Joshua J. Schroeder is a social justice attorney, scholar, and author based in Los Angeles focused on intellectual property, immigration, and constitutional law. He runs a law firm, SchroederLaw, frequently publishes law review articles, and curates a standalone Substack Everything at Issue, where he is the primary contributor. Schroeder is best known for his role in two cases: 1) as class counsel in Trump v. Arevalo Millan, which involves a District-wide injunction protecting Venezuelans in the Central District of California from being removed to the military prison camp known as “CECOT” in El Salvador without Due Process of the law; and 2) for his attempt to litigate a pro bono habeas corpus case in Xiong v. Albarran in the Northern District of Texas and the District of Guam that resulted in sanctions motions by the United States according to a Presidential memo ordering the Executive Department to pursue punishments for high profile lawyers who represent clients that the administration does not like.
Prior to taking a direct role litigating immigrant habeas corpus matters, Schroeder trained in humanitarian immigration law in Oakland, California where he started SchroederLaw, in part, to begin explaining general federal habeas corpus standards to immigration attorneys. In 2022, he published a guide for immigration attorneys to increase their chances in habeas corpus court entitled A Candle in the Labyrinth that extended his research from a 2016 article he published entitled The Body Snatchers to immigration law. He is also the author of an array of legal scholarship on internet law, copyright law, federal jurisdiction, the separation of powers, reproductive rights, the cross-section of criminal and immigration law, and the First Amendment.
Schroeder was interviewed on UC Berkeley Law’s inaugural episode of Pro Bono Presents about Madonna’s successful sampling suit, where he explained how Madonna’s song Vogue relied upon New York Ball Culture’s roots in Phillis Wheatley’s original copyright. Schroeder’s interest in the attribution rights Phillis Wheatley symbolizes began in his time as a singer and songwriter prior to attending law school. He is responsible for vindicating Wheatley as the Founding Mother of copyright law: a claim he defends openly in densely researched law review articles beginning in his over 300-paged Florida A&M University piece Leviathan Goes to Washington.
A full list of Schroeder’s current and forthcoming research is available on his law firm website here. His work is largely indebted to the encouragement of the late Lewis & Clark Professors Jeffrey Jones and Barbara Safriet, former Dean Robert Klonoff’s emphasis on international opportunities for students that helped Schroeder secure two externships in Shanghai, China, as well as Professor Lydia Pallas Loren whose engaging style of scholarship he attempted to emulate while he was a student at Lewis & Clark. Professor Paula Abrams’s seminar on cultural property, Professor David Olson’s telecom seminar, Librarian Wendy Hitchcock’s international legal research course, and Judith Miller’s shepherding of a top tier legal writing program each maintained a strong influence over Schroeder’s career trajectory.
To listen to a podcast Schroeder was interviewed on, click here.