Professor Jeff Baker Awarded Stephen J. Ellmann Memorial Clinical Scholarship Award -- Association of American Law Schools
Professor Jeffrey R. Baker received the Stephen J. Ellmann Memorial Clinical Scholarship Award at the 2025 Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Conference on Clinical Legal Education, held on April 26-29 in Baltimore, Maryland.
The Ellmann Memorial Clinical Scholarship Award recognizes a scholar whose body of work exemplifies the values, vision and impact of the work of Stephen J. Ellmann, inaugural holder of the Martin Chair in Law at New York Law School. Ellmann began his career fighting racism with the Southern Poverty Law Center and began his clinical teaching at Columbia University in 1983.
The AALS Section on Clinical Legal Education gives the award to mid-career scholar-teachers whose trajectory is dedicated to clinical and experiential teaching, whose written body of work evinces a concern for justice and a commitment to healing the world, and whose body of work emanates from their clinical commitments. Such commitments can be manifest in a myriad of ways including writing focused on experiential and clinical pedagogy as well in the many ways that those who teach in the field use their writing as one way to create justice and heal the world.
The AALS Section on Clinical Legal Education announced the award:
"For nearly two decades, Jeff has been a leader in clinical legal education, first at Faulkner University Thomas Goode Jones School of Law and currently at Pepperdine Caruso School of Law. He has founded or lead numerous clinics addressing critical needs, including the Family Violence Clinic, Elder Law Clinic, Community Justice Clinic, and most recently the Disaster Relief Clinic. As Associate Dean of Clinical Education and Global Programs, Jeff implemented a 15-unit experiential learning requirement at Pepperdine and expanded clinical offerings from four to ten clinics. His founding of the Clinical Law Prof Blog created an essential platform connecting the clinical legal education community, while his many committee and leadership roles in CLEA and the AALS Clinical section, particularly as a past CLEA President, demonstrate his commitment to advancing experiential legal education.
"Jeff's scholarship reflects his commitment to addressing societal challenges, particularly in disaster law. Drawing from personal experiences surviving Hurricane Katrina and more than one California wildfire, his publications, including "In Times of Chaos: Creating Blueprints for Law School Responses to Natural Disasters," and contributions to "The Cambridge Handbook of Disaster Law," provide a framework for legal education's role in disaster recovery. His most recent focus on mass incarceration is yet another way in which Jeff’s writing demonstrates a concern for justice and a commitment to healing. Finally, his writing on clinical pedagogy helps ensure future educators benefit from his justice-oriented approach.
"Finally, Jeff's pursuit of justice is further exemplified by his domestic violence initiatives in Montgomery County, Alabama, and efforts to recognize freedom from domestic violence as a human right. His impact reaches globally through consultations with law schools throughout the Philippines, implementing clinical programs in collaboration with The Supreme Court of the Philippines. He routinely mobilizes legal assistance during disasters, organizing support for communities affected by environmental emergencies like Hurricane Harvey and the Lahaina wildfires, and trains volunteer lawyers for pro bono services."
Professor Baker’s colleagues and nominators honored him at the awards luncheon with a congratulatory video
