Laura E. Gómez

Who is Laura E. Gómez?

Laura E. Gómez is the president of the Law and Society Association and a Professor of Law and American Studies at the University of New Mexico.

Her educational background includes an A.B. from Harvard University in Social Studies, an M.A. and Ph.D. in Sociology from Stanford University, and a J.D. from Stanford Law School. Following law school, Gómez clerked on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for Judge Dorothy W. Nelson. Before going to Stanford, she worked as a legislative aide to U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman.

Before joining the UNM faculty in 2005, Gómez spent 12 years as Professor of Law at UCLA. She was a co-founder and the first co-director of UCLA's Critical Race Studies Program, the first specialized program of study on race and law in any U.S. law school.

On May 30, 2009, Gómez became president of the Law and Society Association. Gómez is the first minority scholar and one of the youngest ever elected to head this international association of scholars. The Law and Society Association is a global organization of university scholars who study law in its cultural context.