Michele DeStefano

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Michele DeStefano
Associate Professor of Law
J.D. 2002, Harvard Law School
B.A. 1991, Dartmouth College

Telephone: 305-284-2411   |   Office: G284
E-mail: mdestefano@law.miami.edu
Publications   |   Presentations and Awards/Honors   |  
SSRN   |   LawWithoutWalls™

Professor Michele DeStefano was a Climenko Fellow and Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School, where she was previously the Associate Research Director of the Program on the Legal Profession.

In addition to teaching courses in professional responsibility and civil procedure, Professor DeStefano is the founder and co-creator of LawWithoutWalls, a new part-virtual collaboratory that brings together over 200 students, faculty, practitioners, academics, entrepreneurs, business and law students, and venture capitalists from around the world to innovate legal education and practice, to engage on the burning issues facing the legal profession, collaboratively solve legal problems, and develop the skillsets needed to thrive in the new, global legal marketplace. Currently, 16 business and law schools are a part of the LWOW community: Harvard Law School, Stanford Law School, Fordham Law School, Wharton School of Business, Indiana University School of Law, Miami Law School, New York Law School, IE Business School, University of College London, University of Sydney Law School, Peking University School of Transnational Law, National Law School of India, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Tel Aviv University Buchmann Faculty of Law , University of Sao Paulo Faculty of Law, and the University of St. Gallen.

Employing a mix of qualitative and quantitative methodologies, Professor DeStefano's most recent published research investigates the role general counsels play in managing public relations for high profile corporate legal controversies. She is currently researching the changing role of compliance by conducting interviews of general counsels and chief compliance officers of large, publicly traded corporations.

From 2003 to 2004, Professor DeStefano clerked for Chief Judge William G. Young of the Federal District Court of Massachusetts. She also worked for a year as a Special Master on a patent law case.

Before attending law school, Professor was a Senior Marketing Manager at Levi Strauss & Company (1995-1998) and an Account Executive at Leo Burnett Advertising Company (1991-1995).

She holds a JD from Harvard Law School, a Bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College, and has been admitted to the Minnesota, Massachusetts, and District of Columbia bars.