Professor of Law, Second Century Presidential Professor
Professor Mortazavi teaches and writes about torts, legal ethics, administrative law, and food law and policy, where she explores the dialogue between law, institutions, and identity. Her articles have appeared in the Fordham, Columbia, UCLA, and Cardozo Law Reviews amongst others. Professor Mortazavi is currently secretary of the AALS Torts Section and a fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
Professor Mortazavi joined the University of Oklahoma College of Law faculty as an Associate Professor of Law in the fall of 2015, after serving as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School. She earned tenure in 2020 and was awarded the President’s Second Century Professorship in 2021. Shortly thereafter, Professor Mortazavi went on to serve a term as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs from 2022 until August of 2024. In 2023, she received the OU Trailblazer Award, a distinction affording to only one faculty or staff member annually across all four of OU’s statewide campuses.
She earned her B.A., magna cum laude, in Government and Theatre from Cornell University, where she was a Conger Wood Fellow and graduated with distinction. In law school, she served as an Editor for the California Law Review and received the Allen F. Broussard Fellowship and the Department Education’s Foreign Language Area Studies Fellowship for Farsi. After graduating law school, Professor Mortazavi clerked for the Honorable Beverly B. Martin of the Northern District of Georgia.
Prior to teaching, Professor Mortazavi was a commercial litigator at Debevoise & Plimpton L.L.P. where her practice included cases involving products liability, professional ethics, corporate governance, food and drug law, and sustainable resource and energy management. Professor Mortazavi also engaged in various significant pro bono civil rights representations, including briefing before the Supreme Court on behalf of Guantanamo detainees.
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About Melissa Mortazavi
Professor Mortazavi teaches and writes about torts, legal ethics, administrative law, and food law and policy, where she explores the dialogue between law, institutions, and identity. Her articles have appeared in the Fordham, Columbia, UCLA, and Cardozo Law Reviews amongst others. Professor Mortazavi is currently secretary of the AALS Torts Section and a fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
Professor Mortazavi joined the University of Oklahoma College of Law faculty as an Associate Professor of Law in the fall of 2015, after serving as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School. She earned tenure in 2020 and was awarded the President’s Second Century Professorship in 2021. Shortly thereafter, Professor Mortazavi went on to serve a term as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs from 2022 until August of 2024. In 2023, she received the OU Trailblazer Award, a distinction affording to only one faculty or staff member annually across all four of OU’s statewide campuses.
She earned her B.A., magna cum laude, in Government and Theatre from Cornell University, where she was a Conger Wood Fellow and graduated with distinction. In law school, she served as an Editor for the California Law Review and received the Allen F. Broussard Fellowship and the Department Education’s Foreign Language Area Studies Fellowship for Farsi. After graduating law school, Professor Mortazavi clerked for the Honorable Beverly B. Martin of the Northern District of Georgia.
Prior to teaching, Professor Mortazavi was a commercial litigator at Debevoise & Plimpton L.L.P. where her practice included cases involving products liability, professional ethics, corporate governance, food and drug law, and sustainable resource and energy management. Professor Mortazavi also engaged in various significant pro bono civil rights representations, including briefing before the Supreme Court on behalf of Guantanamo detainees.
| 2021 - Present | Second Century Presidential Professor, University of Oklahoma College of Law | |
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| 2022 - 2024 | Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, University of Oklahoma College of Law | |
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Disciplines
Research Interests
Courses
- Administrative Law
- Professional Responsibility
- Agricultural & Food Law
- Torts
- Oklahoma Law Review