USD Law Advocate, Spring 2026

BENJI LU EXPLORES HOW ADVANCES IN STATISTICAL METHODS IMPACT LEGAL FRAMEWORKS ❱❱ One of the newest members of the USD Law faculty, Assistant Professor Benji Lu examines how algorithms and statistics shape legal decision-making. Previously, he clerked for Judge Daniel P. Collins on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and held research roles at Stanford Law School’s RegLab, the American Bar Foundation and Harvard Law School. “The culture of scholarly excellence and collegiality that the faculty at USD Law has fostered over the years is truly remarkable,” Lu said. “I am delighted to join this extraordinary community.” Lu’s scholarship is published or forthcoming in the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics , the Journal of Machine Learning Research , the Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics and the NBER Conference on Research in Income and Wealth . Across projects, he evaluates the fair ness, accuracy and accountability of algorithmic tools and how statistical evidence can improve

Benji Lu

adjudication, enforcement and regulation. Lu holds a PhD in statistics from the University of California, Berkeley and a JD from Yale Law School, where he was lead editor of the Yale Journal on Regulation , a fellow at the Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy, and a fellow at the Tsai Leadership Program.

KATIE PARKER BRINGS REAL-WORLD LITIGATION EXPERIENCE TO CLINICAL PROGRAM ❱❱ Associate Professor Katie Parker ’02 (JD) has joined the USD Law clinical faculty after 17 years with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, including seven years as chief of the Civil Division. She has substantial experience mentoring junior lawyers and is an expert in litigating a variety of claims including employment discrimination, complex injury and wrongful death, medical malpractice, immigration, and civil rights. In her new role, she looks forward to guiding USD Law students in courtroom skills, client judgment and public service leadership. Parker remarked, “I’m thrilled to be working side-by-side with USD Law students in the clinical program. It’s an amazing opportunity to serve real-world vulnerable clients while teaching fundamental litigation skills.” A USD Law alumna, Parker earned a JD, summa cum laude ; competed on the Moot Court National Team and was research editor of the San Diego Law Review . She previously taught in the Experiential Advocacy Practicum and was president of the USD Law Alumni Board. With a BA in English literature and French from the University of Redlands, summa cum laude , Parker has been published by the San Diego County Bar Association, IP Law360 , Trends in Bio/Pharmaceutical Industry and the San Diego Daily Transcript.

Katie Parker

ERIN SHELEY CONNECTS CRIMINAL DOCTRINE, PROCEDURE AND CULTURAL NARRATIVE ❱❱ Professor of Law Erin Sheley is an expert in criminal law and procedure and the role of narrative in understanding criminal harm and punishment. Previously, she was a professor and associate dean of research at California Western School of Law and has taught at the University of Oklahoma College of Law, University of Calgary Faculty of Law and George Washington University Law School. Sheley was also an Olin-Searle Fellow at Georgetown University Law Center. “USD has a long tradition of top-notch criminal law scholarship, representing a wide range of viewpoints on the major

issues in the field. I am thrilled to become a part of that tradition, especially at an institution that contributes so much to the legal community in my home state of California,” Sheley said. Her scholarship examines how narratives of victimhood and punishment shape legal rules and outcomes. She is the author of Criminality and the Common Law Imagination in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries , and her articles have appeared in several publications including the Duke Law Journal , Washington Law Review and Southern California Law Review . Sheley holds a PhD in English from George Washington University, a JD from Harvard Law School and an AB, magna cum laude , from Harvard College.

Erin Sheley

USD SCHOOL OF LAW

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