Jennifer W. Lanz

jlanz@charlestonlaw.edu
(843) 377-2429

Jennifer W. Lanz

Visiting Professor of Law

Professor Jennifer Lanz teaches Business Organizations, Mediation Advocacy, and Public International Law. Prior to joining the Charleston Law faculty, she worked as a mediator for community-based non-profits, focusing on homelessness prevention, truancy resolution, and family law. Her academic passion is international law, having previously worked to promote the rule of law and the status of women in the legal profession in the Middle East & North Africa.

Biography

Professor Jennifer Lanz teaches Business Organizations, Mediation Advocacy, and Public International Law. Prior to joining the Charleston Law faculty, she worked as a mediator for community-based non-profits, focusing on homelessness prevention, truancy resolution, and family law. Her academic passion is international law, having previously worked to promote the rule of law and the status of women in the legal profession in the Middle East & North Africa.

Lanz received her J.D. from the Washington College of Law at American University, where she was Editor in Chief of the International Law Review. Upon graduation and admission to the Maryland Bar in 2003, she worked as Deputy Director of the American Bar Association’s Middle East & North Africa program, requiring extensive travel to the region during a time of war and political upheaval. After moving away from Washington, DC, she taught a variety of law courses at the undergraduate level at the College of Charleston, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Christopher Newport University, and Notre Dame College, where she also founded and coached the moot court team. 

A Coast Guard spouse, Lanz used her law degree in a variety of non-traditional ways for the betterment of the communities where the military sent her, from serving on the board of the Cleveland Mediation Center to running the Juneau (Alaska) District Court’s youth court, a program to adjudicate minor juvenile misconduct via a student-led tribunal. She also served as a Coast Guard ombudsman, helping military families navigate the challenges of relocating to Alaska and connecting them to support resources.

Education

  • Education J.D., Cum Laude, from the Washington College of Law at American University (2003)
  • B.A., Cum Laude, in French and International Studies, Harrison Scholar, from Miami University (2000)