Laurie Levenson

For Professor Laurie Levenson, LMU Loyola Law School is more than a place to earn a law degree. “If you want to make the world a better place, this is the law school to attend,” she says.

Justice and service – central tenets of an LMU education – inspire her as the founding director of Loyola’s Project for the Innocent. Alongside her students and legal experts, she fights for justice every day, helping to free those who have been wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for crimes they didn’t commit.

“Loyola’s Project for the Innocent believes in the worth and value of every person,” Levenson said. “It helps those who need our help the most. We bring hope to people’s lives and seek to improve how the justice system treats people.”

Levenson grew up in Inglewood, which sparked her early connection to LMU. “In high school, I played hooky to attend classes at LMU. I thought the classes and teachers were much better – and I was right.”