DETROIT (April 19, 2011) - Wayne State University Law School is pleased to announce that two outstanding individuals will join its faculty. They are Assistant Professor Kirsten M. Carlson and Assistant Professor (Clinical) Eric C. Williams.

Kirsten M. Carlson

Kirsten M. Carlson will teach Civil Procedure and American Indian Law beginning in fall 2011. She most recently served as a staff attorney at the Indian Law Resource Center in Helena, Mont., with a practice focusing on international and national advocacy to protect the rights of Indian nations to self-government, their lands, cultures and environments. Before that, she was a visiting scholar at the University of Ottawa, a visiting professor at the University of Minnesota Law School, and a law clerk to the Hon. Diana E. Murphy of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Carlson is secretary/treasurer of the Michigan State Bar Association's Indian Law Section and a past recipient of a National Science Foundation Law and Social Science Dissertation Research Grant and the American Bar Association's Henry J. Ramsey Diversity Award. She earned a bachelor's degree in international studies from the Johns Hopkins University, a master's degree in Maaori studies as a Fulbright Scholar from Victoria University in New Zealand, a juris doctor from the University of Michigan Law School and a doctor of philosophy (political science) from the University of Michigan.

Eric C. Williams

Eric C. Williams will direct the Small Business Enterprises and Nonprofit Corporations Clinic beginning in summer 2011. He previously worked in New York in private practice, as a legal consultant at Labaton Sucharow LLP, as a business litigation associate at Nixon Peabody LLP, and as a managing partner in the Law Office of Coleman and Williams. He also gained experience in the nonprofit sector as director of development at the Health and Welfare Council of Long Island and as senior program developer at Focus: HOPE in Detroit.

Williams earned a bachelor's degree in English literature from the University of Michigan, a master of philosophy in international relations from Magdalene College at Cambridge University and a juris doctor from Columbia University School of Law.

"I'm thrilled to welcome our new faculty members to Wayne Law," said Wayne Law Dean Robert M. Ackerman. "With the addition of Dr. Carlson, we expand our course offerings and faculty expertise in Native American law and public interest law. With Mr. Williams, we gain a permanent leader of our Small Business Clinic, a clinic that provides services vital to Detroit's redevelopment along with hands-on experience to our students. I look forward to working with each of them."

He added, "I applaud the work of the Faculty Appointments Committee for its work in bringing on such outstanding additions to our remarkable faculty. I am pleased that our students will have the opportunity to learn and apply the law with these individuals."

For more information regarding new faculty members, the Faculty Appointments Committee or the Law School, visit law.wayne.edu.

Wayne State University is a premier urban research university offering more than 400 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 32,000 students.

For more information about Wayne State University Law School, visit law.wayne.edu