Biography
Professor Michael Helfand is the Brenden Mann Foundation Chair in Law and Religion
and Co-Director of the Nootbaar Institute for Law, Religion and Ethics at Pepperdine
Caruso School of Law. During the Spring, he serves as the Florence Rogatz Visiting
Professor at Yale Law School. In addition to his academic appointments, Professor
Helfand serves as the Senior Legal Advisor to the Orthodox Union’s Teach Coalition
and a Senior Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute.
An expert on questions of church and state, Professor Helfand’s work considers how
U.S. law treats religious law, custom and practice. His academic articles have appeared
in numerous law journals, including the Yale Law Journal, New York University Law
Review, Duke Law Journal, Minnesota Law Review, Washington University Law Review,
and Southern California Law Review. In addition, Professor Helfand often provides
commentary on clashes between law and religion, writing for various public audience
publications, including the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Forward.
Professor Helfand joined the Pepperdine Caruso Law faculty in 2010 where he has taught
Contracts, Arbitration Law, Jewish Law and seminars in Law and Religion as well as
Multiculturalism and the Law. Prior to joining the Pepperdine Caruso Law faculty,
Professor Helfand was an associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, where his practice
focused on complex commercial litigation. Before entering private practice, Professor
Helfand clerked for the Honorable Julia Smith Gibbons of the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Sixth Circuit.
Education
- Ph.D., Yale University, 2009
- J.D., Yale University, 2007
- B.A., Yeshiva University, 2002
Articles
- Michael A. Helfand, Contractual Commitments and the Right to Change Religions, 103
N.C. L. REV. 1 (2024) SSRN
- Michael A. Helfand, Religious Liberty on Royce Quad, JEWISH REV. BOOKS (Fall 2024)
JEWISH REV. BOOKS
- Michael A. Helfand, Using Jewish Law: Jewish Religious Liberty Advocacy for the Right
to Abortion, 70 WAYNE L. REV. 51 (2024) SSRNHeinOnline
- Michael A. Helfand, There Are No Unconstitutional Conditions on Free Exercise, 98
NOTRE DAME L. REV. REFLECTION S50 (2023) SSRNNotre Dame L. Rev.
- Michael A. Helfand, Substantial Burdens as Civil Penalties, 108 IOWA L. REV. 2189
(2023) SSRNIowa L. Rev.
- Michael A. Helfand, Religious Liberty and Religious Discrimination: Where Is the Supreme
Court Headed?, 2021 U. ILL. L. REV. ONLINE 98 (2021) SSRN U. ILL. L. REV. ONLINE
- Michael A. Helfand, 'The Peculiar Genius of Private-Law Systems': Making Room for
Religious Commerce, 97 WASH. U. L. REV. 1787 (2020) SSRN HeinOnline
- Michael A. Helfand, From Doctrine to Devotion: The Jewish Comparative Law Project,
(book review of Samuel J. Levine, JEWISH LAW AND AMERICAN LAW: A COMPARATIVE STUDY
(Touro College Press, 2018), and Chaim N. Saiman, HALAKHAH: THE RABBINIC IDEA OF LAW
(Princeton University Press, 2018 ), 67 AM. J. COMP. L. 685 (2019) SSRNHeinOnline
- Michael A. Helfand, Jews and the Culture Wars: Consensus and Dissensus in Jewish Religious
Liberty Advocacy, 56 SAN DIEGO L. REV. 305 (2019) SSRN
- Michael A. Helfand, Implied Consent to Religious Institutions: A Primer and a Defense,
50 CONN. L. REV. 877 (2018) SSRN HeinOnline
- Michael A. Helfand, Reasoning Through Clashes Between Religion and Equality: Case
Law, Skeptics, and Social Coherence (book review of Nelson Tebbe, RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
IN AN EGALITARIAN AGE (Harvard University Press, 2017)), 33 CONST. COMMENTARY 27 (2018)
SSRN HeinOnline
- Michael A. Helfand, How to Limit Accommodations: Wrong Answers and Rights Answers,
4 J.L. RELIGION & STATE 1 (2016)
- Michael A. Helfand, Identifying Substantial Burdens, 2016 U. ILL. L. REV. 1771 (2016)
SSRNHeinOnline (abridged version published online as The Substantial Burden Puzzle, 2016 U. Ill.
L. Rev. Online 1 (2016) SSRN U. Ill. L. REV. ONLINE.)
- Michael A. Helfand & Barak D. Richman, The Challenge of Co-Religionist Commerce, 64
DUKE L.J. 769 (2015) SSRNHeinOnline
- Michael A. Helfand, Between Law and Religion: Procedural Challenges to Religious Arbitration
Awards, 90 CHI.-KENT L. REV 141 (2015) SSRNHeinOnline
- Michael A. Helfand, Arbitration's Counter-Narrative: The Religious Arbitration Paradigm,
124 YALE L.J. 2994 (2015) SSRNHeinOnline
- Michael A. Helfand, Religious Institutionalism, Implied Consent, and the Value of
Voluntarism, 88 S. CAL. L. REV. 539 (2015) SSRNHeinOnline
- Michael A. Helfand, Introduction: Religious Law in the 21st Century, 41 PEPP. L.REV.
991 (2014) SSRNHeinOnline
- Michael A. Helfand, What is a "Church"?: Implied Consent and the Contraception Mandate,
21 J. CONTEMP. LEGAL ISSUES 401 (2013) SSRNHeinOnline
- Michael A. Helfand, Religion's Footnote Four: Church Autonomy as Arbitration, 97 MINN.
L. REV. 1891 (2013) SSRNHeinOnline
- Michael A. Helfand, Litigating Religion, 93 B. U. L. REV. 493 (2013) SSRNHeinOnline (selected for presentation at the Harvard/Stanford/Yale Junior Faculty Forum)
- Michael A. Helfand, Purpose, Precedent, and Politics: Why Concepcion Covers Less than
You Think, 4 YB. ARB. & MEDIATION 126 (2013) SSRN
- Michael A. Helfand, A Liberalism of Sincerity: Religion's Role in the Public Square,
1 J. L. RELIGION & STATE 217 (2013) HeinOnline
- Michael A. Helfand & Robert F. Cochran, Jr., Religious Legal Theory Symposium Introduction,
39 PEPP. L. REV. 1051 (2012) (symposium issue) SSRNHeinOnline
- Michael A. Helfand, Religious Arbitration and the New Multiculturalism: Negotiating
Conflicting Legal Orders, 86 N.Y.U. L. REV. 1231 (2011) SSRNHeinOnline
- Michael A. Helfand, Fighting for the Debtor's Soul: Regulating Religious Commercial
Conduct, 19 GEO. MASON L. REV. 157 (2011) SSRNHeinOnline
- Michael A. Helfand & Yaacov Feit, Confirming Piskei Din in Secular Court, 61 J. HALACHA & CONTEMP. SOC'Y 5 (2011)
- Michael A. Helfand, The Usual Suspect Classifications: Criminals, Aliens and the Future
of Same-Sex Marriage, 12 U. PA. J. CONST. L. 1 (2009) SSRNHeinOnline
- Michael A. Helfand, How the Diversity Rationale Lays the Groundwork for New Discrimination,
17 WM. & MARY BILL RTS. J. 607 (2009) SSRNHeinOnline
- Michael A. Helfand, When Religious Practices Become Legal Obligations: Extending the
Foreign Compulsion Defense, 23 J.L. & RELIGION 535 (2008) SSRNHeinOnline
Forthcoming Book Chapters
- Michael A. Helfand, What Is Jewish Law? A Conceptual View from U.S. Courts in OXFORD
LEGAL HANDBOOK ON JEWISH LAW (forthcoming 2022) SSRN
Books
- Michael A. Helfand (ed.), NEGOTIATING STATE AND NON-STATE LAW: THE CHALLENGE OF GLOBAL
AND LOCAL LEGAL PLURALISM (Cambridge University Press, 2015) WorldCat
Book Chapters
- Michael A. Helfand, From Public Law to Private Law: Promoting Religious Values Through
Private Dispute Resolution, in CHRISTIANITY AND PRIVATE LAW (Robert Cochran and Michael
Moreland eds., 2021) Worldcat
- Michael A. Helfand, The Future of Religious Arbitration in the United States: Looking
Through a Pluralist Lens, in OXFORD LEGAL HANDBOOK ON GLOBAL LEGAL PLURALISM (Paul
Schiff Berman ed., Oxford University Press, 2019) SSRN
- Michael A. Helfand, When Judges Are Theologians: Adjudicating Religious Questions,
in RESEARCH HANDBOOK ON LAW & RELIGION (Rex Ahdar ed., Edward Elgar Publishing, 2018)
SSRN
- Michael A. Helfand, Implied Consent Religious Institutionalism: Applications and Limits,
in RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AND LGBT RIGHTS: POSSIBILITIES AND CHALLENGES FOR FINDING COMMON
GROUND (Robin Fretwell Wilson and William Eskridge eds., Cambridge University Press,
2018)
- Michael A. Helfand, The Future of Religious Liberty in the Wake of Hobby Lobby, in
THE CONTESTED PLACE OF RELIGION IN FAMILY LIFE (Robin Fretwell Wilson ed., Cambridge
University Press, 2018)
- Michael A. Helfand, The Substantial Burden Question: Secular Tools for Secular Courts,
in THE CONTESTED PLACE OF RELIGION IN FAMILY LIFE (Robin Fretwell Wilson ed., Cambridge
University Press, 2018) (adapted from Identifying Substantial Burdens, 2016 U. ILL.
L. REV. 1771 (2016))
- Michael A. Helfand, The Persistence of Sovereignty and the Rise of the Legal Subject,
in NEGOTIATING STATE AND NON-STATE LAW: THE CHALLENGES OF GLOBAL AND LOCAL LEGAL PLURALISM
(Cambridge University Press, 2015) SSRNWorldCat
- Michael A. Helfand, Introduction, in NEGOTIATING STATE AND NON-STATE LAW: THE CHALLENGE
OF GLOBAL AND LOCAL LEGAL PLURALISM (Cambridge University Press, 2015) SSRNWorldCat
Popular Press
- Michael A. Helfand, What does the Supreme Court decision actually change for synagogues
in COVID hot spots? It’s complicated, JEWISH TELEGRAPHIC AGENCY, Dec. 2, 2020
- Michael A. Helfand, To avoid the charge of anti-Semitism, New York needs to make its
COVID crackdown standards clearer, JEWISH TELEGRAPHIC AGENCY, Oct. 16, 2020
- Michael A. Helfand, Religious Discrimination Takes Center Stage at the Supreme Court,
TABLET, July 20, 2020
- Michael A. Helfand, Is Gov. Cuomo About to Be Overruled on Jewish Summer Camps? TABLET, June 29, 2020
- Michael A. Helfand, The First Amendment and the Vocabulary of Freedom, JEWISH REVIEW OF BOOKS, Summer 2020
- Michael A. Helfand, Racial justice and religious liberty go hand in hand. De Blasio
pitted them against each other – and got sued, FORWARD, June 16, 2020
- Michael A. Helfand, Remembering Rabbi Norman Lamm, TABLET, June 3, 2020
- Michael A. Helfand, To Balance Public Health and Religious Freedom, We Need Something
Better Than Bill de Blasio’s Dumb Tweets, TABLET, May 4, 2020
- Michael A. Helfand, Washington Should Fund Ministers’ Salaries: Excluding houses of
worship from Covid bailouts would be discriminatory, WALL STREET JOURNAL, April 16, 2020
- Michael A. Helfand, Discrimination Without Discriminating? The Supreme Court next
week will hear another challenge to an anti-Catholic law, WALL STREET JOURNAL, Jan. 16, 2020
- Michael A. Helfand, To Understand America — Read The Bible, FORWARD, July 2, 2019
- Michael A. Helfand, Doing Away With The Religious Exemption Will Help Protect Religious
Freedom, JewishPress.com, June 19, 2019
- Michael A. Helfand, Doing Away With The Religious Exemption Will Help Protect Religious
Freedom, JewishPress.com, June 19, 2019
- Michael A. Helfand, This Orthodox Family And Their Yeshiva Are In A Legal Battle Over
Vaccines, FORWARD, June 5, 2019
- Michael A. Helfand, A Day of Rest May Get a Day in Court, WALL ST. J., Mar. 21, 2019
- Michael A. Helfand, The Case Against Yeshivas and the Future of Religious Liberty,
TABLET MAG., Feb. 8, 2019
- Michael A. Helfand, The Travel-Ban Decision, Explained, TABLET MAG., June 27, 2018
- Michael A. Helfand, What the Supreme Court's Masterpiece Cakeshop Decision Really
Means, TABLET MAG., June 5, 2018
- Michael A. Helfand, Why States Like New Jersey Should Give Yeshivas Money, THE FORWARD, May 3, 2018
- Michael A. Helfand, Jews as a Bridge on Religious Liberty?, N.Y. JEWISH WEEK, Dec. 11, 2017
- Michael Helfand, A New Age for Religious Minorities?, 2017 U. Ill. L. Rev. Online
13 (2017) U. Ill. L. Rev. Online
- Michael A. Helfand, Seriously, Mahwah: Opposing an Eruv Is Anti-Semitic, THE FORWARD, July 31, 2017
- Michael A. Helfand, Why Religious Liberty Can't Justify Torture, Even When It's For
a Get, THE LEHRHAUS, July 20, 2017
- Michael A. Helfand, The Supreme Court's New Ruling About a Playground May Save Your
Life, THE FORWARD, JUNE 28, 2017
- Michael A. Helfand, Does Trump's Religious Freedom Executive Order Do Anything?, THE FORWARD, MAY 5, 2017
- Michael A. Helfand, A New Age for Religious Minorities? 2017 U. ILL. L. REV. ONLINE: TRUMP 100 DAYS, APR. 27, 2017
- Michael A. Helfand, An Anti-Catholic Pol's 21st-Century Legacy, WALL ST. J., APR. 6, 2017
- Michael A. Helfand, Making Faith-Based Institutions Inclusive, INSIDE HIGHER ED., APR. 5, 2017
- Michael A. Helfand, The Realities of Religious Accommodation in the Workplace: A Recent
Case and a Cause for Concern, THE LEHRHAUS, FEB. 9, 2017
- Michael A. Helfand, Judge Gorsuch Will Be Good on Religious Liberties, THE FORWARD, FEB. 1, 2017
- Michael A. Helfand, Did a New York Judge Just Order Orthodox Women to Stay in Unwanted
Marriages?, THE FORWARD, JAN. 25, 2017
- Michael A. Helfand, Can a Court Really Ban Kapparot and Why It Matters for the American
Jewish Community, THE LEHRHAUS, OCT. 23, 2016
- Michael A. Helfand, Bending Religious Colleges to Secular Rules, WALL ST. J., JULY 14, 2016
- Michael A. Helfand, The Substantial Burden Puzzle, 2016 U. ILL. REV. ONLINE 1, May 28, 2016
- Michael A. Helfand, Why Can't A Prison Figure Out How a Minyan Works? It's Not That
Complicated! THE FORWARD, MAR. 7, 2016
- Michael A. Helfand, How Will Antonin Scalia's Death Affect 2 Cases of Jewish Interest?,
THE FORWARD, FEB. 15, 2016
- Michael A. Helfand, Donald Trump's Hidden Opportunity for Jews, THE FORWARD, DEC. 21, 2015
- Michael A. Helfand, The Price of Pluralism, MOSAIC MAG., AUG. 20, 2015
- Michael A. Helfand, Religion and Commerce Can Co-Exist, USA TODAY, FEB. 25, 2015
- Michael A. Helfand, The Eruv Dividing Church and State in the Hamptons, THE FORWARD, FEB. 12, 2015
- Michael A. Helfand, Is a Prisoner's Beard Dangerous?, L.A. TIMES, OCT. 3, 2014
- Michael A. Helfand, Hobby Lobby's Challenge to Officialdom's 'Compelling Interest',
WASH. TIMES, JULY 2, 2014
- Michael A. Helfand, The Murkiness of the Hobby Lobby Ruling, THE FORWARD, JUNE 30, 2014
- Michael A. Helfand, America Doesn't See Its Religious Minorities, THE FORWARD, MAY 23, 2014
- Michael A. Helfand, Implied Consent: A Proposal on For-Profit Conscience, FIRST THINGS, MAR. 25, 2014, Web Exclusive
- Michael A. Helfand, Obamacare and Religious Rights in a For-Profit World, L.A. TIMES,
MAR. 18, 2014, Page A11
- Michael A. Helfand, There Is Another Way to Get a 'Get', THE FORWARD, OCT. 25, 2013
- Michael A. Helfand, Following Defeats, Anti-Sharia Law Supporters Revert to Sneaky
Tactics, NAT’L L. J. , SEPT. 9, 2013, page 39
- Michael A. Helfand, Religion's Wise Embrace of Commerce, FIRST THINGS, FEB. 07, 2013
- Michael A. Helfand, No, Bloomberg Isn't Banning Circumcision, FIRST THINGS, OCT. 15, 2012
- Michael A. Helfand, Postscript: Religious Freedom, L.A. TIMES, AUG. 18, 2012
- Michael A. Helfand, Hebrew National Must Answer to a Higher Authority, THE FORWARD, AUG. 17, 2012
- Michael A. Helfand, The Boundaries of Religious Freedom, L.A. TIMES, AUG. 15, 2012
- Michael A. Helfand, Why San Francisco's Proposed Circumcision Ban Violates the First
Amendment, L.A. DAILY J., JUNE 30, 2011
- Michael A. Helfand, A Law We Don't Need, L.A. TIMES, NOV. 10, 2010
- Michael A. Helfand, The Young Israel Dilemma: Disengagement or Confrontation, THE
JEWISH J., SEPT. 28, 2010
