New Faculty Making an Impact
Professors Alexis Hoag and Andrew Jennings, who joined the Law School in the summer of 2021, regularly take their authoritative knowledge of the law beyond the classroom, helping the public to make sense of current legal issues of national interest.
Hoag, whose research examines the ways in which the criminal legal system’s operation can erode people’s constitutional rights and perpetuate racism, is a frequent legal contributor for CBSNews, and has appeared on MSNBC, NPR, Al Jazeera, and other media outlets. Before entering academia, Hoag served as an assistant federal public defender and as senior counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund. Hoag uses this deep experience in litigation to inform her analysis of important trial cases, such as Minnesota v. Derek Chauvin.
“Following George Floyd’s tragic murder, I noticed several media outlets began to prioritize featuring pundits with backgrounds in racial justice and criminal defense,” said Hoag. “Given my experience as an appellate defender and racial justice litigator, I was willing to fill this role. It’s vital for the public to hear from commentors who regularly center racial justice in practice and who can speak about the presumption of criminality that the society assigns to Black people.”
Jennings is the creator and host of the Business Scholarship Podcast. On his weekly show, Jennings interviews an array of guests from the world of business, including academics from across disciplines, journalists, and practitioners. Jennings, who studies corporate governance and compliance, securities regulation, and white-collar crime, began producing the podcast in 2019. Since then, it has covered topics such as the growth of blockchains in finance, the trial of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, the rise of SPACs, and the mechanics of antitrust enforcement. Guests have included the Law School’s own Professors Julian Arato, Miriam Baer, Steven Dean, and Roberta Karmel.
“The most surprising thing has been how useful podcast episodes can be for teaching,” said Jennings. “I’ve heard from a lot of professors who say they use Business Scholarship Podcast episodes in the classroom. It’s been great to learn that the show isn’t just distributing scholarship to a broader audience but it’s also being used to teach future lawyers.”