Dr. Lesley Wexler

Biography

Professor Lesley Wexler joined the Illinois Law School faculty in fall 2010, focusing on subjects such as torts, laws of war, and international environmental law. Before teaching at Illinois, she was on the faculty at Florida State University College of Law. Wexler previously spent years at the University of Chicago Law School as a Bigelow Fellow and Lecturer on Law. Her broad research interests encompass international humanitarian law, human rights law, and sex discrimination. She specializes in areas reflecting the movement against discrimination, with a focus on humanitarian norms in domestic and international law, as well as social movements and corporations. Wexler has written about legitimacy in targeting decisions, the blood diamond trade, and the regulation of depleted uranium and landmines, drawing on case studies involving companies like DeBeers, Wal-Mart, and Chik-fil-A. She earned her BA with honors from the University of Michigan and her JD with honors from the University of Chicago Law School, where she also served on the board of the Chicago International Law Journal and the Chicago Legal Forum. In addition, Wexler has clerked for Judge Thomas Reaveley on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and Judge William Wayne Justice on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, and has worked at prestigious law firms including Sidley, Austin, Brown & Wood and Wilmer Cutler & Pickering.

Research Interests

Experience