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About USC Gould
USC Gould is a top-ranked law school with a 120-year history and reputation for academic excellence. We are located on the beautiful 228-acre USC University Park Campus, just south of downtown Los Angeles.
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Academics
Learn about our interdisciplinary curriculum, experiential learning opportunities and specialized areas.
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Admissions
USC Gould helps prepare you for a stellar legal career. You can pursue a JD degree, one of our numerous graduate and international offerings, or an online degree or certificate.
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Students
Participate in an unparalleled learning experience with diversity of people and thought. Get involved in the law school community and participate in activities that enhance your studies.
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Careers
We work closely with students, graduates and employers to support successful career goals and outcomes. Our overall placement rate is consistently strong, with 94 percent of our JD class employed within 10 months after graduation.
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Faculty
Our faculty is distinguished for its scholarship, as well as for its commitment to teaching. Our 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio creates an intimate and collegial learning environment.
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Paul G. Stern
USC Gould School of Law
- FACULTY DIRECTORY
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- FACULTY IN THE NEWS
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- + CENTERS AND INITIATIVES
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- CENTER FOR LAW, HISTORY AND CULTURE (CLHC)
- CENTER FOR TRANSNATIONAL LAW AND BUSINESS (CTLB)
- INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM INSTITUTE (IRI)
- PACIFIC CENTER FOR HEALTH POLICY AND ETHICS
- SAKS INSTITUTE FOR MENTAL HEALTH LAW, POLICY, AND ETHICS
- + WORKSHOPS AND CONFERENCES

Lecturer in Law
699 Exposition Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90089-0074 USA
Last Updated: May 19, 2017
Paul G. Stern is currently senior litigation counsel at the United States Attorney's office for the Central District of California, where he specializes in the prosecution of white collar crime, including securities fraud, health care fraud and corporate fraud, and he also assists in the training and advising of younger prosecutors in the office. Stern has been a federal prosecutor for over 21 years and has been a member of the Major Frauds Section of the United States Attorney's office since February 1998. He has tried several significant white collar cases against major law firms in Los Angeles and elsewhere and has successfully completed criminal trials against a number of chief executive officers of publicly traded companies.
Prior to joining the United States Attorney's office in Los Angeles, Stern was an associate for 3 years at a white collar litigation boutique law firm, Bird, Marella, Boxer, Wolpert & Matz, where he worked on a variety of civil and criminal matters and internal corporate investigations. After graduating from the Yale Law School in May 1990, Stern clerked for the Hon. Wilfred Feinberg, a distinguished Judge on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
Before attending law school, Stern earned a PhD in Philosophy at Boston University, and he also served as an assistant professor of philosophy at Boston University from 1984-87 teaching courses in ethics, political philosophy and the history of philosophy. Stern has been a panelist at a number of conferences sponsored by the ABA White Collar Bar and has also lectured on issues pertaining to the ethical dilemmas of prosecutors at a conference held by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in Aspen, CO.
FACULTY IN THE NEWS
The New York Times
January 28, 2023
Re: Jody David Armour
Professor Jody Armour was interviewed by the New York Times about the recent policy brutality incident that led to the death of Tyre Nichols. “It’s not just a Black and white issue, but a Black and blue one. And when you put on that blue uniform, it often becomes the primary identity that drowns out any other identities that might compete with it," Armour said.
RECENT SCHOLARSHIP
Robin Craig
December, 2022
"Climate Adaptation in the United States." Frontiers in Marine Science 9 (2022) December. Special Topic: Ocean Governance and Climate Adaptation: Comparing Responses, Charting Future Courses.
Scott Altman
December, 2022
"Why Parents' Interests Matter." Ethics 133 (forthcoming 2023): 271.
Jonathan Barnett
December, 2022
"The China Innovation Challenge." Center for Strategic & International Studies interview, Washington, D.C.