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.
Rupa Goswami
- 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
Email: rgoswami@law.usc.edu699 Exposition Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90089-0074 USA
Last Updated: November 22, 2019
The Hon. Rupa Searight Goswami – the first South Asian woman on the bench in the state of California – was appointed by Gov. Edmund G. Brown, Jr. in 2013. Born in India, Goswami grew up in rural Ohio and Florida. Prior to joining the bench, she served as a federal prosecutor at the United States Attorney’s Office for more than 11 years, where she earned the prestigious Director’s Award. As an AUSA, Goswami was recognized by former Attorney General Eric Holder, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the Humane Society for her work tackling cyber fraud, environmental crimes, child sex tourism and crimes involving endangered species. Prior to becoming a federal prosecutor, Goswami clerked for Justice Nora M. Manella, then a United States District Judge and for Judge Terence T. Evans of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. She was also a litigation associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. She holds an MBA in Finance and Accounting from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a JD from the UCLA School of Law.
In addition to teaching at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, Goswami has taught at India’s National University for Juridical Science in Kolkata and traveled to Bangladesh to teach as part of the Department of Justice’s Overseas Prosecutorial Development and Training Program. She previously sat pro tem as a Justice on the California Court of Appeal and currently serves on Gov. Newsom’s Judicial Selection Advisory Committee. A past co-president of the South Asian Bar Association of Southern California (“SABA”), Rupa now serves on SABA-SC’s Steering Committee.
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.
