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.
- Student Life
Student Life
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.
John Heilman
- FACULTY DIRECTORY
- LECTURERS IN LAW DIRECTORY
- EXPERTS DIRECTORY
- FACULTY IN THE NEWS
- SCHOLARSHIP AND PUBLICATIONS
- DISTINCTIONS AND AWARDS
- + CENTERS
- 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)
- PACIFIC CENTER FOR HEALTH POLICY AND ETHICS
- SAKS INSTITUTE FOR MENTAL HEALTH LAW, POLICY, AND ETHICS
- WORKSHOPS AND CONFERENCES
Lecturer in Law
Email: jheilman@law.usc.eduTelephone: (323) 573-7409
699 Exposition Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90089-0074 USA
Last Updated: November 8, 2017
John Heilman is a long-time lecturer at USC Gould School of Law. He has taught Community Property at the law school for many years. He also teaches two courses in our LLM program: Topics in American Law and Introduction to American Legal Systems. He was voted Adjunct Professor of the Year at the law school in 2008, 2010, and 2016.
Heilman is also an alumnus of USC. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He received a BS degree from Northwestern University. He moved to Southern California to attend USC Gould where he was a notes and articles editor of the Southern California Law Review. Heilman graduated from the law school in 1982. He came back to USC as a student to earn a MA in Public Administration in 2007 and subsequently a MA degree in Real Estate Development in 2009.
Heilman also teaches at Southwestern Law School. He has been named one of the Professors of the Year for the last five years at Southwestern.
In addition to teaching, Heilman is a long-time councilmember and the current Mayor in the City of West Hollywood. He was actively involved in the incorporation of the city in 1984. Heilman was elected to the first City Council of West Hollywood in November 1984 and he has served on the City Council continuously since that time. He has served as Mayor of the city in 1985, 1990, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2006, 2010 and 2017.
Heilman has been an active member of the National League of Cities. He has served on the board of both the National League of Cities and the California League of Cities. He currently serves on the Legal Committee of the National League of Cities. He is a past board member of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and the Local Government Commission. He is also the past president of the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Local Officials Group and past co-chair of the International Network of Lesbian and Gay Officials. Heilman is also a board member of OutRight International, an international organization focusing on the legal rights of sexual minorities.
Heilman is a board member and immediate past president of the Jacaranda School, a school for children orphaned by AIDS in Malawi.
FACULTY IN THE NEWS
The Tribune
December 6, 2018
Re: Elyn Saks
Elyn Saks was quoted in an article exploring the economic and social costs that occur due to the mistreatment of persons suffering from mental illness. "Thirty years ago, I was given a diagnosis of Schizophrenia," she said. "My prognosis was ‘grave’: I would never live independently, hold a job, find a loving partner, or get married. My home would be a board-and-care facility, my days spent watching TV in a day room with other people debilitated by mental illness.” The author of the article went on to discuss the ways that people dealing with mental health issues should be cared for, arguing that they "have the right to live with dignity just as anyone with diabetes or hypertension or heart disease. Mental illness, after all, is an illness like any other."
RECENT SCHOLARSHIP
Sam Erman
September, 2018
Sam Erman wrote an op-ed, "Devastation Without Representation in Puerto Rico," posted to The Los Angeles Times on September 20, 2018.
Gregory Keating
September, 2018
"Principles of Risk Imposition and the Priority of Avoiding Harm," Revus [Online] (2018).
Jody David Armour
September, 2018
"Where Bias Lives in the Criminal Law and its Processes: How Judges and Jurors Socially Construct Black Criminals," American Journal of Criminal Law 45 (2018): 203.
