Stephen Wizner is the William O. Douglas Clinical Professor of Law at Yale Law School

Yale Law School

Yale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1824, it offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D. and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers...

. He also has a Special Appointment as the Sackler Professor of Law at Tel Aviv University

Tel Aviv University

Tel Aviv University is a public university located in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. With nearly 30,000 students, TAU is Israel's largest university.-History:...

.

Teaching

Wizner teaches several clinical courses, including Advanced Advocacy for Children and Youth, Advanced Immigration Legal Services, and the Community Lawyering Clinic.

He also teaches non-clinical courses, including Ethics in the Practice of Law and Trial Practice.

Biography

Wizner received his A.B.

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 from Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...

 in 1959, and his J.D.

Juris Doctor

Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...

 from the University of Chicago

University of Chicago

The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...

 in 1963.

Upon graduating from law school he worked from 1963-1966 as a trial attorney with the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

He then worked from 1966-1967 as Staff Attorney with the Center on Social Welfare Policy and Law at Columbia University, one of the earliest poverty law centers. There he litigated the groundbreaking case Goldberg v. Kelly

Goldberg v. Kelly

Goldberg v. Kelly, 397 U.S. 254 , is a case in which the United States Supreme Court ruled that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution requires an evidentiary hearing before a recipient of certain government benefits can be deprived of such benefits...

, which established due process rights for welfare recipients. The theory of the case was developed by Robert Cover

Robert Cover

Robert Cover was a law professor, scholar, and activist, teaching at Yale Law School from 1972 until his untimely death at age 42 in 1986. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1943. He attended Princeton University and Columbia Law School...

, who was then a student at Columbia and went on to become Wizner's colleague as a professor at Yale Law School.

He then worked from 1967-1970 as Managing Attorney with MFY Legal Services, Inc., New York

He started teaching at Yale Law School in 1970. Wizner was the first clinical professor at Yale Law School to have an endowed chair. The Dean at the time, Guido Calabresi, wanted to signal the school's commitment to clinical education.

Wizner's professional awards include:

• Richard S. Jacobson Trial Advocacy Teaching Award by the Roscoe Pound Trial Lawyers Foundation.
• Connecticut Bar Association's Charles J. Parker Legal Services Award (1988)
• Connecticut Law Tribune's Award for Distinguished Service to the State Bar (1994)

Wizner's son, Ben Wizner, is an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union

American Civil Liberties Union

The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...

.

Academic Works

Law As Politics: A Response To Adam Babich, 11 Clinical L. Rev. 473 (2005) (with Robert Solomon)

Teaching And Doing: The Role Of Law School Clinics In Enhancing Access To Justice, 73 Fordham L. Rev. 997 (2004) (with Jane Aiken)

Walking The Clinical Tightrope: Between Teaching And Doing, 4 U. Md. L.J. Race, Religion, Gender & Class 259 (2004)

Religious Values, Legal Ethics, And Poverty Law: A Response To Thomas Shaffer, 31 Fordham Urb. L.J. 37 (2003)

Law As Social Work, 11 Wash. U. J.L. & Pol'y 63 (2003) (with Jane Aiken)

Law School Clinic: Legal Education In The Interests Of Justice, 70 Fordham L. Rev. 1929 (2002)

Beyond Skills Training, 7 Clinical L. Rev. 327 (2001)

Can Law Schools Teach Students To Do Good? Legal Education And The Future Of Legal Services For The Poor, 3 N.Y. City L. Rev. 259 (2000)

Is Learning To "Think Like A Lawyer" Enough?, 17 Yale L. & Pol'y Rev. 583 (1998)

Rationing Justice, 1997 Ann. Surv. Am. L. 1019 (1997)

Repairing The World Through Law: A Reflection On Robert Cover's Social Activism, 8 Cardozo Stud. L. & Literature 1 (1996)

On Youth Crime And The Juvenile Court, 36 B.C. L. Rev. 1025 (1995)

Homelessness: Advocacy And Social Policy, 45 U. Miami L. Rev. 387 (1990/1991)

What Is A Law School?, 38 Emory L.J. 701 (1989)

Tributes To Robert M. Cover, 96 Yale L.J. 1699 (1987)