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Rachel Lopez

@rlopez.bsky.social

8.9K followers 1.7K following 160 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

papers.ssrn.com

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Rachel Lopez @rlopez.bsky.social · Apr 23

New paper alert 🚨

Now up @ssrn.bsky.social is "Experiential Expertise: What Lived Experience Can Teach" forthcoming in BU L. Rev. It explores the contours of experiential expertise—what is it? how is it formed? how should it inform the law?

Would love any feedback!
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

EXPERIENTIAL EXPERTISE IN LAW: WHAT LIVED EXPERIENCE CAN TEACH

<div> <div> This article examines the growing call for incorporating "experiential expertise" — the insights of those directly impacted by systemic

papers.ssrn.com

Reposted by Rachel Lopez

Douglas Guilfoyle @djag2.bsky.social · 9d

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

Reposted by Rachel Lopez

Corinne Blalock @corinneblalock.bsky.social · 26d

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

Rachel Lopez @rlopez.bsky.social · Sep 3

I’m so sorry, Kostia. 😢

Rachel Lopez @rlopez.bsky.social · Sep 2

I love that article!!

Rachel Lopez @rlopez.bsky.social · Aug 25

Thank you very much for sharing!

Rachel Lopez @rlopez.bsky.social · Aug 21

Oh that would be super interesting particularly in light of the disability rights convention and debates around it! Thank you!

Rachel Lopez @rlopez.bsky.social · Aug 21

Thanks so much! This book is definitely on my list!!

Rachel Lopez @rlopez.bsky.social · Aug 21

Thank you so very much, Marcia, for sharing all of these incredible resources! I so appreciate it!!

Rachel Lopez @rlopez.bsky.social · Aug 21

Thanks so much for sharing these great ideas!

Rachel Lopez @rlopez.bsky.social · Aug 19

Oh, this will actually be perfect for another class on American exceptionalism. Thank you!

Rachel Lopez @rlopez.bsky.social · Aug 19

That's a great idea! Thank you!

Rachel Lopez @rlopez.bsky.social · Aug 19

Wow! Thank you so much for sharing! These contributions look great! I'm excited to read them.

Rachel Lopez @rlopez.bsky.social · Aug 19

@barriesander.bsky.social @cschwobelpatel.bsky.social @lingaas.bsky.social @silviasteininger.bsky.social @mattia800.bsky.social @bechamilton.bsky.social @ntinatzouvala.bsky.social @matiangai.bsky.social @melissastewart.bsky.social I'd be so grateful for any suggestions you have.

Rachel Lopez @rlopez.bsky.social · Aug 19

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?

Reposted by Rachel Lopez

🎃😱Slaybell Romero loves Halloween👻👹 @maybell.bsky.social · Aug 17

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.

Reposted by Rachel Lopez

Iva Vukušić @vukusiciva.bsky.social · Aug 17

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.

Reposted by Rachel Lopez

Alonso Gurmendi @alonso-gd.bsky.social · Aug 6

It's that time of the year again folks, get your nerd hat on

Opinio Juris @opiniojuris.bsky.social · Aug 6

Call for Papers: Fifth Annual Symposium on Pop Culture and International Law

opiniojuris.org/2025/08/06/c...

Call for Papers: Fifth Annual Symposium on Pop Culture and International Law

It’s that time of the year again! The editorial team at Opinio Juris is pleased to announce the call for papers for our Fifth Annual Symposium on Pop Culture and International Law. We can&#821…

opiniojuris.org

Reposted by Rachel Lopez

Chris Hampson @chrishampsonlaw.bsky.social · Aug 4

🚨🪶⚖️ @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

Reposted by Rachel Lopez

Ben Heath @jbentonheath.bsky.social · Jul 30

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.

Reposted by Rachel Lopez

Amarnath Amarasingam @amaramarasingam.bsky.social · Aug 2

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

Reposted by Rachel Lopez

Veena Dubal @veenadubal.bsky.social · Jul 30

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...

Reposted by Rachel Lopez

Janina Dill @janinadill.bsky.social · Jul 30

Devastating account of
-the irredeemability of Western govs' responses to 🇮🇱's starvation of #Gaza
-our collective moral failure
-applicable legal obligations right NOW

by the foremost experts on starvation Alex deWaal &
@tomdannenbaum.bsky.social

justsecurity.org/117962/mass-...

Time Has Run Out: Mass Starvation in Gaza and the Global Imperative

It is time for comprehensive, full-spectrum, sustainable, and coordinated humanitarian action. States globally must act without delay on that imperative.

justsecurity.org

Reposted by Rachel Lopez

Shoaib M Khan @shoaibmkhan.bsky.social · Jul 30

"Israel is using thirst as a weapon to kill Palestinians. Cutting off water is a silent, lethal bomb that kills mostly children and babies": UN experts say Israel depriving Palestinians of safe drinking water violates international law and is a crime against humanity. www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...

“Thirst as a weapon”: UN experts condemn Israel’s deliberate dehydration and starvation of the Palestinian people

GENEVA – UN experts* today expressed alarm at Israel’s deliberate withholding of access to safe drinking water from Palestinians in Gaza, calling it a serious violation of international law and a cri...

Reposted by Rachel Lopez

Nina Reiners @ninareiners.bsky.social · Jul 21

✨ Our forum “Challenges and Opportunities for Transnational Advocacy” is out #openaccess in International Studies Review ✨

👓: academic.oup.com/isr/article/...

@ninahall.bsky.social

Journal Article
Challenges and Opportunities for Transnational Advocacy Open Access
Nina Hall , Nina Reiners , Soumita Basu , Suparna Chaudhry , Laura Henry , Peace A Medie , Lisa Mcintosh Sundstrom , Andrea Vilán , Kelebogile Zvobgo
International Studies Review, Volume 27, Issue 3, September 2025, viaf015, https://doi.org/10.1093/isr/viaf015

Rachel Lopez @rlopez.bsky.social · Jul 27

Not just that but also acculturates them to a win takes all mindset undermining their ability to dialogue across different and in the worst case leading to lawyers facilitating democratic backsliding (eg Jan 6th & Watergate)

I argue for a different way forward here:
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Critical Curriculum Design: Teaching Law in an Age of Rising Authoritarianism

Legal education in the United States stands at a critical juncture. As democracy faces mounting threats both at home and abroad, law schools must grapple with t

papers.ssrn.com