James Forman Jr.

Professor Forman is a graduate of Brown University and Yale Law School. Following graduation, he served as a judicial clerk for both U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and Judge William Norris of the 9th Circuit. Professor Forman worked for six years with the Public Defender Service in Washington, D.C., where he represented juveniles and adults in serious felony cases. Professor Forman’s interest in educational programs for at-risk and court-involved youth led him to start, along with a colleague, the Maya Angelou Public Charter School in 1997. The school is recognized as one of the most successful programs of its kind in the country, combining rigorous education, job training, counseling, mental health services, life skills, and dormitory living for school dropouts and youth who have previously been incarcerated.