Sarah E. Redfield
Professor of Law
- BA, Mount Holyoke College
- JD, Northeastern University
- LLM, Harvard Law School
- sredfield@piercelaw.edu
- (603) 513-5188
- Courses: Administrative Process, Education Law, Legal Skills I & II, Property, Special Education Law
- Committees:
- Scholarship
Professor Sarah E. Redfield is a tenured member of the faculty at
Pierce Law. Her primary teaching areas are education and administrative
law.
In 2004,
Governor Baldacci appointed Professor Redfield to represent the State
of Maine on the Education Commission of the States.
Professor Redfield is a nationally known author and presenter. Her
book, Thinking Like a Lawyer: An Educator's Guide to Legal Analysis and
Research, was published in 2002 by Carolina Academic Press. She has
recently published law review and bar articles on threatening speech,
the convergence of law and education, and on K20 school
reform. This year she will be presenting at meetings on the
Education Law, including the annual national Education Law Conference,
the Virginia Education Law Conference and others.
Before coming to Pierce Law, Professor Redfield practiced civil,
environmental, and agricultural law for the state of Maine. She served
as Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Division of the Maine
Attorney General's Office and as Associate Commissioner for the
Department of Agriculture, Food Rural Resources. During this time, in
addition to writing Vanishing Farmland (Lexington Books), she published
articles on environmental and land use issues, with particular emphasis
on farmland and pesticide use.
From this experience, she brings to her teaching an understanding of
the power and limitations of legislation and agencies, and a continuing
commitment to the public interest and the role of the lawyer in
effectuating change.
"I've long been interested in social justice and social change, from my
college days registering voters in the South, to my environmental work
for the Maine Attorney General, to my current work with education
issues. I'm particularly interested in the role the law does, can, and
should (or should not) play in these arenas.
Law students and lawyers are blessed with an education that enables
them to understand and analyze complex situations. I'm particularly
interested in the role lawyers play in using their skills to help those
individuals or groups who do not have adequate information to
understand or participate fully in our system of government.
In terms of my own teaching, I strive to practice what I 'preach,' that
is, I prefer to see myself not as the omnipotent professor, but rather
as the guide to further research and education. I want, always, to
allow students the opportunity to find their own voices and speak with
their own strengths."
On a personal note, she is the proud mother of two terrific children,
Alex and Althea Rose.
