Janet Steverson

Janet joined the Lewis & Clark law school faculty in 1990. In 2009, she was named the Douglas K. Newell Professor of Teaching Excellence in recognition of her commitment to teaching excellence, dedication to students’ success, and the promise to enrich the academic experience with pragmatism, rigor, and humor. Janet was also L&C’s institutional dean of diversity and inclusion from 2016 through 2019.

Prior to working at Lewis & Clark, Janet was an associate at Steptoe & Johnson in Washington, D.C., doing general litigation. She worked particularly on cases of commercial transactions involving tort and contract allegations, employment discrimination, government contracts, and insurance coverage disputes. Janet was a member of the Harvard Law School Board of Student Advisors teaching first-year students moot court, legal writing, and research. An area of special interest to her is children’s rights. She has published on the issues of interspousal tort immunity, children and the law, contracts, drug-addicted mothers, and consumer warranties. She is admitted to the New York, District of Columbia, and Oregon bar associations.

During her tenure as dean of diversity and inclusion, Janet started partnerships with off-campus organizations like the Black Student Success Summit and Alder Elementary School, oversaw the implementation of the 2015 action plan created by the Committee on Diversity and Inclusion, revamped the way Lewis & Clark conducts its employment search and hiring process, and more. Through her commitment and leadership, L&C’s Office of Equity and Inclusion has a solid foundation for promoting inclusion and openness in pedagogy as well as a strategic plan for how to integrate these ideals throughout campus.