Michael Helfand is a Visiting Professor of Law at Yale Law School and holds the Brenden Mann Foundation Chair in Law and Religion at Pepperdine Caruso School of Law. His work primarily focuses on how U.S. law intersects with religious law, custom, and practices, particularly in contexts such as religious arbitration, contracts, and torts. He has published extensively in numerous law journals, including the Yale Law Journal, NYU Law Review, and Duke Law Journal, as well as in popular outlets like the Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Forward. Before joining the faculty at Pepperdine, Helfand was an associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, where he specialized in complex commercial litigation. He also clerked for Judge Julia Smith Gibbons on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Helfand's academic contributions and lectures explore the intersection of private law and religion, making him a prominent voice in this field.