Four Scholars and Practitioners Join CUNY Law, Reinforcing Commitment to Social Justice and Innovative Legal Training
The CUNY School of Law strengthens its position as a leader in public interest legal education with the addition of four exceptional scholars and practitioners to its faculty. These appointments underscore CUNY Law’s commitment to academic excellence, social justice, and innovative legal education. Each new faculty member brings a wealth of experience and a unique perspective that aligns with our mission to expand access to the legal profession and use law in service of human needs.
Natasha Chokhani
Assistant Professor of Law
“I am excited to delve into Evidence, both the doctrine and critical perspectives on Evidence with CUNY students.”
Professor Natasha Chokhani (she/her) joins CUNY Law as an Assistant Professor, bringing valuable insights into the intersections of family regulation systems, colonialism, and juvenile justice. Her research examines how these systems pathologize, police, and surveil adolescents, as well as how documentary evidence often privileges the states and reifies structural order
Prior to joining CUNY, Professor Chokhani was an Acting Assistant Professor of Lawyering at NYU School of Law. Her practical experience as a staff attorney in the Family Defense Practice at The Bronx Defenders provides a valuable perspective on the real-world implications of family regulation systems. Professor Chokhani’s work at the intersection of academia and practice, including co-directing the Holistic Defense Clinical Externship at Columbia Law School, exemplifies CUNY Law’s dedication to bridging theoretical knowledge with practical skills.
Daniel Loehr
Associate Professor of Law
“CUNY Law is the only law school founded to expand access to the legal profession, and the only law school designed to teach students to use law in service of human needs. For these reasons, there is no place I would rather teach.”
Professor Daniel Loehr (he/him) joins CUNY Law as an Associate Professor, bringing a distinguished background in constitutional law and criminal procedure. His appointment strengthens CUNY Law’s commitment to rigorous scholarship and public interest advocacy.
Professor Loehr’s experience includes teaching at Yale Law School, representing death-sentenced individuals with the Equal Justice Initiative in Alabama, and clerking for the Honorable M. Margaret McKeown of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the Honorable Tanya S. Chutkan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. This blend of academic and practical experience aligns with CUNY Law’s mission to prepare lawyers who are both theoretically grounded and practically skilled.
His scholarship, focusing on constitutional law, criminal procedure, and sentencing law, has been published in journals such as the American Criminal Law Review and the Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology. Professor Loehr’s work contributes to critical discussions on justice system reform and constitutional interpretations.
Professor Loehr holds a J.D. from New York University School of Law, where he was a Root-Tilden-Kern Scholar and a Furman Scholar, and a B.A. in Political Science from Middlebury College, where he was a Truman Scholar.
Erin Tomlinson
Assistant Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Second Look Project
“As a proud alumna of CUNY Law and the Defenders Clinic, I am thrilled to be joining the faculty after years of teaching at the Law School. It is an honor to continue the vital work of the clinic alongside our incredible students and the inspiring faculty and staff who were once mentors to me as a law student.”
Professor Erin Tomlinson ’10 (she/her) transitions to a tenure-track, full-time faculty position as an Assistant Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Second Look Project. As a CUNY Law alumna, Professor Tomlinson embodies the school’s mission and values, bringing them full circle in her role as an educator and advocate.
Professor Tomlinson has been an integral part of CUNY Law since 2016, teaching in both the Lawyering Program and the Defenders Clinic. Her clinical practice, where she and her students represent incarcerated individuals in parole hearings, clemency petitions, and post-conviction litigation, as well as people facing misdemeanor charges in state court, exemplifies CUNY Law’s commitment to hands-on, socially impactful legal education.
Her extensive background as a trial and appellate public defender in New York City, where she has represented thousands of clients in various criminal proceedings, brings invaluable real-world experience to the classroom. This practical knowledge, combined with her academic role, enables Professor Tomlinson to contribute to both CUNY Law’s legal pedagogy and its criminal justice reform work.
Lisa Waters
Assistant Professor of Law
“I am excited to join CUNY Law because it is a community — faculty and students alike —uniquely dedicated to connecting academia to practice and using the law to help those it has historically harmed.”
Professor Lisa Waters (she/her) joins CUNY Law as an Assistant Professor, bringing a wealth of experience from her work as a public defender in New Jersey. Her appointment underscores CUNY Law’s commitment to integrating front-line legal practice with rigorous academic scholarship.
In her previous role, Professor Waters handled complex litigation and jury trials in felony cases, supervised staff attorneys and interns, and litigated forensic and back-end re-sentencing matters. This extensive practical experience informs her teaching and research, providing students with insights into the realities of criminal defense work.
Professor Waters has been at the forefront of challenging forensic evidence in criminal cases, including firearm toolmark identification technology and cell site location evidence. Her work in this area contributes to the ongoing academic and legal discussions about the reliability and admissibility of forensic evidence.
Her commitment to back-end advocacy for individuals serving life or lengthy prison sentences — including work on parole readiness assistance and re-sentencing advocacy for clients sentenced as juveniles — aligns with efforts to use law as a vehicle for decarceration.