Kathryn Abrams
Herma Hill Kay Distinguished Professor of Law
Kathryn Abrams is the Herma Hill Kay Distinguished Professor of Law at UC Berkeley School of Law, where she has taught since 2001. She earned her B.A. from Harvard-Radcliffe College and her J.D. from Yale Law School, and clerked for Judge Frank M. Johnson of the Eleventh Circuit. A leading scholar of feminist jurisprudence, she has published extensively on gender equality, immigration, law and emotions, and social movements. Her book Open Hand, Closed Fist draws on ethnographic research to chronicle the activism of undocumented immigrants in Arizona.
Teaching Style
Professor Abrams uses the Socratic method to help students see how constitutional law doctrines intersect with questions of gender, immigration status, and social power. She cold-calls students in a supportive but intellectually demanding manner, often using case studies drawn from her ethnographic research on immigrant justice movements. Her teaching encourages students to think about law not just as a set of rules but as a contested terrain where social movements shape legal outcomes.
Cold Call Tips
- 1Be prepared to discuss equal protection doctrine with attention to how it applies across different identity categories
- 2Understand the theoretical frameworks of feminist jurisprudence, including intersectionality and agency theory
- 3Read assigned cases with attention to how social movements and political context shaped the litigation
- 4Think about the relationship between legal doctrine and lived experience, especially for marginalized communities
Areas of Expertise
Education
- J.D., Yale Law School
- B.A., Harvard-Radcliffe College (magna cum laude)
Notable Publications
- Open Hand, Closed Fist: Practices of Undocumented Organizing in a Hostile State
- Articles on feminist legal theory in Yale Law Journal, Harvard Law Review, and Michigan Law Review
Research Interests
More Professors at UC Berkeley School of Law
Constitutional Law, Federal Courts, Civil Rights, First Amendment
Criminal Law, Family Law, Reproductive Rights and Justice, Critical Race Theory
Environmental Law, Constitutional Law, Legislation and Regulation, Climate Change Law
International Law, Criminal Law, Human Rights, International Criminal Law