Jennifer Mnookin

Jennifer Mnookin is an American legal scholar and academic administrator serving as the ninth chancellor of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). A leading scholar in the fields of evidence and expert witness testimony, she previously served as dean of the UCLA School of Law and was a professor at the University of Virginia School of Law. Her appointment to lead UCLA was announced by the University of California Board of Regents in May 2022.

Early life and education

Born in Madison, Wisconsin, she is the daughter of Jane Sherron De Hart, a noted historian, and Robert Mnookin, a professor at Harvard Law School. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in social studies from Harvard University in 1989. She then earned her Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 1995, where she was an editor for the Yale Law Journal.

Academic career

After law school, she served as a law clerk for Judge Michael Boudin of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. She began her teaching career in 1999 as an assistant professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, receiving tenure in 2005. In 2005, she joined the faculty of the UCLA School of Law, where she taught evidence, torts, and a seminar on expert witnesses. She was appointed vice dean for faculty and research in 2013 and was named the Ralph and Shirley Shapiro Professor of Law.

University of California, Los Angeles leadership

She was appointed dean of the UCLA School of Law in 2015, succeeding Rachel F. Moran. During her tenure, she oversaw the launch of new programs like the UCLA Institute for Technology, Law and Policy and helped secure a landmark $50 million gift from Meyer Luskin. In May 2022, the University of California Board of Regents, led by then-chair Cecilia Estolano, selected her to succeed Gene D. Block as chancellor of UCLA. She assumed the role on August 1, 2022, becoming the first woman to hold the position on a permanent basis.

Scholarship and publications

Her scholarly work focuses on the law of evidence, the use of science in the courtroom, and the reliability of expert witness testimony. She is a co-author of the widely used casebook Evidence: Cases, Commentary, and Problems. Her influential articles have been published in journals such as the Virginia Law Review, UCLA Law Review, and Jurimetrics. She has written extensively on the Daubert standard, forensic science, and the reliability of techniques like fingerprint analysis and bitemark evidence, often contributing to debates on legal reform.

Awards and honors

She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the American Law Institute. In 2019, she received the Rutter Award for Excellence in Teaching from the UCLA School of Law. She has also been recognized by the National Science Foundation for her work on improving the use of scientific evidence in legal proceedings.

Category:1968 births Category:Living people Category:University of California, Los Angeles faculty Category:American legal scholars Category:UCLA School of Law deans Category:Chancellors of the University of California, Los Angeles Category:Harvard University alumni Category:Yale Law School alumni Category:People from Madison, Wisconsin Category:American women legal scholars