UCLA School of Law welcomes Gautam Hans as its vice dean for experiential education. Hans, who starts the position in January, will oversee the law school’s robust suite of clinics, practicums, simulations, and externships. He will also be a teaching professor.

A noted authority on speech, privacy, and civil liberties, Hans comes to UCLA Law from Cornell Law School, where he is the founder and director of the Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Clinic. There, he helps students represent clients in cases involving free speech, technology, and their intersection with other doctrinal areas. More broadly, he is a respected scholar of the dynamics of clinical legal education.

His arrival at UCLA Law marks an important step in the advancement of the 56-year-old experiential education program, says Michael Waterstone, the law school’s dean.

“Experiential education is a signature of UCLA Law,” Waterstone says. “Having a leader like Gautam will take us to the next level in creating opportunities for our students to learn essential legal skills while providing needed representation in our communities and addressing the most pressing issues of the day.”

Hans has dedicated his career to experiential education. He serves on the executive committee of the AALS Section on Clinical Legal Education and on the board of editors of the Clinical Law Review. He previously served on the board of the Center for the Study of Applied Legal Education and as the co-president of the Clinical Legal Education Association. In 2024, he received the M. Shanara Gilbert Award from the AALS Section on Clinical Legal Education. He also represents nonprofits and law professors in amicus filings in state and federal courts, and he frequently comments in the media on issues related to the full scope of his work.

“We are delighted to welcome Gautam to UCLA Law,” says Nina Rabin, who runs the Immigrant Family Legal Clinic and has served as the law school’s director of clinical education. “His years of leadership and service to the clinical community will be just what we need at this exciting time of growth and innovation for our experiential program.”

Hans previously served on the faculty at Vanderbilt Law School, where he founded the First Amendment Clinic. He completed his clinical fellowship at the University of Michigan Law School and worked on privacy and speech issues at the Center for Democracy and Technology.

He earned his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School, where he worked as a student-attorney in the Civil-Criminal Litigation Clinic and the Entrepreneurship Clinic and was the editor-in-chief of the Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review. Before that, he earned an M.S. from the University of Michigan School of Information and a B.A. from Columbia University.

UCLA Law’s Experiential Education Program includes more than 50 clinics, practicums, simulations, and externships that allow students and lawyers to work in a wide array of communities. In-house clinics serve a wide array of communities, including immigrant families, tenants facing eviction, veterans, prisoners, documentary filmmakers, and Native nations. Through the expansive curriculum, students can gain exposure to policy and legislative advocacy at the local, state, and international levels, work on appellate and Supreme Court litigation, and gain hands-on training in trial advocacy.

The school is home to many of the top teachers in experiential education and hosts teaching fellows who earn valuable insights on their journeys to becoming the next leaders in the field.

“I’m thrilled to join UCLA Law, which has a storied history in clinical legal education and in serving communities in need of pro bono legal assistance,” Hans says. “It’s an honor to join a school with such an impressive commitment to promoting public service, and I look forward to leading the experiential program in its next chapter.”