Suzette M. Malveaux

Suzette M. Malveaux (born December 4, 1966) is Professor of Law and former Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at the Columbus School of Law, Catholic University of America. She is a nationally recognized expert on civil rights law and class action litigation, who has appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court and argued before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Background

Malveaux was born in Lansing, Michigan into a family of Creole descent. Her father, Floyd J. Malveaux, is the former dean of the College of Medicine at Howard University; he is currently the executive director of the Merck Childhood Asthma Network and a founder of Howard University's National Human Genome Center. Her mother, the former Myrna Maria Ruiz, is a retired early childhood educator. She is the identical twin sister of CNN's Suzanne Malveaux.

Early life, education, and training

Malveaux is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard University (Class of 1988). At NYU Law School, she graduated in 1994 as a Root Tilden Public Service Law scholar from where she was also Associate Editor of the Law Review and was a Center for International Law Fellow. Upon graduation, she clerked for the Honorable Robert L. Carter of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Career

As a practicing attorney, Malveaux specialized in class action litigation, representing plaintiffs in such high profile cases as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes and Alexander, et al., v. Oklahoma, et al. The latter was a lawsuit filed on behalf of the victims of Tulsa race riot of 1921.

In 2003, Malveaux began her teaching career at the University of Alabama School of Law. She joined the faculty of the Columbus School of Law in 2006.

Malveaux is a frequent commentator on various legal issues involving the U.S. Supreme Court, the civil legal system, and civil rights. Media outlets in which she has appeared include CNN, MSNBC, Al Jazeera English, and the PBS Newshour. She has also been interviewed by the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and The National Law Journal.