Swethaa Ballakrishnen

Swethaa Ballakrishnen is a Professor of Law at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) School of Law, serving as Associate Dean for Faculty Research and Development. She holds courtesy appointments in Sociology, Asian American Studies, and Criminology, Law and Society. Her research focuses on legal globalization, gender, and stratification in the Global South, particularly India. She earned a PhD in Sociology from Stanford University, LL.M. from Harvard Law School, and BA/BL (Hons.) from NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad.

Educational Background: PhD (Sociology, Stanford), LL.M. (Harvard Law School), BA/BL (NALSAR, India).

Research Interests: Legal profession dynamics, gender equity, globalization's impact on law, and critical perspectives on inequality. Her acclaimed book Accidental Feminism examines gender parity in India’s legal sector. She co-directs the Center for Empirical Research on the Legal Profession and is affiliated with Harvard Law School’s Center on the Legal Profession.

Awards: 2019 Canadian Review of Sociology Best Article Award, ASA Sociology of Law Distinguished Book Award (2022), UCI Distinguished Early-Career Research Award (2022), AALS Teacher of the Year (2020).

Labs/Teams: Co-director of UCI’s Center in Law, Society & Culture and co-founder of the Law and Society Association’s Legal Education network. Active in global legal sociology communities, including the ISA Research Committee on Sociology of Law.