Sameer Ashar

Sameer Ashar is a Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Workers, Law, and Organizing Clinic at the University of California, Irvine School of Law. His work focuses on clinical legal education, labor law, immigration law, and the role of law in social movements. He has extensive experience collaborating with immigrant and labor organizations across California, New York, and Maryland, emphasizing collective action against racial and economic inequities.

Education

• Harvard Law School, J.D., cum laude
• Swarthmore College, B.A. in Political Science, Economics, and Religion (High Honors)

Research Interests

Professor Ashar explores how law and legal practices enable or constrain social movements. His scholarship addresses labor rights, immigration policy, and the ethical dimensions of lawyering in marginalized communities. Recent work includes analyzing prefigurative pedagogy in legal education and the intersection of law with social justice movements.

Awards

• Inaugural Stephen Ellmann Memorial Clinical Scholarship Award (AALS Section on Clinical Education)

Advising & Grants

He directs the Workers, Law, and Organizing Clinic, which advocates for low-wage workers and detained immigrants. His grants include support for policy research on labor rights and immigration enforcement impacts.

Labs/Teams

Leads the Workers, Law, and Organizing Clinic, collaborating with community organizations to advance labor and immigration justice initiatives.