University of St. Thomas

Professor Levy-Pounds Curriculum Vitae

J.D., University of Illinois College of Law
B.A., University of Southern California

Professor Nekima Levy-Pounds is the director of the Community Justice Project (CJP) of the University of St. Thomas Interprofessional Center for Counseling and Legal Services. Levy-Pounds teaches and supervises law students as they use the law as a tool to advance the cause of social justice in distressed communities of color. More specifically, CJP students use creative problem-solving skills to tackle a variety of community-based legal and non-legal initiatives such as police misconduct and brutality; issues involving juveniles in the justice system and public education system; restorative justice for criminal defendants; collateral consequences of criminal convictions, and community education.  Levy-Pounds’ goal in founding the CJP was to take a more holistic approach to addressing complex issues affecting the poor and working poor.

In addition to her work in the CJP, Levy-Pounds is an active contributor to the field of civil rights and criminal justice by serving as a consultant to local community groups and organizations, a commentator in local media, and a lecturer and presenter in national and international forums.  Her scholarly interests include the impact of the war on drugs on poor communities of color, the treatment of women in prisons, and race and the criminal justice system.  Levy-Pounds has also began focusing on issues related to youths of color and the impacts of intersecting issues of race, class, and gender on this segment of the population.

Prior to teaching at St. Thomas, Levy-Pounds was appointed Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois College of Law, where she taught in the live-client Civil Practice Clinic. In her capacity as a Clinical Professor, Levy-Pounds instructed law students on how to effectively represent indigent clients in a variety of civil legal matters, including family law, domestic violence, debt defense, and landlord/tenant cases.

After law school, Levy-Pounds joined the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in Washington, D.C., as the fourth recipient of the prestigious George N. Lindsay Civil Rights Legal Fellowship. While at The Lawyers’ Committee, Levy-Pounds worked in the area of Employment Discrimination where she helped to litigate cases on behalf of women and people of color who suffered discrimination in the workplace.

Representative Scholarship

“From the Frying Pan Into the Fire: How Poor Women of Color and Children are Affected by the Sentencing Guidelines & Mandatory Minimums.” Santa Clara Law Review, Volume 47 No. 2, Spring 2007.

“Advice for those Encounters with Bad Actor Lawyers,” The ABA Young Lawyer, November, 2006

“Children of Incarcerated Parents and the Struggle for Stability.” The Modern American Volume 2- Issue 2, Summer 2006

“Beaten by the System and Down for the Count: Why Poor Women of Color and Children Don’t Stand a Chance Against Current Drug Sentencing Policy.” University of St. Thomas Law Journal, Spring 2006

Courses Taught

Clinic: Community Justice Practice Group
Advanced Clinic: Community Justice Practice Group

Mailing Address
MSL 100
1000 LaSalle Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55403-2015