Professor of Law, Associate Dean of Clinical and Experiential Programs
B.A., University of California, San Diego; J.D., University of California Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall), L.L.M., Georgetown University Law Center.
Lindsay Muir Harris is a Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Clinical and Experiential Programs. She directs the Immigration and Human Rights Clinic. The Clinic represents individuals in humanitarian immigration cases. Currently the Clinic is working with individuals seeking asylum, along with immigrant victims of crime in the United States and Afghans seeking humanitarian parole. Clinic students have also traveled to Tijuana, Mexico, to assist asylum seekers at the border. Professor Harris has also taught Asylum and Refugee Law, the Service-Learning Course, the LLM seminar for clinical instructors, and served as faculty advisor to the LatinX Law Student Association. Professor Harris is the co-creator of the The Learning Legal Interviewing and Language Access Film Project, a set of two interviewing videos for use in experiential education settings with Tulane Professor Laila L. Hlass. The American Immigration Lawyers Association awarded Professor Harris the 2020 Elmer Fried Excellence in Teaching Award. In Fall 2020, Professor Harris spent a semester as an Associate Visiting Professor and Acting Director of the International Human Rights Law Clinic at American University’s Washinton College of Law.
Prior to joining the faculty at UDC, Professor Harris worked with the American Immigration Council focused on efforts to end the detention of immigrant families seeking protection in the United States. As an Equal Justice Works Fellow and later a staff attorney, she launched and led the African Women’s Empowerment Project at the Tahirih Justice Center, conducting outreach to and representing survivors of gender-based violence in the DC metro area. Immediately following graduation from law school, Professor Harris clerked for the Honorable Harry Pregerson of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Professor Harris previously taught as a Clinical Teaching Fellow and Supervising Attorney in Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Legal Studies, supervising students representing detained and non-detained asylum seekers in immigration court. She also developed and taught the Refugee and Asylum Law Course at George Mason University School of Law while in practice.
Professor Harris’ research examines the human outcomes of immigration laws and policies. Her publications address contemporary issues in asylum law and policy, including gender-based and gang-related asylum claims. Professor Harris’ research frequently looks beyond the law, employing social science research methods to assess the efficacy of laws and policies, for example those designed to facilitate the well-being of individuals granted asylum in the United States. Her most recent research focuses on levels of vicarious trauma and burnout among immigration attorneys focused on asylum representation, along with critical interviewing as a lawyering skill. She is a nationally recognized asylum law expert and has written on the changes under the Trump Era to the asylum system and a blueprint for the Biden Administration to restore meaningful asylum protection in the United States. She has been invited to speak across the United States and in Canada on asylee integration, gender-based and gang-based asylum claims, the detention of immigrant families, the use of experts in asylum cases, public interest legal careers, trauma stewardship and secondary trauma, and clinical legal education. Professor Harris has written shorter pieces published with outlets including the Washington Post, The Hill, USA Today, Ms. Magazine, and the Conversation.
Professor Harris is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of California, San Diego, where she was awarded the Eleanor Roosevelt College Global Service Award and holds degrees in International Studies – Anthropology and Psychology. Professor Harris earned her J.D. from the University of California Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall) where she graduated as a member of the Order of the Coif, and served as a student leader of the California Asylum Representation Clinic, the Boalt Hall Committee for Human Rights, the Boalt Hall Women’s Association, and on the editorial staff of the Berkeley Journal of International Law. As a law student, she worked with the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies and was a Berkeley Human Rights Center Fellow in South Africa. For her work in Berkeley Law’s International Human Rights Clinic and the East Bay Community Law Center’s Health and Immigration Unit, Professor Harris was awarded the Sax Prize for Excellence in Clinical Advocacy. Professor Harris holds an L.L.M in Advocacy, with distinction, from Georgetown University Law Center.
Professor Harris speaks French and is a member of the California bar. From 2016 to 2021, she served as Vice-Chair of the board of local non-profit, Asylum Works and still serves as legal advisor to the Board. She has also served as Vice-Chair of the National Asylum and Refugee committee for the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), and remains a member of the committee. She previously served on the board of the Clinical Legal Education Association and participates in CLEA activities, including as a facilitator for the New Clinicians Conference.
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About Lindsay M. Harris
B.A., University of California, San Diego; J.D., University of California Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall), L.L.M., Georgetown University Law Center.
Lindsay Muir Harris is a Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Clinical and Experiential Programs. She directs the Immigration and Human Rights Clinic. The Clinic represents individuals in humanitarian immigration cases. Currently the Clinic is working with individuals seeking asylum, along with immigrant victims of crime in the United States and Afghans seeking humanitarian parole. Clinic students have also traveled to Tijuana, Mexico, to assist asylum seekers at the border. Professor Harris has also taught Asylum and Refugee Law, the Service-Learning Course, the LLM seminar for clinical instructors, and served as faculty advisor to the LatinX Law Student Association. Professor Harris is the co-creator of the The Learning Legal Interviewing and Language Access Film Project, a set of two interviewing videos for use in experiential education settings with Tulane Professor Laila L. Hlass. The American Immigration Lawyers Association awarded Professor Harris the 2020 Elmer Fried Excellence in Teaching Award. In Fall 2020, Professor Harris spent a semester as an Associate Visiting Professor and Acting Director of the International Human Rights Law Clinic at American University’s Washinton College of Law.
Prior to joining the faculty at UDC, Professor Harris worked with the American Immigration Council focused on efforts to end the detention of immigrant families seeking protection in the United States. As an Equal Justice Works Fellow and later a staff attorney, she launched and led the African Women’s Empowerment Project at the Tahirih Justice Center, conducting outreach to and representing survivors of gender-based violence in the DC metro area. Immediately following graduation from law school, Professor Harris clerked for the Honorable Harry Pregerson of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Professor Harris previously taught as a Clinical Teaching Fellow and Supervising Attorney in Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Legal Studies, supervising students representing detained and non-detained asylum seekers in immigration court. She also developed and taught the Refugee and Asylum Law Course at George Mason University School of Law while in practice.
Professor Harris’ research examines the human outcomes of immigration laws and policies. Her publications address contemporary issues in asylum law and policy, including gender-based and gang-related asylum claims. Professor Harris’ research frequently looks beyond the law, employing social science research methods to assess the efficacy of laws and policies, for example those designed to facilitate the well-being of individuals granted asylum in the United States. Her most recent research focuses on levels of vicarious trauma and burnout among immigration attorneys focused on asylum representation, along with critical interviewing as a lawyering skill. She is a nationally recognized asylum law expert and has written on the changes under the Trump Era to the asylum system and a blueprint for the Biden Administration to restore meaningful asylum protection in the United States. She has been invited to speak across the United States and in Canada on asylee integration, gender-based and gang-based asylum claims, the detention of immigrant families, the use of experts in asylum cases, public interest legal careers, trauma stewardship and secondary trauma, and clinical legal education. Professor Harris has written shorter pieces published with outlets including the Washington Post, The Hill, USA Today, Ms. Magazine, and the Conversation.
Professor Harris is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of California, San Diego, where she was awarded the Eleanor Roosevelt College Global Service Award and holds degrees in International Studies – Anthropology and Psychology. Professor Harris earned her J.D. from the University of California Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall) where she graduated as a member of the Order of the Coif, and served as a student leader of the California Asylum Representation Clinic, the Boalt Hall Committee for Human Rights, the Boalt Hall Women’s Association, and on the editorial staff of the Berkeley Journal of International Law. As a law student, she worked with the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies and was a Berkeley Human Rights Center Fellow in South Africa. For her work in Berkeley Law’s International Human Rights Clinic and the East Bay Community Law Center’s Health and Immigration Unit, Professor Harris was awarded the Sax Prize for Excellence in Clinical Advocacy. Professor Harris holds an L.L.M in Advocacy, with distinction, from Georgetown University Law Center.
Professor Harris speaks French and is a member of the California bar. From 2016 to 2021, she served as Vice-Chair of the board of local non-profit, Asylum Works and still serves as legal advisor to the Board. She has also served as Vice-Chair of the National Asylum and Refugee committee for the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), and remains a member of the committee. She previously served on the board of the Clinical Legal Education Association and participates in CLEA activities, including as a facilitator for the New Clinicians Conference.
| Present | Associate Professor of Law, University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law | |
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Disciplines
Research Interests
Professional Service and Affiliations
| 2016 - Present | Vice-Chair, Board of Directors, AsylumWorks | 2013 - Present | American Immigration Lawyers Association, Vice-Chair, National Asylum Committee |
Honors and Awards
- Elmer Fried Excellence in Teaching Award, American Immigration Lawyers Association (2020)
- Sax Prize for Excellence in Clinical Advocacy, Berkeley Law (2009)
Courses
- Immigration and Human Rights Clinic
- Service Learning Seminar
- Asylum and Refugee Law
| JD, University of California - Berkeley ‐ Boalt Hall School of Law | ||
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| BA, University of California, San Diego ‐ Eleanor Roosevelt College | ||
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| LLM, Georgetown University Law Center | ||
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Contact Information
(202) 274-7326