Neha Lall

Neha Lall serves as Professor of the Practice and Director of Externships at the University of Baltimore School of Law, where she has pioneered one of the nation's largest paid legal externship programs since joining the faculty in 2019. Her leadership focuses on eliminating financial barriers for students pursuing public service careers through compensated field placements and bar exam stipends, directly addressing systemic inequities in legal education.

Her academic credentials include:

• J.D. from the University of Michigan School of Law
• B.A. from the University of Michigan

Professor Lall's research examines critical intersections of experiential learning, professional identity development, and social justice. She investigates how paid externships transform student access to public interest law careers while advancing scholarship on gender-based violence and housing law. Her empirical approach bridges classroom theory with real-world legal practice, emphasizing student empowerment through compensated professional experiences.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a cohesive scholarly trajectory centered on institutionalizing paid externships nationwide. Through surveys, empirical studies, and policy advocacy, she documents the accelerating shift toward compensated field placements while critiquing federal and institutional failures to support equitable legal training. Her work consistently links compensation structures to professional identity formation and long-term career sustainability in public service law.

Her contributions have earned significant recognition:

• 2025 Emerging Leader Award from AALS Externships Committee
• University of Baltimore James May Faculty Award (2022)
• Chicago Bar Association Alliance for Women Founder’s Award (2018)
• Bellow Scholars Program selection by AALS Clinical Section

In her administrative role, Professor Lall oversees comprehensive externship placement systems serving hundreds of students annually while managing the bar stipend program that provides critical financial support during licensure preparation. Her strategic partnerships with legal organizations expand access to public service careers and promote demographic diversity within the profession.

As co-Vice President of the Clinical Legal Education Association, she leads national initiatives through the Externship Committee, Membership Committee, and Faculty Equity and Inclusion Committee. Her collaborative work shapes best practices for experiential education and advances policy reforms that strengthen externship frameworks across American law schools.