UC-Berkeley To Implement ABA-Mandated Diversity Course Starting In Fall 2023

Law.com, Berkeley Law to Implement Mandatory Diversity Course Starting in 2023:

Starting with the entering J.D. class in August 2023, Berkeley Law students will be required to take at least one course on race and the law in order to graduate.

Berkeley’s decision to implement the new course predates the American Bar Association House of Delegates’ vote last week adopting several changes to the ABA’s accreditation standards, including adding a requirement that law schools provide ”education on bias, cross-cultural competency and racism” to students [update here].

Berkeley began work on this curriculum change in the summer of 2020 before the ABA change was proposed, Erwin Chemerinsky, dean and Jesse H. Choper Distinguished professor of law at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, told Law.com on Tuesday. ...

Currently, Berkeley Law is offering four new race and law classes this semester: “Critical Theories of Law: Race, Gender, and Sexuality” (co-taught by professors Russell Robinson and Kathryn Abrams); “Law, Public Health, and Police Use of Force” (taught by professor Osagie K. Obasogie); “The Court of Public Opinion: Advocacy Outside of the Courtroom” (taught by Keker, Van Nest & Peters litigation and trial attorney and 2017 Berkeley Law graduate Greg Washington); and “Policing Families” (taught by East Bay Community Law Center attorney and Clean Slate Practice Clinical Supervisor Rebecca Oyama).