Scholars and experienced advocates strengthen Southwestern’s expertise in technology, constitutional law, reproductive rights, appellate advocacy, and criminal law 

LOS ANGELES — Southwestern Law School has welcomed five new full-time faculty members whose scholarship and professional experience deepen the law school’s expertise in several consequential areas. 

Yvette Lindgren and Tiffany Li join Southwestern as established scholars in technology law and reproductive rights and justice, respectively. Alex Chemerinsky brings scholarship focused on freedom of expression and privacy with experience in appellate practice. Phillip A. Talbert and Kenneth R. Carbajal bring substantial experience in criminal prosecution, advocacy, and public service. 

“Our new faculty members bring an exceptional combination of scholarly distinction, professional accomplishment, and commitment to students,” said President and Dean Darby Dickerson. “These influential scholars and accomplished practitioners will advance important legal conversations, strengthen Southwestern’s intellectual community, and prepare students to exercise judgment, solve difficult problems, and serve clients effectively.” 

Yvette Lindgren 

Yvette Lindgren joins Southwestern as a tenured Professor of Law. A nationally recognized scholar in reproductive rights and justice, constitutional law, and family law, her work sits at the intersection of law, medicine, and gender. 

Lindgren’s research examines abortion regulation, reproductive autonomy, and the legal consequences of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Her scholarship has appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine, Cornell Law Review, North Carolina Law Review, Fordham Law Review, and other publications. 

Before joining Southwestern, Lindgren was an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law, where she received the Daniel L. Brenner Faculty Publishing Award in 2022 and the Pierson Teaching Award in 2025. She began her academic career as a Post-Doctoral Legal Fellow at Berkeley Law’s Center on Reproductive Rights and Justice and has held visiting faculty positions at Washington University in St. Louis School of Law, UC Law San Francisco, the University of San Francisco School of Law, and Berkeley Law. 

At Southwestern, Lindgren teaches Constitutional Law, Constitutional Criminal Procedure, and Family Law. She earned her B.A. from UCLA, her J.D. from the University of California College of the Law, and her LL.M. and J.S.D. from UC Berkeley School of Law.  

Tiffany Li 

Tiffany Li joins Southwestern as an Associate Professor of Law. An internationally recognized expert on privacy, artificial intelligence, and technology-platform governance, she teaches Torts, Privacy, and other courses in law and technology. 

Li’s scholarship examines algorithmic harms, privacy as a civil right, public-health surveillance, social-media platform liability, and the regulation of artificial intelligence in the United States and internationally. Her work has appeared in the Georgia Law Review, UC Law Journal, Villanova Law Review, SMU Law Review, American University Law Review, Loyola University Chicago Law Journal, and Berkeley Technology Law Journal, among other publications. 

Before joining Southwestern, Li taught at the University of San Francisco School of Law, where she served as Faculty Director of the IP and Technology LL.M. program, the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law, and Boston University School of Law. She is also a Faculty Affiliate Fellow at Yale Law School’s Information Society Project and previously held law and policy roles at the Wikimedia Foundation, General Assembly, and Ask.com. 

Li earned her B.A. from UCLA, her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, and her MSt in AI Ethics and Society from the University of Cambridge. 

Alex Chemerinsky 

Alex Chemerinsky joins Southwestern as an Associate Professor of Law. An accomplished appellate litigator and scholar, his work focuses on liberty and technology, particularly freedom of expression, privacy, and creativity in the digital age. 

Professor Chemerinsky practiced civil appellate litigation at a leading appellate litigation firm in Los Angeles. Before that, he gained experience at each level of the litigation process while clerking at a U.S. District Court and a U.S. Court of Appeals . 

His scholarship examines developing issues in free-speech and privacy law, the roles of courts and legislatures in protecting speech and privacy, and continuing disputes over those values on the internet. His work has been published by the Texas Law Review, Marquette Law Review, North Carolina Law Review, Oxford University Press, and the Los Angeles Times, among others. 

A native Angeleno, Chemerinsky teaches Civil Procedure I and II. He earned his B.A., cum laude, from Tulane University and his J.D. from Harvard Law School. 

Phillip A. Talbert 

Phillip A. Talbert joins Southwestern as an Associate Professor of Law and Director of the Criminal Law and Advocacy Concentration after a federal prosecutorial career that culminated in his service as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California. 

Talbert began his Justice Department career as a Trial Attorney in the Criminal Division, where he prosecuted public-corruption, immigration-fraud, and child-exploitation cases. During a detail as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Columbia, he prosecuted violent-crime cases. 

After a period in private practice, Talbert returned to the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility, where he investigated allegations of misconduct against Department attorneys. He later joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California, prosecuting drug-trafficking organizations and violent criminals before assuming a series of leadership roles. 

Talbert oversaw the office’s appellate practice before the Ninth Circuit, trained new Assistant United States Attorneys, and served as First Assistant United States Attorney. After serving in acting, Attorney General-appointed, and court-appointed capacities, he was nominated by President Biden and confirmed by the U.S. Senate as United States Attorney in 2022. 

Before his federal service, Talbert clerked for Judge David R. Thompson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He also practiced white-collar criminal defense and commercial litigation at Stoel Rives and taught Professional Responsibility for four years at UC Davis School of Law. 

At Southwestern, Talbert teaches Legal Analysis, Writing, and Skills and Accelerated Trial Advocacy; he also directs the Criminal Law and Advocacy Concentration. 

Talbert earned his B.A., magna cum laude, from Harvard University; his M.Ec., with honors, from the University of Sydney; and his J.D. from UCLA School of Law. At UCLA, he graduated with Order of the Coif honors and served as Chief Articles Editor of the UCLA Law Review. 

Kenneth R. Carbajal 

Kenneth R. Carbajal joins Southwestern as an Associate Professor of Law after nearly a decade of prosecutorial experience. 

As an Assistant United States Attorney in the Central District of California’s Major Crimes Section, Carbajal handled federal prosecutions involving RICO, money laundering, and violent crime. His cases included the jury-trial conviction of a defendant involved in a wire-fraud scheme using fraudulent COVID-19 investment solicitations. He also participated in a major federal takedown of the Mexican Mafia-linked Puente-13 street gang on charges including narcotics trafficking, kidnapping, violent crime in aid of racketeering, and illegal firearms sales. 

Carbajal previously served as a Senior Assistant District Attorney in the Kings County District Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, where he prosecuted hundreds of felony cases involving violent crime. He also served as a Deputy District Attorney with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. 

A native Angelo, Carbajal earned his B.A. from UCLA and his J.D. from New York University School of Law, where he was a Staff Editor of the N.Y.U. Review of Law & Social Change and Executive Co-Chair of the Latino Law Students Association.