Professor Charlie Martel Joins Lewis & Clark Lawyering Faculty
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Law professor and human rights advocate Charlie Martel will be joining the law faculty of Lewis & Clark as an assistant professor of lawyering in the fall of 2022. He is currently serving as a Visiting Professor at the University of Maryland Carey School of Law, where he teaches in the Lawyering program.
In addition to his academic experience, Martel’s career spans over a decade in private law practice, plus high-level work on human rights and service with the US Senate as Investigative Counsel in the areas of national security, disaster response, and counter-terrorism. He earned his JD degree from Washington and Lee University and holds an LLM degree in International Human Rights Law from the London School of Economics.
Martel did considerable pro bono immigration work in recent years, serving with Advocates Abroad, supporting refugees in Europe, and working with immigrants in the U.S. with the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law and the Annapolis Immigration Justice Network.
He has two academic articles out this year. One, Racism and Bigotry as Grounds for Impeachment, was published in volume 45 of the NYU Review of Law and Social Change. Martel will be presenting on this at the Law and Society Association conference in Lisbon, Portugal this July. The second will be published in the Harvard Human Rights Journal. Entitled, I Was a Stranger and You Welcomed Me, is an emotive essay reflecting on his experience working with refugees in Greece.
“I am looking forward to sharing many of the lessons learned from my career,” said Martel. “I tell my students that though you start learning skills in lawyering in law school, you will always be learning and perfecting your work. It is the first step in a lifelong learning journey.”
“We are very pleased that Charlie will be joining us as a member of our critical lawyering program,” said Dean Jennifer Johnson. “Lawyering prepares our law students from day one with skills and the sense of professionalism that will last their entire legal career. Charlie’s rich background, plus his love of teaching, will be valuable additions to our robust program”
Martell rekindled his interest in teaching and writing as a result of his LLM degree. “I love the combination of teaching and serving and found that I could do that as a professor. At Lewis & Clark, in addition to my teaching duties, I am looking forward to getting involved in immigration and asylum work within the Portland community”.
Aside from his teaching and public service commitments, Martel is an enthusiastic stand up paddle boarder. One of his first activities in Portland will be participating in the Columbia River Gorge race in August.
