UC Law SF Welcomes New Faculty Member Professor Emily Strauss

Professor Emily Strauss is joining the UC Law SF faculty this year and will teach courses on Corporate Law, Securities Regulation, and Financial Regulation.

UC Law San Francisco welcomes Associate Professor of Law Emily Strauss, an expert in corporate law and securities and financial regulation, as one of two new tenure-track faculty members starting this 2023-2024 academic year.

As a legal scholar, Strauss is particularly interested in looking at investor-driven lawsuits and their effectiveness as a tool to make corporations behave in desirable ways. She recently published articles on climate change-related investor suits and litigation over special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) transactions, which she explains are risky ventures not subject to the stricter disclosure rules required for initial public offerings.

“Amid regional bank failures, cryptocurrency crackdowns and growing demands for corporate accountability, this is an important time to understand the rules that help steer the nation’s multitrillion-dollar economy,” said Strauss. “Corporations determine so much of our lives and have a huge impact on the way the world unfolds these days. That’s one reason why I find this field exciting.”

Strauss said she appreciates the constantly evolving nature of finance and its regulation, as lawmakers and watchdogs try to keep pace with newly invented ways to make money.

Her scholarship has appeared or is forthcoming in the Southern California Law Review, U.C. Irvine Law Review, Law & Contemporary Problems, NYU Journal of Law and Business, Arizona Law Review, and the Boston University Law Review. It has also been cited in outlets such as Bloomberg and Reuters.

Provost & Academic Dean Morris Ratner described Strauss as a valuable addition to the law school’s roster of talented and knowledgeable faculty members. He said, “Professor Strauss will add to our already deep bench of business law scholars, enhancing a center of excellence that includes our Center for Business Law, and strengthening UC Law SF’s ability through teaching, research, and public service to positively impact local and national business ecosystems.”

After spending most of her career on the East Coast, Strauss said she’s thrilled to move west and start teaching at a law school with a world-class faculty, active and connected Center for Business Law, and close proximity to booming Silicon Valley. “UC Law SF has a lot of relationships with practitioners and industry players in the area, and that to me is very exciting,” she said.

Strauss will teach courses on Corporate Law, Securities Regulation, and Financial Regulation, as well as a 1L course.

Strauss said she has a passion for helping students grasp the rapidly changing rules that govern business and finance. “I think a lot of people come into a corporate law class feeling intimidated and when they come out with a feeling of confidence, that’s always rewarding for me,” she said.

Strauss has been teaching law since 2016 and previously worked as a lecturing fellow at Duke University and as a visiting professor at UC Berkeley.

Before teaching law, she worked as an attorney with Sullivan & Cromwell LLP in New York, where she focused on securities litigation and criminal and regulatory investigations, including fraud, antitrust, executive misconduct, and bribery-related matters.

Strauss, who speaks French, earned both a law degree and master’s in international relations from Boston University. She has a bachelor’s in English literature and economics from the College of William and Mary.

Prior to law school, Strauss was a Peace Corps volunteer in West Africa and a high school teacher in China. She is a member of the state bars in New York and Massachusetts.