Libby S. Adler

Libby S. Adler is a Professor of Law and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Northeastern University School of Law and the College of Social Sciences and Humanities. She teaches courses in Constitutional Law, Sexuality and Gender and the Law, Family Law, and Administrative Law.

Professor Adler’s scholarship focuses on sexuality, gender, family law, and children’s rights, drawing from queer theory and critical legal studies. Her notable works include the book Gay Priori: A Queer Critical Legal Studies Approach to Law Reform (Duke University Press, 2018) and co-editing the Mary Joe Frug’s Women and the Law (4th ed.).

She has held visiting positions at Harvard Law School and the University of Frankfurt, examining legal fallout from Nazi labor programs. Awards include the Racial Justice Faculty Fellowship (2021), 'Reckoning' Fellowship (2021-2022), and Excellence in Teaching Award (2007-2008).

Prior to her permanent role, she served as a visiting professor (1999-2000) and part-time lecturer (1998-1999) at Northeastern, while also holding a visiting researcher and graduate fellow position at Harvard Law School. Her legal practice in the 1990s involved policy work for Massachusetts child support enforcement agency.