Michael Helfand

Visiting Professor of Law
(spring term)
Education

Ph.D. (Political Science), Yale University, 2009
M.Phil., Yale University, 2007
J.D., Yale Law School, 2007
M.A., Yale University, 2003
B.A., Yeshiva University, 2002

Courses Taught
  • Free Exercise Clinic
  • Advanced Free Exercise Clinic
  • Law and Religion: The Free Exercise of Religion
  • The Supreme Court and the Modern Establishment Clause
Michael Helfand

Michael Helfand is a Visiting Professor of Law at Yale Law School and the Brenden Mann Foundation Chair in Law and Religion as well as the Co-Director of the Nootbaar Institute on Law, Religion and Ethics at Pepperdine Caruso School of Law. 

A frequent author and lecturer, his work considers how U.S. law treats religious law, custom, and practice, focusing on the intersection of private law and religion in contexts such as religious arbitration, religious contracts, and religious torts.

Helfand’s articles have appeared in numerous law journals, including the Yale Law Journal, NYU Law Review, and Duke Law Journal. He has also published work in popular outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Forward. 

Prior to joining the Pepperdine Law faculty, Helfand was an associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, where his practice focused on complex commercial litigation. Before entering private practice, he clerked for Judge Julia Smith Gibbons of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.