Get to know LSA Board Trustee Meera E. Deo!
Institution:
Southwestern Law School
Law School Survey of Student Engagement (LSSSE)
Number of years as LSA member:
16
Number of LSA Meetings Attended:
14
LSA Governance Position(s) and Committees:
Board of Trustees, Class of 2028
Diversity Committee
Other Association Affiliations:
Association of American Law Schools
American Law Institute
Areas of Research:
Legal Education
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Belonging
Mixed Methods and Empirical Research
Intersectionality
Racial Representation
Favorite Topics to Teach or Research:
Wellness in Legal Education and the Legal Profession
Unique Skill or Fact:
I graduated from Long Beach Polytechnic High School, home of scholars and champions!
Additional Hobbies:
Reading
Puzzles
Traveling
Swimming
Notable Awards and Grants:
National Jurist, Top 20 Most Influential People in Legal Education | 2026
AALS Judith Welch Wegner Award | 2025
Kenneth & Harle Montgomery Foundation Scholars Award | 2023 – 2024
CAPALF Eric K. Yamamoto Emerging Scholar Award | 2018
Paul & Daisy Soros New American Fellowship | 2005
National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship
Top Books and/or Publications:
Meera E. Deo, Unequal Profession: Race & Gender in Legal Academia, Stanford University Press (2019).
Meera E. Deo, Pandemic Pressures on Faculty, 170 Pa. L. Rev. Online 127 (2022).
Meera E. Deo, Jacquelyn Petzold, and Chad Christensen, Twenty Years of LSSSE: Sharing Trends in Legal Education, LSSSE 2024 Annual Report (2024).
Education:
B.A., University of California, Berkeley | Interdisciplinary Studies
J.D., University of Michigan Law School
Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles | Sociology
Major Appearances:
American University Washington College of Law, National People of Color Conference, Improving Diversity & Inclusion in our Unequal Profession, DC, Mar 2019.
AALS Annual Meeting Author-Meets-Reader, Unequal Profession: Race and Gender in Legal Academia, DC, Jan 2020.
Indiana University, The COVID Care Crisis in Academia, Jan 2021.
Boston University Law Review Symposium (keynote), Women in Legal Academia, Boston, Feb 2026.
LSA Annual Meeting, Resisting Overcompliance, San Francisco, May 2026.
What do you find the most beneficial about being an LSA member?
What I find most beneficial about being an LSA member is the strong sense of community we have cultivated. I think of LSA as an institutional home. It’s the perfect place to connect various aspects of my interdisciplinary background in law, education, and sociology. There’s space for theory, empirical research, even work grounded in advocacy and activism. Plus, the personal connections and friendships I’ve built with other members makes it feel like home.
Why should professionals or students join LSA?
Everyone should join LSA because it is for everyone! No matter what your field of study, the law and broader society impact you and your work. I especially encourage colleagues to attend LSA meetings—it’s the best place to take a deep dive into your professional passions and get exposure to research you may not otherwise learn about. Plus, LSSSE throws a fun party every year during LSA! And LSA meetings are always in fabulous locations—Lisbon, Honolulu, Denver, Toronto, Mexico City, San Francisco, and more.
Learn more about Meera E. Deo, her many publications, awards, and involvement with academic organizations here.