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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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Leana S. Taing
USC Gould School of Law
- FACULTY DIRECTORY
- LECTURERS IN LAW DIRECTORY
- EXPERTS DIRECTORY
- FACULTY IN THE NEWS
- SCHOLARSHIP AND PUBLICATIONS
- DISTINCTIONS AND AWARDS
- + CENTERS AND INITIATIVES
- CENTER FOR DISPUTE RESOLUTION
- 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)
- INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM INSTITUTE (IRI)
- 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: August 23, 2022
Leana S. Taing practices dependency law as a deputy county counsel for the Los Angeles County Counsel. In 2017, Taing contributed to dependency case law in California on the issue of language access through In re J.P., 14 Cal.App.5th 616 (2017). The appellate court reversed the trial court's decision and quoted the arguments made by Taing as trial counsel in its published decision. The case ensures that parents have the right to meaningful language access in the disposition of their dependency cases.
Taing earned her JD from UCLA School of Law. She specialized in Critical Race Studies and Public Interest Law & Policy. Taing earned her BA in Political Science from University of California, Berkeley and was honored with a distinction in general scholarship.
Taing is admitted to practice in the State of California. She is committed to public service and mentorship. Taing is a past president of the Asian Pacific American Women Lawyers Alliance and continues to serve on the board of governors as the co-chair of APAWLA’s mentorship committee. In 2020, Taing created the APAWLA Trailblazer Speaker Series to inspire and mentor AAPI law students and lawyers through conversations with AAPI women leaders. Taing also serves as the co-chair of the access to justice committee for Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles and the President's Task Force on Racial and Social Justice for Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA). She is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
Taing is the first in her family to go to law school and become an attorney. Her family fled the Cambodian genocide and their experiences compelled her to become a public interest attorney and dedicate herself to public service. As a part of her legal journey, Taing assisted the office of the co-prosecutor in the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia to prosecute Khmer Rouge leaders for crimes against humanity and genocide. She interned for the United Nations in Phnom Penh, Cambodia as a part of the international team and was the only international member with Cambodian heritage.
FACULTY IN THE NEWS
Annenberg Media
September 19, 2023
Re: Thomas Lenz
Thomas Lenz was quoted by Annenberg Media about the United Automobile Workers union ready to go on strike. "Strikes affect the livelihoods of those who choose to stop working. To the extent those persons aren’t earning money to spend that means stores, restaurants, and other businesses might not be as busy. If a strike lasts a long time bills might not get paid as easily, if at all," Lenz wrote.
RECENT SCHOLARSHIP
Mugambi Jouet
August, 2023
“Guns, Mass Incarceration, and Bipartisan Reform: Beyond Vicious Circle and Social Polarization,” 55 Arizona State Law Journal 239 (2023).
Edward McCaffery
August, 2023
"The Curiouser and Curiouser Case of Carried Interest" (with Darryll K. Jones), Arizona Law Review (Spring 2024).
Scott Altman
August, 2023
"Are Parents Fiduciaries," 42 Law and Philosophy 431 (2023).