California Western Faculty Highlights – January 2026

Professor James Cooper and his co-author, BITS India Business School Professor Kashyap Kompella, launched their second book, A Short & Happy Guide to AI Governance and Regulation, published by West Academic, at California Western School of Law on Friday, January 23. Before the book launch, they gave an interview about the book on KUSI TV News with morning anchor Lauren Phinney.     

Professor Shawn Fields participated in panel discussions entitled, “Who Claims the Power to Police? Authority, Legitimacy, and the Re-Imagining of Public Safety” and “Immigration and Disability Law,” at the AALS 2026 Annual Meeting. 

Professor Fields has been invited to advise members of the Maryland legislature on a pending bill to prohibit the wearing of masks and other facial coverings by members of local, state, and federal law enforcement operating in the state. His consultation role draws on his current work-in-progress, “The Anonymous Officer,” which explores the legal and political implications of masked policing.   

Professor Joshua Jones served as a commenter at a works-in-progress session at the AALS 2026 Annual Meeting. 

Professor Amy Kimpel was appointed to the board of the AALS Section on Criminal Procedure.    

Professor Kenneth Klein was cited for his home insurance expertise in the Forbes Advisor article, “Home Insurance Outlook 2026: Tariffs, Severe Weather, Building Costs Drive Higher Rates.”   

 

Professor Klein has been quoted in a Bloomberg article entitled “Climate Change Exposes a Major Home Insurance Gap.” In it, he explains, “Climate change did not cause underinsurance, but it does expose it and amplify it,” a fact highlighted in his forthcoming Lewis & Clark Law Review article, “Truth and Consequences: What Catastrophe Teaches Us About Homeownership and Underinsurance.”

Professor Klein participated in panel discussions entitled, “Climate Change and The Homeowners Insurance Crises Unfolding Across the Country,” and “Cultivating Resilience for Lawyers and Law Students During Crisis and Disaster,” at the AALS 2026 Annual Meeting. 

Professor Klein has been reappointed by the 2025 NAIC Consumer Board of Trustees to serve the second year of a two-year term as a 2026 unfunded consumer representative.   

Professor Joanna K. Sax's draft article, Inclusive Science, was selected for inclusion in the Charm City Colloquium on Law and Bioethics (CCCLB). This event is co-hosted by the University of Maryland Carey School of Law’s Law & Health Care Program, the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Institute for Clinical and Translational Research. Only fifteen articles are selected for participation. The colloquium will occur in April 2026. 

Associate Clinical Professor and Executive Director of the Community Law Project Clinic Dana Sisitsky was appointed to the board of the nonprofit Casa de Amistad. 

Professor Kristen van de Biezenbos presented a paper at the Natural Resources and Energy and Environmental Law works-in-progress session and served as the section chair for Admiralty & Maritime and on the Executive Committee for Natural Resources & Energy at the AALS 2026 Annual Meeting.