Laurel E. Fletcher is Clinical Professor of Law at UC Berkeley, School of Law. Fletcher is active in the areas of human rights, humanitarian law, international criminal justice, and transitional justice. Fletcher has advocated on behalf of victims before international courts and tribunals, and has issued numerous human rights reports on topics ranging from sexual violence in armed conflict to human rights violations of tipped workers in the US restaurant industry. She also has conducted several empirical human rights studies, including of the impact of detention on former detainees who were held in U.S. custody in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. She served as co-Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Transitional Justice (2011-2015). Fletcher was selected as a Herbert Smith Freehills Visitor to the Faculty of Law in the University of Cambridge for 2019.
Her recent publications include A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing? Transitional Justice and the Effacement of State Accountability for International Crimes, 39 Fordham Int’l L.J. 447 (2016); Refracted Justice: The Imagined Victim and the International Criminal Court, in “Contested Justice: the Politics and Practice of International Criminal Court Interventions” 302 (C.M. De Vos, Sara Kendall & Carsten Stahn eds., Cambridge Univ. Press, 2015); and Writing Transitional Justice: An Empirical Evaluation of Transitional Justice Scholarship in Academic Journals, 7 J. Hum. Rts. Prac. 177 (2015) (co-author: Harvey M. Weinstein). In 2009, she and Eric Stover published “The Guantanamo Effect: Exposing the Consequences of U.S. Detention and Interrogation Practices” (UC Press).
Education
B.A., Brandeis University (1986)
J.D., Harvard University (1990)
Laurel E Fletcher is teaching the following courses in Spring 2025:
• 283I sec. 001 - Global Rights Innovation Lab Clinic Seminar
• 295.5O sec. 001 - Global Rights Innovation Lab Clinic
Courses During Other Semesters
| Semester | Course Num | Course Title |  Teaching Evaluations | Fall 2025 | 263 sec. 001 | International Human Rights | 283I sec. 001 | Global Rights Innovation Lab Clinic Seminar | 283M sec. 001 | Global Rights Innovation Lab Advanced Clinic Seminar | 295.52 sec. 001 | Global Rights Innovation Lab Advanced Clinic | 295.5O sec. 001 | Global Rights Innovation Lab Clinic | Fall 2024 | 262.53 sec. 001 | Technology and Human Rights | View Teaching Evaluation | 262.54 sec. 001 | Human Rights Futures: New Directions in Law and Practice | View Teaching Evaluation |
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Clinic Defends Human Rights of Sri Lankan Torture Victim, Asks United Nations for Justice
Three International Human Rights Law Clinic students helped draft a complaint with the United Nations on behalf of a British citizen tortured by Sri Lankan officials in 2016.
Virtual Vigor: Keeping Berkeley Law’s Intellectual Life Vibrant from a Distance
While students, faculty, and staff are scattered around the world, Berkeley Law has brought them together through a variety of online events—many focused on the pandemic and the implications of the death of George Floyd.
Rep. Barbara Lee wants to form a racial healing commission to reckon with 400 years of systemic racism
Professor Laurel Fletcher, Director of the International Human Rights Law Clinic, discusses East Bay Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s (D-Oakland) call for the creation of a “Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Commission”
Clinic, Center Safeguard Human Rights Close to Home and Around the World
The International Human Rights Law Clinic and Human Rights Center fight injustice through litigation, policy suggestions, advocacy, research, and science-based investigations.
Top Scholars Honor Legacy of David Caron ’83 at International Law Conference
Caron, who spent 26 years at Berkeley Law, held leading roles as a professor, scholar, dean, arbitrator, and judge.
New Report Spotlights Repression of Women Human Rights Activists
International law clinic collaborates on report documenting the repression of women and LGBTQI+ human rights defenders.
New: Semester at The Hague for Students Pursuing International Law
Berkeley Law launches a new program at The Hague for students pursuing a career in international law.
Clinical Program Celebrates Sax Prize Winner Salena Tiet ’17
A two-year standout at Berkeley Law’s Death Penalty Clinic, Tiet was honored for her work ethic and legal acumen.
Alex Kaplan ’16 Wins Sax Prize for Clinical Advocacy
Kaplan was honored for his extraordinary work with Berkeley Law’s Policy Advocacy Clinic and East Bay Community Law Center.
Subminimum Wage Violates International Human Rights Standards
Below the Line: How the subminimum wage for tipped restaurant workers violates international human rights standards.