Emma Coleman Jordan

Professor Jordan is best known for establishing the field of economic justice in legal theory, and for her work in financial services and civil rights. The second edition of her textbook, Economic Justice: Race, Gender, Identity and Economics (2011), is a capstone to a series of articles, chapters, and books she has written on the subject, which include: “The Short End of The Stick: The Role of Race in Law, Markets and Social Structures” (2009); Beyond Rational Choice: Alternative Perspectives on Economics (2006); A Woman's Place is in the Marketplace: Gender and Economics (2006); When Markets Fail: Race and Economics (2006); Cultural Economics: Markets and Culture (2006). Her projects concern economic justice and the impact of asymmetric legal representation in the foreclosure crisis, At the Law Center she teaches courses in Federal Regulation of Banking: Modern Financial Institutions and Change; Commercial Law: Payments and Secured Transactions, and Contemporary Issues in Economic Justice.

Before coming to Georgetown, she taught for twelve years at the University of California, Davis. She began her teaching career at Stanford Law School as a teaching fellow. She has been active in the financial services field, serving as chair of the Financial Institutions Committee of the California State Bar, drafter of the statute to regulate bank check holding practices, and co-counsel in class actions challenging bank stop-payment fee charges. Her article, "Ending the Floating Check Game" grew out of this involvement. She organized the Financial Institutions and Consumer Financial Services section of the AALS.

She is a past-president of both the Association of American Law Schools and the Society of American Law Teachers. She was elected to membership in the American Law Institute in 1984. Professor Jordan graduated first in her class at Howard University School of Law, serving as editor-in-chief of the Howard Law Journal. She received her B.A. from San Francisco State University. She was a White House Fellow in 1980-81, serving as special assistant to the Attorney General of the United States. She was counsel to Professor Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings.

Professor Jordan is a regular commentator on economic justice issues and the financial service industry, having made appearances on PBS, News Hour, NPR, Diane Rehm, and the Bill Moyer Show CSPAN. She also has written opinion pieces for the New York Times, Huffington Post, Washington Post, and the American Banker. Professor Jordan is the 2005 recipient of Clyde Ferguson Award for Outstanding Scholarship, Teaching and Service. She serves as a frequent keynote lecturer and commentator, including presentations to the Annual Meeting of the Council of Institutional Investors and the New York University School of Law 2009 Derrick Bell Lecture.

Follow Professor Jordan on Twitter @EconomicJustice.