Carrie Hempel

Carrie Hempel is a Distinguished Clinical Professor of Law at the University of California, Irvine School of Law, where she serves as Co-Director of the Community and Economic Development Clinic. She was UCI Law's founding Associate Dean for Clinical Education and Service Learning, playing a key role in establishing the school's clinical programs. Prior to joining UCI, she taught at the University of Southern California School of Law, where she directed the Post-Conviction Justice Project, providing legal assistance to indigent prisoners.

Professor Hempel's research focuses on clinical legal education, post-conviction practice, criminal law, gender and the law, and transactional law with emphasis on community economic development and affordable housing. Her work bridges theoretical legal education with practical community impact, particularly through clinic-based teaching models that address systemic issues in housing and economic justice.

Her publications reveal a consistent trajectory of innovation in legal education, with particular emphasis on experiential learning models. Hempel's scholarship demonstrates how law clinics can serve as both educational platforms for students and meaningful service providers addressing community needs, especially in the areas of immigrant worker cooperatives, affordable housing preservation, and post-conviction relief mechanisms.

As Co-Director of the Community and Economic Development Clinic, Hempel oversees student attorneys who work on real cases involving community development, small business formation, nonprofit organizations, and housing issues. Her leadership in clinical legal education has positioned UCI Law as an innovator in practice-based legal training that connects students with underserved communities.