LAW PORTAL
- About
About USC Gould
USC Gould is a top-ranked law school with a 115-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.
- Academics
Academics
Learn about our rigorous and interdisciplinary curriculum, our invaluable experiential learning opportunities, and the breadth and depth of our specialized areas of concentration and certificate offerings.
- Admissions
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.
- Students
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.
- Careers
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.
- Faculty
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.
- Alumni and Giving
Alumni and Giving
The global Trojan network of more than 10,000 law alumni and donors include recognized leaders in numerous fields who are deeply committed to supporting student and law school success.
Joseph Byrne
- FACULTY DIRECTORY
- LECTURERS IN LAW DIRECTORY
- EXPERTS DIRECTORY
- FACULTY IN THE NEWS
- SCHOLARSHIP AND PUBLICATIONS
- DISTINCTIONS AND AWARDS
- + CENTERS AND INITIATIVES
- CENTER FOR LAW AND PHILOSOPHY (CLP)
- CENTER FOR LAW AND SOCIAL SCIENCE (CLASS)
- CENTER FOR LAW, HISTORY AND CULTURE (CLHC)
- CENTER FOR TRANSNATIONAL LAW AND BUSINESS (CTLB)
- IMMIGRANTS AND GLOBAL MIGRATION INITIATIVE (IGMI)
- 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: January 4, 2020
Joseph Byrne is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Best Best & Krieger LLP and is a member of the firm’s Environmental Law & Natural Resources, Special Districts and Business practice groups. He provides general counsel services and advises both public and private sector clients on water law and has additional experience in general business law.
Byrne serves as general counsel to the Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency, the Municipal Water District of Orange County, Lake Arrowhead Community Services District, the Rowland Water District and the Upper Los Angeles River Area Watermaster. In his general counsel capacity, he advises clients on a broad range of issues. He regularly attends public agency meetings and works closely with elected board members. He also serves as general counsel to the State Water Contractors, an organization that represents 27 public agencies with long-term water supply contracts for State Water Project water. Together, these agencies provide clean drinking water to more than 27 million residents and 750,000 acres of farmland throughout the State.
From 2010-2019, he served as a member of the California Water Commission, serving under three governors, and was commission chair from 2013 until 2017. From 1998-2002, he worked in the California State Assembly, serving two years as counsel to the speaker of the California State Assembly and as the speaker’s chief policy consultant on water/environment and public safety.
FACULTY IN THE NEWS
Los Angeles Times
January 15, 2020
Re: Wayne Sandholtz
Wayne Sandholtz, a faculty member part of both USC Gould and USC Dornsife, wrote an op-ed discussing how Trump is “a few steps from becoming a new kind of autocrat –an elected one.” He analyzes how Trump’s strategies and actions mirror those of other elected autocrats, naming Viktor Orban, Vladimir Putin, and Rodrigo Duterte as examples.
RECENT SCHOLARSHIP
Ariela Gross
November, 2019
Ariela Gross has been elected as the new Chair of the Legal History Section of the American Association of Law Schools.
Daniel Klerman
November, 2019
“Legal Origin from Outer Space,” Conference on Empirical Legal Studies, Claremont-McKenna College, Claremont, CA.
Thomas D. Lyon
November, 2019
Thomas Lyon commented on Roseanna Sommers’, “Commonsense Consent,” at the 14th Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies, Claremont-McKenna College.
