organize events pertaining to their own interests. Even before the creation of the LJS minor, W&L undergraduates organized events on such topics as students’ civil rights, natural gas pipeline licensing, social justice and legal careers in public service.
Spring Term offers particularly diverse opportunities to explore the intersection of law and the liberal arts in the classroom. Spring Term courses delve into such varied issues as civil rights, negotiation theory and scientific crime scene analysis. One Spring Term course in particular, the Washington Term Program, offers students the opportunity to live and study in Washington, D.C., for six weeks, while also working four days a week in a government office, think tank or other political organization.
During summer breaks, students can intern with law firms and government agencies or participate in summer research opportunities with professors. The pre-law advising staff in the Career and Professional Development office work closely with students and alumni seeking admission to law school or law-related opportunities to explore their interest in the law.
Outcomes
The LJS minor prepares students for graduate school and for a wide variety of careers in law-related fields. Although earning an LJS minor is not a requirement for applying to law school, it may be of interest to pre-law students. Law is a perennially popular advanced degree among W&L alumni. A recent study showed that, of the members of W&L’s class of 2008 who earned an advanced degree within 10 years of graduation, 18 percent attained a JD, more than any other single discipline.
In addition, numerous W&L students go on to work in government agencies, as journalists, and in other fields related to the law. More generally, the LJS minor teaches students to think critically about the role of the law in promoting justice, a skill they can apply nearly universally.
W&L to Host Constitution Day Panel on Supreme Court Cases from the 2025-26 Term
The Liberating Ideas panel discussion takes place in Northen Auditorium on Sept. 16.
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The three-year fellowship will support research and collaboration at one of Germany’s leading law faculties.
Jackson Flower ’25 Publishes Paper in the Penn Undergraduate Law Journal
The article is based on a capstone paper Flower wrote for his minor in law, justice and society at W&L.
Three W&L Students Awarded Boren Scholarships for Global Language Study
With the scholarship, the graduating seniors will conduct intensive language studies in Indonesia and Japan.
Educational Odyssey
Ashton Evans ’26 reflects on a W&L experience full of mentorship, global learning and skills she will carry with her for life.
Dominique Lamb ’08 to Deliver Lecture on Housing Equity
The Nov. 13 lecture on W&L’s campus is free and open to the public.
Mark Drumbl and Mohamed Kamara Publish New Book on Children’s Fights
The book takes an innovative look at children and violence and features contributions from numerous W&L professors and visiting scholars.
Mary Anne Franks to Give Reading on ‘Fearless Speech’
The George Washington University professor’s talk will be held April 3 on W&L’s campus.
Darby Burgett ’26 Awarded Public Policy and International Affairs Fellowship
Burgett will attend the PPIA Junior Summer Institute at Princeton University this summer.
Meet Ashton Mouton ’28
Mouton entered college with plans to be a surgeon, but a sociology class changed his career path.
Minor Focus: Law, Justice and Society
W&L’s Law, Justice and Society minor examines legal concepts from an interdisciplinary lens.
Meet the Faculty
At W&L, students enjoy small classes and close relationships with professors who educate and nurture.
Timothy Lubin
Jessie Ball DuPont Professor of Religion and Law, Justice, and Society Program Head
- P: 540-458-8146
- E: lubint@wlu.edu
Professor Lubin teaches courses on Asian religions and comparative study of religion and law. He researches Hindu religious history, law in ancient Asia, and texts and inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, Old Javanese and Old Tamil.
Adedayo (Dayo) Abah
Professor of Journalism and Mass Communications
- P: 540-458-8077
- E: abahd@wlu.edu
Abah teaches courses on communications law, news media, crisis communication, and international communication. Her research areas include online anonymous speech, international defamation law, copyright issues, Nollywood in African cinema, women and Nollywood, religion and the media, and immigrant media use.
Joel Adams
Assistant Professor of Business Administration
- P: 540-458-8627
- E: jadams2@wlu.edu
Prof. Adams teaches courses on business and technology ethics and ethical design. He spent fifteen years in new ventures and policy work before academia, including cofounding and leading a spirits company and an education reform non-profit. He researches normative alignment in artificial intelligence systems and entrepreneurial cognition and action under uncertainty.
Melina Bell
she/her
Professor of Philosophy and Law
- P: 540-458-8899
- E: bellm@wlu.edu
Bell is a part of the faculty in the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program, the Shepherd Program for the Interdisciplinary Study of Poverty and Human Capability, and the Law, Justice, and Society Program. She also teaches at the Law School. Professor Bell’s primary research interests are in political philosophy, philosophy of law, and feminist philosophy.
C. Elizabeth Belmont
Parker A. Denaco ‘68L Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Community Legal Practice Center
- P: 540-458-8561
- E: belmontb@wlu.edu
Professor Belmont’s areas of expertise include family law, elder law and litigation. She earned her undergraduate degree from Southern Illinois University and her JD from Loyola University of Chicago Law School.
Nathan Bowden
Visiting Assistant Professor of Business Administration
- P: 540-458-8013
- E: bowdenn@wlu.edu
Professor Bowden is an attorney, educator, and consultant whose primary research interests involve how we regulate financial institutions and other businesses that offer products and services to consumers. His teaches courses about conflict of laws, secured transactions, and financial regulation in the U.S.
Kevin Crotty
J. Donald Childress Professor of Classics
On Leave
- P: 540-458-8910
- E: crottyk@wlu.edu
Crotty’s courses include Classical Mythology; Homer; and Law, Litigation and Justice in the Ancient World. His research interests include myth, archaic Greek poetry, Plato and legal theory.
Nathan Dean
Assistant Professor of Law, Justice and Society
- P: 540-458-8181
- E: ndean@wlu.edu
Dr. Dean teaches and writes on civil rights, social inequality, and discrimination combining perspectives from public law and political theory. Ph.D. in Political Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; J.D., University of Virginia School of Law; B.A. in Political Science, Haverford College
Mark A. Drumbl
Class of 1975 Alumni Professor of Law and Director of the Transnational Law Institute
- P: 540-458-8531
- E: drumblm@wlu.edu
Professor Drumbl’s areas of expertise include international law, transnational law, mass violence and human rights, and global environmental govenance. He received a BA and MA from McGill University, a JD from University of Toronto, and a LLM and SJD from Columbia University.
Michelle Drumbl
Robert O. Bentley Clinical Professor of Law and Associate Dean
- P: 540-458-8545
- E: mdrumbl@wlu.edu
Drumbl is the associate dean for academic affairs and Robert O. Bentley Professor of Law at the W&L School of Law. She is also director of the Tax Clinic. Her teaching and research interests include federal income taxation of individuals, tax procedure and tax policy.
Peter Grajzl
John F. Hendon Professor of Economics
- P: 540-458-8049
- E: grajzlp@wlu.edu
Grajzl teaches courses in introductory economics, microeconomics, economics of institutions and mathematical methods. His research centers on comparative institutional economics, law and economics, and political economy.
Alana Holland
Assistant Professor of History
- P: 540-458-8912
- E: aholland@wlu.edu
Holland teaches courses on Russian and East European history, modern Europe, and the history of the Holocaust. She is writing a book on trials of Holocaust perpetrators in postwar communist courts in Eastern Europe and related cultural and artistic representations.
Adrienne Jones
Assistant Professor of Sociology
- P: 540-458-8012
- E: ajones@wlu.edu
Dr. Jones is a sociologist whose research broadly investigates poverty, inequality, and race in the American South. Her current projects examine legal financial obligations, indebtedness, and social policies. Dr. Jones teaches courses on legal financial obligations, contemporary social problems, qualitative methods, and US social welfare.
Toni Locy
Professor of Journalism and Mass Communications
- P: 540-458-8434
- E: locyt@wlu.edu
Locy teaches courses on covering the courts and law, news writing, in-depth reporting, multimedia storytelling design and sports journalism. She was previously a journalist for 25 years, covering primarily the federal court system.
Russell A. Miller
J.B. Stombock Professor of Law
- P: 540-458-8516
- E: millerra@wlu.edu
Professor Miller’s areas of expertise include public law (constitutional law, administrative law and international law), comparative law theory and method, German law and legal culture. He receive his undergraduate degree from Washington State University, an MA and JD from Duke, and a LLM and JW from Goethe University in Germany.
Mark Rush
Director of International Education and Stanley D. and Nikki Waxberg Professor of Politics
- P: 540-458-8904
- E: rushm@wlu.edu
Rush writes on U.S. politics, constitutional law, elections and democracy around the world, global affairs, and higher education. His current scholarly work includes presidential power, international politics, judicial activism, elections and democratic reform, civic education, higher education, and law and technology.
Sheahan Virgin
Assistant Professor of Politics
- P: 540-458-8376
- E: svirgin@wlu.edu
Virgin teaches courses on American national institutions and elections. His approach to teaching U.S. politics encourages students to utilize the broadly applicable methodologies of comparative institutionalism, basic causal inference, and normative democratic theory. His research focuses on electoral rules and reform.