USD Law Advocate, Spring 2026

FACULTY FOOTNOTES The USD School of Law faculty is committed to advancing the study and practice of law. In these pages, learn about our professors’ activities, achievements and scholarship. USD LAW WELCOMES NEW FACULTY Six accomplished professors bring wide-ranging expertise to their new positions at the law school

NATALIE JACEWICZ ADVANCES CONSERVATION AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW WITH A JOURNALIST’S RIGOR ❱❱ Assistant Professor of Law Natalie Jacewicz arrived at USD Law with a journalist’s eye for research and a scholar’s focus on solu

ADAM KERN EXPLORES DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE THROUGH TAX POLICY AND ITS EVERYDAY EFFECTS ❱❱ Assistant Professor of Law Adam Kern brings deep expertise in both tax and philosophy to the USD Law faculty. “USD has a fantastic tax faculty with a strong tradition in law and philosophy,” he explained. “It is appealing to me to be at a place where both interests are explored with excitement and rigor.” Kern studies how tax policy distributes resources and shapes daily life. “Who owes what to whom, and who should have what, are deep questions about fairness,” he noted. “Taxation is one of the primary arenas for those debates. Everyday stakes include decisions about work, retirement saving, children’s education, marriage or family formation, all of which carry tax consequences.” Kern’s work has been published in the University of Chicago Law Review , NYU Law Review , Tax Law Review , Tax Notes and Philosophy & Public Affairs . Kern earned a PhD from Princeton and a JD from NYU School of Law, where he was a Furman Scholar and

tions. Originally pursuing a career in science journalism, she moved to law to address problems directly. “I real ized that, as a journalist, I could only draw attention to problems without offering a solution,” she said. Jacewicz studies the statutes and permitting processes that govern restoration, infrastruc ture and public lands. She

Natalie Jacewicz

analyzes how agencies balance mandates, science and com munity impacts and how procedures can be structured to produce durable outcomes. Her recent projects examine how the Endangered Species Act interacts with animal welfare and how proposed reforms to the National Environmental Policy Act could change environmental permitting. “The faculty here ask questions that force me to rethink foundational assumptions in my work, which has been incred ibly rewarding,” Jacewicz stated. She earned a JD, magna cum laude and Order of the Coif, from NYU School of Law; a graduate certificate in science journalism from UC Santa Cruz and a BA in evolutionary biology from Harvard, magna cum laude with high est honors. She hopes to inspire USD Law students to explore California’s environmental challenges and legal landscape. She has published in California Law Review , NYU Law Review and Utah Law Review , among other outlets.

received the David F. Bradford Memorial Prize and the Harry J. Rudick Award in Taxation. He also holds a BPhil from Oxford and an AB, summa cum laude , from Harvard College.

Adam Kern

SPRING 2026

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