faculty
Lisa Owens, PhD
Assistant Professor
Law School
Contact
508-985-1149
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UMass School of Law 220
Education
| Columbia University | PhD |
| Columbia University | MS |
| Columbia University | MA |
| Boston College Law School | JD |
| Boston University | LLM |
| Birmingham-Southern College | BA |
Teaching
- Property
- Rule of Law
- Law & Social Change
- Remedies
- Law Review Note Writing
Courses
Survey of topics about our system of real property including making and acquiring entitlements; doctrines for vindicating property entitlements; interactions between common law and statutory regimes regarding civil rights and land use regulation; common law means for creating possessory interest such as "estates" and non- possessory interests like easements; aspects of landlord -tenant law; and the basics of real estate transactions.
Survey of topics about our system of real property including making and acquiring entitlements; doctrines for vindicating property entitlements; interactions between common law and statutory regimes regarding civil rights and land use regulation; common law means for creating possessory interest such as "estates" and non- possessory interests like easements; aspects of landlord -tenant law; and the basics of real estate transactions.
The course provides individual students with the opportunity to complete an independent legal research and writing project under the supervision of a full- time faculty member with expertise in the area studied. Permission of Full-Time Professor; Permission of Associate Dean required for second I.L.R. Of the 90 credits required for graduation, students are required to earn at least 65 in courses that meet in regularly scheduled class sessions. This course does not count toward the 65 credit requirement.
This course is designed to assist law review candidates in the note writing process. Topics include finding a note topic, thesis development, the process of scholarly research, and developing an outline, introduction, argument, and conclusion. Pass/Fail, Permission of the Faculty Advisor (By invitation). Of the 90 credits required for graduation, students are required to earn at least 65 in courses that meet in regularly scheduled class sessions. This course does not count toward the 65 credit requirement.
Research
Research activities
- Constitutional Issues in Property Law
- Inequality
- Housing
Research interests
- Property
- Housing
- Social Inequality
- Law & Society
Select publications
- Lisa Lucile Owens (2026).
A Timely Reminder that Power Moves Even in the Mundane
Jotwell - Lisa Lucile Owens (2026).
Race as Evidence: The Historical Racial Nexus and Equal Protection
Washington University Law Review, online - Lisa Lucile Owens (2025).
An Argument for Housing Reparations
Maine Law Review - Revisiting Gender in Public Accommodations (2026).
New York University Journal of Legislation and Public Policy - Lisa Lucile Owens (lead author) (2026).
After the End of History: Legal Education in a New Era of Uncertainty
The Journal of Legal Education
Dr. Lisa Lucile Owens is a scholar of property and social inequality and the public law of property.
Since Fall 2023, Owens has served as an assistant professor of law at The University of Massachusetts School of Law (VAP 2022-23). She has earned law degrees from Boston College Law School (JD) and Boston University School of Law (LLM). Owens earned her PhD in Sociology from Columbia University, after which she served in that department as a full-time lecturer in the Department of Sociology
Owens' scholarly work has previously been published in journals such as Sociological Methodology, Gender and Society, The Stanford University Law and Policy Review, the Maine Law Review, Socius, Critical Sociology, TRAILS, Frontiers in Sociology, and The Alabama Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Law Review.
Mentioned in
- Dec 21, 2022 UMass Law clinic boosts local communities by assisting nonprofits and small businesses
- Sep 7, 2022 New faculty and staff join UMass Law with strong teaching, research, and career experience
- May 28, 2026 UMass Law professor publishes essay on equal protection and reparative policy
- Jan 27, 2026 UMass Law student Catherine E. Hancock earns national employment law writing award