Elizabeth Justesen - Adjunct Professor of Law

Elizabeth is a Touro Law Center alum, graduating magna cum laude from the dual degree program at Touro and SUNY Stony Brook for law and social work in 2006.  She is currently the Chief Community Outreach Officer of the Legal Aid Society of Suffolk County and conducts numerous programs educating community members on the various issues they confront in the court system and knowing their rights.  Additionally, she oversees the “holistic lawyering” practices for the organization, educating attorneys on holistic practices and collateral consequences; and for the last six years has helped to develop and oversee the Social Work Bureau within the organization.  Prior to that, Elizabeth was a practicing defense attorney at the Legal Aid Society of Suffolk County for ten years.    

Elizabeth is the chair of the Resources sub-committee for the Suffolk County Re-Entry Task Force which works to improve the lives of people re-entering the community post-conviction.  She is the Vice President on the Board for New Hour, a non-profit working with incarcerated women and their families with programs while in custody and as they transition home to the community.  Elizabeth is the supervising attorney for Breaking Barriers, a pro bono project at Touro Law Center assisting persons with criminal convictions overcome barriers to employment and educational licenses through the application of post-conviction certificates and sealing motions.

Elizabeth was an adjunct professor at St. Joseph’s College where she taught Class, Race, Gender and Crime; and currently is an adjunct at SUNY Stony Brook where she teaches Forensic Social Work for the Master’s program.  Since the Spring 2020 and now Spring 2021, she is an adjunct professor for the Defender Clinic at Touro Law Center.