Biography
Associate Dean Steven Bender is a national academic leader in the areas of critical theory, especially LatCrit, and immigration law and policy, as well as an expert in real estate law and thought leader in innovation/technology and ethics. Among his honors, the Minority Groups Section of the Association of American Law Schools presented him with the C. Clyde Ferguson, Jr., Award, a prestigious national award recognizing scholarly reputation, mentoring of junior faculty, and teaching excellence, and in 2024 the Society of American Law Teachers awarded Bender the Great Teacher Award.
He joined the faculty from the University of Oregon in 2011 and served as Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development from 2014-2017 and since 2017 as the Associate Dean for Planning and Strategic Initiatives. He taught at UO for 20 years and served as the James and Ilene Hershner Professor of Law, founding Director of Portland Programs, Director of the Green Business Initiative, and Co-Director of the Law and Entrepreneurship Center.
Professor Bender is a prolific author of dozens of law review articles and book chapters, a casebook on real estate transactions, a national two-volume treatise on real estate financing, and more than a dozen other acclaimed books. His recent books include the co-authored landmark textbook "Critical Justice: Systemic Advocacy in Law and Society" (West Academic 2021) and an overview of the history and future of the international LatCrit academic nonprofit organization, "LatCrit: From Critical Legal Theory to Academic Activism" (NYU Press 2021).
His other books are "Mea Culpa: Lessons on Law and Regret from U.S. History" (NYU Press 2015); "Run for the Border: Vice and Virtue in U.S.-Mexico Border Crossings" (NYU Press 2012); "Greasers and Gringos: Latinos, Law, and the American Imagination " (NYU Press 2003); "Tierra y Libertad: Land, Liberty, and Latino Housing" (NYU Press 2010); "One Night in America: Robert Kennedy, Cesar Chavez, and the Dream of Dignity" (Routledge 2008), winner of the 2008 Oregon Book Award for General Nonfiction; “How the West Was Juan: Reimagining the U.S.-Mexico Border" (San Diego State University Press 2017); and "Comprende?: The Significance of Spanish in English-Only Times," (Floricanto Press 2008). He is co-author of "Everyday Law for Latino/as" (Routledge 2008), "Compassionate Migration and Regional Policy in the Americas" (Palgrave Macmillan 2017), "From Extraction to Emancipation: Reimagining Development” (Carolina Academic Press and the ABA Section of International Law 2018), and "Deadly Voyages: Migrant Journeys Across the Globe" (Rowman & Littlefield 2020).
His research interests coincide with his classroom teaching, which encompasses subjects as diverse as The Lawyer's Role in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Property, Real Estate Transactions, UCC Secured Transactions, Contracts, Social Impact Advocacy, and Latina/os and the Law.
Associate Dean Bender is an elected member of the American Law Institute, the American College of Real Estate Lawyers, and the American College of Mortgage Attorneys. During 2009-2011, Bender served as co-president of the Society of American Law Teachers (SALT). He is also the founder and initial chair (2023-2024) of the AALS Section on Critical Theories, and co-director of the law school's TILE (Technology, Innovation Law, and Ethics) program.
Activity
In the News
Pot Luck
July 30, 2019 | Longreads
When legalizing marijuana, states should focus on racial justice and not just revenue, says Professor Steven Bender.
Legal pot: Why minorities say they're being left out of the money
March 20, 2019 | The Christian Science Monitor
Professor Steven Bender says the third generation of marijuana legalization is race consciousness.
