Professor Christina Koningisor Joins UC Law SF Faculty

Professor Christina Koningisor plans to continue researching issues related to government secrecy and media law at UC Law San Francisco.

UC Law San Francisco welcomes Professor Christina Koningisor, an expert in constitutional law, media law and government secrecy, as one of two new tenure-track faculty members this school year.

As a legal scholar, Koningisor said she strives to fill major gaps in research by exploring government secrecy and public records laws on the state and local level, as opposed to the federal level, which has attracted more attention from researchers.

“By pointing out flawed laws and raising awareness of certain issues, you hope that policymakers pay attention and judges start to recognize areas where they can improve their decision-making processes,” she said.

In her previous role as a First Amendment Fellow for the New York Times, Koningisor helped journalists pursuing public records and said she saw many reporters face roadblocks when seeking information from state and local agencies.

Her most recently published articles focused on extraordinary secrecy protections for local police and “public undersight,” a term she coined for efforts by non-government entities who collect and post public data online, sidestepping traditional legal channels. She is currently working on a project exploring how the power of media companies and the executive branch have shifted over the last half century and reshaped First Amendment law.

Provost & Academic Dean Morris Ratner said the law school will benefit greatly from Koningisor’s expertise and dedication to pursuing novel areas of research.

“Professor Koningisor’s career shows sustained productivity and distinction at this early stage,” Provost Ratner said. “Since starting her academic career, she has placed five articles exclusively in top law journals, including Yale Law Journal, Northwestern University Law Review, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Columbia Law Review, and Minnesota Law Review.”

Koningisor said she is excited to join a team of nationally renowned faculty at UC Law SF and start teaching law, “UC Law SF students are known to be really smart and to go on to do excellent work in government and the community so I’m excited to shape the next generation of lawyers.”

Koningisor, who will teach courses on Constitutional Law and Administrative Law, said this is an especially important time to learn about constitutional law because of recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions that have changed the legal landscape.

“For students and scholars who are interested in making a difference and being in an area where the law is rapidly moving, I think it’s a really good area to be working and researching and writing,” she said.

When it comes to teaching law, Koningisor said she wants students to understand the historical context surrounding important court rulings and how they affect people’s lives.

“We’re not just applying disembodied doctrine,” she said. “These decisions arose in a certain context; real people were affected, and real people continue to be affected by these decisions.”

Koningisor previously worked as law professor at the University of Utah, where she taught a seminar on government secrecy, and as a research fellow at UC Berkeley. She also served as a law clerk to then Chief Judge of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Sidney Thomas. She has a law degree from Yale Law School and a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Brown University.