Fareed Nassor Hayat is a playwright, entrepreneur, and activist in addition to being a lawyer and professor. His areas of expertise are criminal procedure, evidence, and gang policing.
One of the cornerstones of your career is your activism and advocacy for your communities. How do you see yourself carrying that work forward during your tenure at CUNY Law?
My entire life has been dedicated to community empowerment and development, starting with family, community, and the larger nation. I raised four young men (two brothers and two cousins) throughout law school, and before that, I worked as a social worker and high school teacher. As a lawyer, I filed civil rights cases on behalf of clients who otherwise were denied legal representation to right wrongs of systematic abuse. I intend to educate students who will continue the work I have engaged in over the course of my life. I would like to help develop the students of CUNY Law into the type of advocates who can truly change the world.
What classes are you teaching this year?
I am teaching Criminal Law to the entire full-time class of 1Ls this semester, and next semester I will teach Criminal Procedure II.
You’re a playwright, an entrepreneur, a former public defender, the founder of a law firm, and a professor. How did you build this life for yourself? What is the glue that holds the center for you?
Hard work, fearlessness, and a positive attitude are key to how my life has been built. I am blessed with strong spiritual guidance. What holds me together and propels me is a fundamental desire to be just and succeed.
What is the best thing you can remember about your time at law school?
The best thing about law school is my legal education and my license to practice; I’m equipped with the ability to defend myself and others against systems of oppression all the while being financially prosperous.
The worst thing about law school is that it ended. It was truly one of the best times of my life. I developed lifelong friendships with very amazing people. Leaving law school and being required to go back into the struggle of real life was the biggest challenge.
If you could change one thing about legal education, what would that be?
I would make legal education more practical. I believe an apprenticeship model to legal education is more effective for both learning and eventually practicing law.
If you could recruit anyone to guest lecture in your class, who would it be – and what would they talk about?
I would recruit Bryan Stevenson. I would ask that he discuss the plan and its course of execution in fighting to overturn the death penalty in the United States. I see in Bryan Stevenson a passionate, effective and lifelong advocate — I see in Bryan Stevenson as a model for myself.
Do you have a top study tip or trick you’ve picked up along the way?
Doing practice questions, finding the correct answer and going backward to understand the rationale was the most effective technique I learned while studying. Another helpful tip would be the use of audio recordings to listen to lectures and explanations of substantive law. Finally, take advantage of study groups. Group learning is fun and effective.
Before teaching, did you have any other jobs or experiences that might surprise us?
I was a social worker for an organization called the Community Coalition. At the Coalition, I would recruit, transport, conduct home visits and lead workshops on independent living for young people who were wards of the state. As a former foster youth, this job allowed me to give back and build strong organizational skills.
What books would you recommend? Are you reading anything you can’t put down?
I would recommend Devil in the Grove by Gilbert King, Locking Up Our Own by James Foreman and Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. I am reading Devil in the Grove right now and can’t put down.
Is there anything that holds you enthralled, that you want to keep on people’s radar, or that is keeping you up at night?
Family. It is the most important aspect of my life. I work to ensure that my sons have a safe space that is just to live and love.