Rachel Lopez
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rlopez.bsky.social
Rachel Lopez
@rlopez.bsky.social
9K followers 1.7K following 190 posts
Law prof writing on intl law, human rights, crim law, & participatory law scholarship.

Things I've written:
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=2211717
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rlopez.bsky.social
Rachel Lopez @rlopez.bsky.social · 13d
Published today—at the start of Transgender Awareness Week—in the American Journal of International Law, my new book review, "International Law as a Site for Queer Joy?" arrives at a moment that feels both personal and profound.

Now up at @ssrn.bsky.social : papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
International Law as a Site for Queer Joy?
This essay reviews two recent edited volumes—Queer Engagements with International Law: Times, Spaces, Imaginings and Queer Encounters with International Law: Li
papers.ssrn.com
Reposted by Rachel Lopez
itayravid.bsky.social
Breaking my partial social-media hiatus w/3 new papers:
Missing Children Discrimination (Wis. L. Rev 2025(4)) w/ Tanisha Brown— shorturl.at/5rl86 abstract 👇)
Anti-Holistic Algorithms (forth. Vanderbilt L. Rev)
(Re)Individualizing Criminal Law (forth. B.C. L. Rev)
More soon on SSRN—comments welcome!
November 26, 2025 at 10:42 PM
rlopez.bsky.social
When academics talk about scholarly impact I don’t think they are thinking about messages like these, but more than anything else they are what keep me writing.

Thank you so much, Cris, for this motivation to keep pushing!
crisveijk.bsky.social Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 8d
Goddamn, this is a book review. Why am I emotional. This is a *book review* why am I crying-
November 21, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Reposted by Rachel Lopez
ninalakhani.bsky.social
By me: Israeli armed forces and settlers used bombs, dogs, poison and machinery to attack Palestinian water sources over 250 times in five years, new data reveals @pacificinstitute.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Israel attacked Palestinian water sources over 250 times in five years, data reveals
Armed forces and settlers used bombs, dogs, poison and machinery to attack people and infrastructure at key sites
www.theguardian.com
November 11, 2025 at 5:51 PM
rlopez.bsky.social
Published today—at the start of Transgender Awareness Week—in the American Journal of International Law, my new book review, "International Law as a Site for Queer Joy?" arrives at a moment that feels both personal and profound.

Now up at @ssrn.bsky.social : papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
International Law as a Site for Queer Joy?
This essay reviews two recent edited volumes—Queer Engagements with International Law: Times, Spaces, Imaginings and Queer Encounters with International Law: Li
papers.ssrn.com
November 14, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Reposted by Rachel Lopez
jemtseva.bsky.social
I’m presenting my new paper at Sciences Po on Nov 26 - stop by if you are in Paris! And if you are not, invite me to present it at your institution so I can use my travel budget before teaching term starts 😆
November 13, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Reposted by Rachel Lopez
fjquintana.com
Delighted to see JIEL 28(3) out in the world, which includes my article 'Dollar Dominance, De-Dollarisation, and International Law'.

The rest of the issue is packed with sharp work (inc @jbentonheath.bsky.social, @dcpeat.bsky.social, @elenachachko.bsky.social).

academic.oup.com/jiel/article...
November 7, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Reposted by Rachel Lopez
jemtseva.bsky.social
Friends, I am ordering (academic) books today. Hit me up with your your favorite ones (it can be old classics and new books on the market) 🙏
November 6, 2025 at 8:50 AM
Reposted by Rachel Lopez
nycplan.org
Feeling inspired to take action this morning?

Join us in calling our City Council members and demand .5% of the budget be committed to fund our libraries!

Already called? Tell us how it went:

docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
An image still from the movie mean girls, where both characters are wearing pink, with text that reads “On Wednesdays we demand .5% of the budget for library funding”.
November 5, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Reposted by Rachel Lopez
richardawilson.bsky.social
Signed #AAUP petition against government violation of First Amendment.
#EducationNotIdeology

You can too!
actionnetwork.org/petitions/tr...
Trump Higher Ed Compact 2025
We stand for education—for science, for students and for freedom—and against this backward, anti-American policy. We call on university leaders, faculty, staff and students to unite in rejecting the T...
actionnetwork.org
November 3, 2025 at 12:04 AM
Reposted by Rachel Lopez
templelaw.bsky.social
Professor @rlopez.bsky.social's work "reinforces Temple's broader mission as a public research university - one that seeks to serve the common good through meaningful, real-world engagement." Read more in this Temple University profile.

https://lnkd.in/ejpa4J34
October 31, 2025 at 3:51 PM
rlopez.bsky.social
Temple wrote up this really nice article about my work and new chaired professorship. Changing academic home can be challenging. It feels like starting over again which is why I am grateful to feel so seen and supported by my newish academic home.

news.temple.edu/news/2025-10...
Temple Law’s Rachel López is reimagining the legal system
Leonard Barrack ’68 Chair in Law Rachel López's Participatory Law Fund and global human rights research is changing who gets a voice in the legal system.
news.temple.edu
October 31, 2025 at 2:22 AM
Reposted by Rachel Lopez
janinadill.bsky.social
Reports of mass killings and targeted attacks against health facilities in El Fasher.
@HRL_YaleSPH
identifies apparent "pools of blood" visible from space. Western governments need to increase pressure on the conflict parties.

files-profile.medicine.yale.edu/documents/b9...
October 30, 2025 at 10:37 AM
Reposted by Rachel Lopez
stevevladeck.bsky.social
There's a longstanding debate over the value of law professor amicus briefs at #SCOTUS.

I'll just note that the additional briefing the Court ordered today in the Illinois National Guard case was in direct response to an amicus brief filed by ... a law professor (@martylederman.bsky.social).
October 30, 2025 at 3:32 AM
Reposted by Rachel Lopez
maybell.bsky.social
Yo!
law.tulane.edu/news/profess...
Professor Maybell Romero Named Associate Dean for Faculty Research and Programs
Tulane University Law School News
law.tulane.edu
October 30, 2025 at 3:35 AM
Reposted by Rachel Lopez
elliemargolis.bsky.social
I’m excited for this! “Groundbreaking” is overused to describe legal scholarship, but in @rlopez.bsky.social’s case, it is apt.
templelaw.bsky.social Temple University Beasley School of Law @templelaw.bsky.social · Oct 21
Join us tomorrow, Oct. 22, as Barrack Chair in Law Professor @rlopez.bsky.social delivers the Friel-Scanlan Lecture, No Justice for Us Without Us: Participatory Law, Lived Realities, and the Making of Transformative Legal Futures.

https://law.temple.edu/events/friel-scanlan-lecture-october-22-2025/
Join us tomorrow, October 22nd, as Barrack Chair in Law, Professor Rachel López delivers the Friel-Scanlan Lecture, No Justice for Us Without Us: Participatory Law, Lived Realities, and the Making of Transformative Legal Futures. The lecture will examine how lived experience can serve not only as data or narrative, but as a source of legal knowledge in its own right. Professor López will trace the development of Participatory Law Scholarship (PLS)—an emerging genre of legal scholarship she pioneered with Terrell Woolfolk, Kempis Songster, and Meredith Elizalde, each of whom has personally experienced the injustices of the criminal legal system. This approach challenges traditional boundaries between legal expertise and experiential knowledge. By centering voices historically excluded from the legal academy and lawmaking, PLS—and this lecture—invite us to reconsider whose knowledge counts in shaping the law and to imagine a more inclusive, responsive, and just legal order. 📅 Wednesday, October 22, 2025 🕚 11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. 📍 Duane Morris LLP Moot Court Room 🥂 Light reception to follow
October 21, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Reposted by Rachel Lopez
djag2.bsky.social
Job alert! We have a 5 year fixed term teaching-focussed position in our new Indo-Pacific Studies program. Can highly recommend UNSW Canberra as a place to work.

IPS is an emerging field, so applications welcome from cognate disciplines.

Details: external-careers.jobs.unsw.edu.au/cw/en/job/53...
Lecturer, Indo-Pacific Studies
Share your knowledge and expertise in Indo-Pacific Studies with our cohort at UNSW Canberra.
external-careers.jobs.unsw.edu.au
October 2, 2025 at 8:33 AM
Reposted by Rachel Lopez
corinneblalock.bsky.social
Paper and panel proposals for the first *big* LPE conference are due TOMORROW!!

Whether you are a law professor, lawyer, organizer, or academic in a different field, all proposals are welcome!!

lawandpoliticaleconomy.org
Association of Law & Political Economy Conference 2026
September 14, 2025 at 5:00 PM
rlopez.bsky.social
Syllabus Sourcing: Hoping for a little help!

I'm looking for readings that challenge whether rights are the "right" frame for protecting humanity and promoting equality.

I'll assign Marx and maybe excerpts from "How Rights Went Wrong." But any other recs particularly for a human rights course?
August 19, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Reposted by Rachel Lopez
maybell.bsky.social
Corporate and business law people: Come work with me! We're especially taking a look at laterals this year.
Tulane University School of Law invites applications from entry-level and lateral candidates for one or more tenure-track faculty positions. We welcome applications from candidates with teaching and research interests in all topics, but we are particularly interested in candidates who focus on corporate and business law. To apply, please use the Tulane University portal: https://apply.interfolio.com/171205. To learn more about the law school, visit our website at https://law.tulane.edu/. All inquiries about the positions should be directed to: Stephen Griffin, Appointments Committee Chair, sgriffin@tulane.edu. Tulane University is an equal opportunity educator and employer committed to providing an education and employment environment free of unlawful discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. Legally protected demographic classifications (such as a person’s race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, shared ancestry, disability, genetics, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws) are not relied upon as an eligibility, selection or participation criteria for Tulane’s employment or educational programs or activities. Tulane University is responsible for providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities throughout the applicant screening process. If you need assistance in completing an application or during any phase of the interview process, please contact the Office of Human Resources by phone at 504-865-4748 or by email at hr@tulane.edu.
August 17, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Reposted by Rachel Lopez
vukusiciva.bsky.social
This will very much be worth your time. Here's a Sunday read, with experts: #Genocide #GenocideConvention #InternationalLaw www.lto.de/recht/hinter...
International Law Experts: Genocide in Gaza?
Does Israel’s conduct in Gaza constitute genocide? LTO asked eleven international law experts. After 22 months of war, a clear tendency is emerging.
www.lto.de
August 17, 2025 at 7:58 AM
Reposted by Rachel Lopez
alonso-gd.bsky.social
It's that time of the year again folks, get your nerd hat on
August 6, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Reposted by Rachel Lopez
chrishampsonlaw.bsky.social
🚨🪶⚖️ @elisebmaizel.bsky.social and I just came out with a new essay on Trump's assault on Big Law. Available in the California Law Review Online here: www.californialawreview.org/online/trump... [1/5]
Ethics & Independence In Trump’s War on Big Law — California Law Review
In his second term, President Donald Trump has launched an unprecedented assault on the nation’s largest law firms. Through a series of executive orders and highly unusual EEOC (Equal Employment Oppor...
www.californialawreview.org
August 4, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Reposted by Rachel Lopez
jbentonheath.bsky.social
New paper! This essay takes a step toward developing what I call a "jurisprudence of weaponized interdependence.: Building on @himself.bsky.social & @abenewman.bsky.social's groundbreaking work, I develop an account of the legal processes that facilitate the weaponization of networks. 1/x
The phenomenon of weaponized interdependence, as defined by political scientists Henry Farrell and Abraham Newman, is a powerful tool for understanding today's global economic conflicts. But to date its uptake in the legal literature (including by this author) has been largely superficial, limited to the observation that economic interdependence coming under increased strain from the growing use of sanctions, export controls, investment screening, and similar measures. The real epistemic power of weaponized interdependence is to make political science nimble—able to identify and analyze similar dynamics across seemingly unconnected issue areas—remains largely untapped. This essay sketches an approach for developing a jurisprudence of weaponized interdependence, focusing on what Farrell and Newman term the "panopticon effect." It identifies four legal processes—herding, enclosure, legibility, and jurisdictional politics—which create the conditions for weaponizing a network. The essay develops an account of these four processes by reopening the case study of the SWIFT financial messaging system, which also figures prominently in Farrell and Newman's own work. The history of the SWIFT network, this essay argues, shows how law—defined broadly and understood across many sites of lawmaking—intervenes at critical points to create the conditions for weaponization. In developing this account, this essay also serves as a proof of concept for a broader jurisprudence of weaponized interdependence, which could make lawyers similarly nimble in confronting the manifold challenges of a politicized global economy in times of rapid technological change and rising authoritarianism.
July 30, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Reposted by Rachel Lopez
amaramarasingam.bsky.social
Rare aerial imagery shows displacement and destruction in Gaza www.washingtonpost.com/world/intera...
Rare aerial imagery shows displacement and destruction in Gaza
Airdrop flights offered a vantage over the closed-off Gaza Strip.
www.washingtonpost.com
August 2, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Reposted by Rachel Lopez
veenadubal.bsky.social
The “deal” that Brown made with the Trump admin is much more extreme than is being reported. It includes government oversight of course evaluations and no barrier to government interference in faculty hiring.

Read it for yourself here:

www.brown.edu/sites/defaul...
www.brown.edu
July 30, 2025 at 11:46 PM