Keith J. Hand, Associate Professor of Law

Professor Keith J. Hand holds a JD and an MA in China Studies from the University of Washington and a BA from Whitman College. Prior to joining the UC Hastings faculty in 2009, Professor Hand was Beijing director, senior fellow, and lecturer-in-law at Yale Law School’s China Law Center and visiting scholar at Peking University Law School. During his tenure with the Center, Professor Hand worked with Chinese courts, government agencies and law schools to design and implement cooperative legal reform projects in the areas of criminal justice, judicial reform and property law.

Professor Hand served as editor-in-chief of the Pacific Rim Law & Policy Journal at the University of Washington School of Law. After graduating Order of the Coif in 2000, he worked as a corporate attorney with the New York office of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, where his practice focused on mergers and acquisitions and private equity funds. He then served as senior counsel to the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China. Professor Hand brings more than 18 years of professional experience in private practice, government, development and academia to his teaching and research at UC Hastings. In 2011, Professor Hand was named as a National Committee on U.S.-China Relations Public Intellectuals Fellow.

A native of Seattle, Washington, Professor Hand enjoys the outdoors and rarely turns down an opportunity to travel through remote regions of Asia or ski, cycle, and hike here at home.

Courses Taught:  Introduction to Chinese Law, China and the International Legal Order, Legal Reform in East Asia, and Criminal Procedure

Expertise: Chinese Law, East Asian Legal Systems, and Criminal Procedure

My favorite part about teaching you is... challenging you to understand different legal cultures and assisting you in building a Pacific Rim legal career.