Paula Lustbader, J.D.
Executive Director, Alfie Scholars Program
Executive Director, Civility Center for Law
Executive Director, The Civility Fund
Professor of Law Emerita, Seattle University School of Law
Known for her energy, passion, and advocacy for equity, access, and social justice, Professor Paula Lustbader is internationally recognized as a leader, scholar, and speaker on undergraduate and law-school pedagogy, academic support programs, diversity, and civility. Acclaimed as a dynamic and engaging teacher, presenter, and facilitator, Professor Lustbader inspired a generation of law students, law school professors and administrators, and other higher education professionals with her learner-centered and inclusive pedagogy. She was on the faculty of the Association of American Law Schools New Faculty Institute for over ten years and was on the planning committee, chair for three years, and faculty of Seattle University’s New Faculty Orientation for six years. In addition, Professor Lustbader was a co-founder of two national organizations: the Association of American Law Schools Section on Law School Academic Support and the Law School Admission Council Academic Support Institute. She also was a founder of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Seattle University. She served as Chair and as Program Chair for Association of American Law Schools Section on Teaching Methods and also the Section on Academic Assistance.
As a law professor, she co-founded and directed the Academic Resource Center and its Access Admissions program at Seattle University School of Law. For 28 years, she taught and provided support and mentorship to law students from underrepresented groups and, in the process, was and continues to be instrumental in increasing the diversity of the legal profession. She touched the lives of more than 1,000 law students who, on graduation, have gone on to impact the lives of literally thousands of clients and fellow citizens in every sphere of the legal profession and beyond.
Professor Lustbader’s contribution to the academy was acknowledged in 2015, when she was given the Association of American Law Schools Section on Academic Support Award for Excellence in Legal Education. Her contributions to the profession were acknowledged twice: in 2006 she was a co-recipient of the Washington State Bar Association’s Award for Excellence in Diversity, and in 2010 she received the Loren Miller Bar Association President’s Award for her role in increasing diversity in the legal profession.
Always with an eye on the next idea, in 2010 Professor Lustbader founded and became executive director of the Civility Center for Law, a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering civility in the legal profession. From 2010 and 2018, in partnership with Seattle University School of Law, she created and facilitated seminars for lawyers and judges, consulted with organizations, and spoke at conferences on the importance of civility in the legal profession. The Center’s most notable seminar was an eight-day immersion seminar in Tuscany, Italy.
In 2014, Professor Lustbader founded and became executive director of the Alfie Scholars Program whose mission is to cultivate leaders for civility, provide financial support, and engender academic excellence for underrepresented community college transfer students and rising Junior Seattle University Students. The inaugural cohort started in 2016.
Since her retirement from teaching at Seattle University School of Law in 2016, in addition to developing and teaching the Alfie Scholars Program, on a limited basis, Professor Lustbader continues to consult, write, and speak about civility in general and, specifically, in the legal profession, higher education, and the other professions.
