Tiffany Williams Brewer

Assistant Professor of Law

JD, 1999 Northeastern University School of Law
MPA, 1996, Rutgers University
BA, 1994, Rutgers University

Biography

Tiffany Williams Brewer is an Assistant Professor of Law teaching courses in Evidence, Professional Responsibility, Legislation & Regulation and a seminar in Black Women & the Law.  As a former New Jersey Administrative Law Judge, Judge Brewer brings her judicial experience into the classroom and the law school community.  Judge Brewer has over 20 years of teaching experience as a full time and adjunct professor in law and public administration at universities in California, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. She has also taught courses in Legal Writing, Administrative Law, and Trial Advocacy and has directed student programs focusing on externships, mock trial and moot court.  Judge Brewer is also a frequent international lecturer and trainer, having conducted legal writing, trial advocacy and judicial judgment drafting trainings in Saudi Arabia, India and throughout the African continent in conjunction with the African Union. Her scholarly focus spans several areas of her professional expertise including, examining the intersectionality of racial justice, ethics and religion, gender equity, global women’s leadership, criminal justice reform for women and girls.

Judge Brewer was recently appointed by the New Jersey Governor as the first African-American to Chair the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation, an independent investigatory agency empowered to expose organized crime, government fraud and corruption.  Throughout her career, Judge Brewer has served in high profile leadership roles in government including as an Administrative Law Judge, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Deputy Chief Counsel to the NJ Governor, Chief Counsel to the Speaker of the NJ General Assembly, NJ Deputy Assistant Secretary of State (overseeing the state’s election system), and Regulatory Officer (agency counsel) at the NJ Civil Service Commission.  In private practice, she has served as a litigation associate at several large law firms in Massachusetts and New Jersey.  Judge Brewer started her career as a law clerk to the Honorable Frederick L. Brown in the Massachusetts Appeals Court.  During law school, Judge Brewer had the unique opportunity to serve as an intern at the White House for the Office of Legal Counsel. Prior to law school, she also served as the Special Assistant to U.S. Senator Bill Bradley.

Judge Brewer is admitted to practice in Massachusetts, New Jersey, the District of Columbia, the Supreme Court of the United States and various federal courts.  As an active leader in the profession, Judge Williams currently serves as Secretary of the Section of Litigation of the American Bar Association and as a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Previously she served as the ABA Deputy Representative to the United Nations, as an Associate Editor to the Litigation News magazine, member of the Section of Litigation Council and as Section of Litigation Managing Director.

In addition to her legal career, Judge Brewer is a pastor and an advocate for the global advancement of women and girls as Founder & CEO of the Esther Project & the Esther Institute for the Advancement of Women and Girls.  Judge Brewer has been recognized for her global work with the Esther Project by a United States Senator, the NJ Legislature, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. (of which she is a member) and numerous organizations and publications.

Publications

No Girl Left Behind:  Girls Courts as a Restorative Justice Approach to Healing, Forthcoming in Seton Hall Law Review, Volume Fifty-two, Book 3.

The Sword and the Scale: A Lawyer’s Ethical Imperative to Furthering Racial Justice Through Model Rule 8.4(g) (Work in progress).

Selected Keynotes & Panels

Panelist, Religion and Race: Christian Perspectives on Critical Race Theory, Ansari Institute for Global Engagement on Religion, Keough School of Global Affairs, University of Notre Dame, December 2021.

Keynote Speaker, Empowering Women’s Leadership in Furthering Racial Justice in Cybersecurity & Insurance Industries, Women in Cyber Leadership Corporation Virtual Speaker Series, April 2021.

Panelist, Role of Gender in Conflict Resolution, Symposium on Role of Justice, Gender, Ethics & Spirituality in Conflict Resolution, Symbiosis Law School, Pune, India, May 2021.

Presenter, The Racial Justice Imperative of Ethical Lawyering, Continuing Legal Education presentation, Southwestern University School of Law, Los Angeles, CA, February 2021.

Facilitator, Judicial Judgment Drafting Training, American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative, African Union Commission, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, December 2020.

Facilitator, Trial Advocacy Symposium, American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative, African Union Commission, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, November 2020.

Co-Presenter, The Racial Justice Imperative of Ethical Lawyering, Continuing Legal Education presentation, Pepperdine University School of Law, Malibu, CA, July 2020.

Co-Facilitator, Legal Writing and Advocacy Seminar, American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative, Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, January 2020.

Facilitator, Legal Writing and Legal Drafting Symposium, American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative, African Union Commission, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, July 2019.

Keynote Speaker, Leadership Lessons from Araminta Ross (Harriet Tubman), Monmouth University Biennial Interdisciplinary Conference on Race, October 2020. 

Panelist, Women Supporting Women in Business, United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, New York, NY, March 2017.

Moderator, A New Global Agenda for Women, American Bar Association Annual Conference, New York, NY, August 2017.

Moderator, Litigation Primer on UN Sustainable Development Goals, American Bar Association Section Annual Conference, Chicago, IL, April 2016.

Moderator, Can I Tweet? Ethics of Technology and Social Media in the Courtroom, ABA Section of Litigation Annual Conference, Miami, April 2011.

Panelist, Ethics of E-Discovery, ABA Section of Litigation Annual Conference, New York, April 2010.

Panelist, Inadvertent Waiver of Attorney-Client Privilege, ABA Section of Litigation Annual Conference, April 2009.