Professor Jordan Blair Woods Receives 2021 Best LGBTQ-Plus Lawyers Under 40 Award

University Relations

Jordan Blair Woods

U of A law professor Jordan Blair Woods has been recognized as one of the top 40 LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40 by the National LGBT Bar Association. He will receive the best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40 Award July 28-30 at the 2021 Lavender Law Conference and Career Fair in Los Angeles.

Each year, the LGBT Bar recognizes 40 LGBTQ+ legal professionals under the age of 40 who have distinguished themselves in their field and have demonstrated a profound commitment to LGBTQ+ equality. 2021 was a highly competitive year, with over 100 applicants from all over the U.S.

"I am deeply honored to receive this award and thankful to the National LGBT Bar Association for recognizing me among this amazing group of lawyers who are so dedicated to LGBTQ+ equality," said professor Woods.

"This is terrific news for professor Woods, and we are fortunate to have him at the law school," said Margaret Sova McCabe, dean of the law school. "This award is one of many national awards and accolades Jordan has received, which goes on to show his passion and pride for his work. It also brings attention to the amazing work being done at the Atkinson Program and the law school's commitment to diversity and inclusion."

The National LGBT Bar Association is an official affiliate of the American Bar Association and works closely with the American Bar Association's Section on Individual Rights and Responsibilities, and its Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.

Woods serves as the faculty director of the Richard B. Atkinson LGBTQ Law & Policy Program at the law school. His primary research interests and teaching areas include criminal law and procedure, family law, law and sexuality, professional responsibility, and constitutional law. His recent scholarship has appeared or is forthcoming in the Stanford Law Review, Michigan Law Review, California Law Review, UCLA Law Review, Iowa Law Review, Minnesota Law Review and Northwestern University Law Review Online.

Woods is a two-time recipient of the Dukeminier Award, was named as a Harry Krause Emerging Family Law Scholar by the University of Illinois College of Law's Family Law and Policy Program, and has been awarded the U of A Faculty Commendation for Teaching Commitment for three consecutive years since joining the law faculty. This year, Woods also received the Dean's Circle Faculty Award for Scholarship at the law school.

Prior to joining the law faculty, Woods served as a fellow at the Williams Institute, a research institute on LGBT law and public policy at UCLA School of Law. He holds an A.B. from Harvard College, J.D. from UCLA School of Law, and M.Phil. and Ph.D. in criminology from the University of Cambridge, where he was a Gates Scholar.

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