Erika George

Professor George earned a B.A. with honors from the University of Chicago and a J.D. from Harvard Law School, where she served as Articles Editor of the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review. She also holds an M.A. in International Relations from the University of Chicago.

Prior to joining the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law, Professor George served as a law clerk for Judge William T. Hart on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, as a litigation associate for the law firms of Jenner & Block in Chicago and Coudert Brothers LLP in New York City, and as a fellow and later consultant to Human Rights Watch. In connection with her work with Human Rights Watch, Professor George conducted investigations in South Africa on women’s rights, children’s rights, violence, the right to education, and abuses related to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. She wrote a book-length report, Scared at School: Sexual Violence Against Girls in South African Schools, which received widespread media coverage in South Africa and internationally. She currently serves as special counsel to the Women’s Rights Division of Human Rights Watch.

Professor George's scholarship has appeared in the California Law Review, the Michigan Journal of International Law, the New York University Journal of International Law and Policy, and the annual proceedings of the American Society of International Law. Her research interests include globalization and the indivisible, interdependent, and interrlated nature of civil liberties and socioeconomic rights; cultural pluralism and rights universalism; gender violence and gender equality; justice and peace promotion in post-conflict societies; environmental justice; and the use of documentary film in human rights advocacy and education. Her current research explores the responsibility of transnational corporations to respect international human rights and various efforts to hold business enterprises accountable for alleged abuses. She has presented her research internationally, addressing audiences in Europe, Africa, and South America.

Professor George has testified before international human rights treaty bodies and foreign governments, and she has briefed the international media on international human rights law, racial discrimination, and gender violence. She is a frequent speaker on issues related to women’s rights, human rights, and the rights and experiences of racial minorities. The BBC, The Economist, NBC News, CNN, and the Christian Science Monitor among other media outlets have reported on her human rights investigations.

Professor George has served on the Executive Committee of the U.S. Department of State Public-Private Partnership for Justice Reform in Afghanistan and as a member of the board of the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah. She was co-chair of the Africa Interest Group of the American Society of International Law and a founding Advisory Board Member of the University of Utah’s Tanner Center for Nonviolent Human Rights Advocacy.

Professor George teaches Constitutional Law, International Human Rights Law, International Environmental Law, and Civil Procedure. In 2008 she was awarded the College of Law’s Early Career Award. She is also an Editor for the blog globaljusticeblog.com.