Rachel Germany arrived at Kline in September 2024 from a career dedicated to criminal law, education, and advocacy for youth. After graduating from New York University School of Law, Prof. Germany worked at the Equal Justice Initiative of Alabama, advocating on behalf of death-sentenced and juvenile life-without-parole clients in Alabama, North Carolina, and Florida. At Advocates for Children of NY, she fought for the educational rights of unhoused students. For the last ten years, Prof. Germany has taught courses in criminal law at a specialized public high school in New York City, where she introduced students to criminal law and the fundamentals of the legal system. Immediately before coming to Kline, Prof. Germany completed a master’s in Criminology at the University of Pennsylvania.

Prof. Germany describes her legal experiences as having shaped her teaching, as she encourages students to critically examine the law’s impact on marginalized communities and think deeply about justice, equity, and legal advocacy. Students in Prof. Germany’s LAW 201: The Common Law course expressed their appreciation that the concerns of “marginalized communities” were woven throughout, noting that “social justice considerations … [are] not something that is typically brought up in general law courses.” Exposure to these ideas deepened students’ ability to “understand the foundations of torts, contracts and property law,” because “despite having boomer-level technology skills, [Professor Germany] was a great communicator.”

Prof. Germany loves teaching at Drexel because of the students’ intellectual curiosity, creativity, and determination, and the strong sense of purpose and passion they bring to their studies. The students who she finds are most likely to thrive in the program are those eager to challenge assumptions, engage in lively discussions, and view the law as a tool to change the world. Seeing them develop their analytical skills and find their own legal voice is one of the most rewarding aspects of teaching at Drexel.

And students feel the same way about Prof. Germany. In an evaluation for her LAW 301: Legal Reasoning course, one student wrote “This is one of the most valuable courses I have ever taken. Professor Germany is an excellent instructor. She acknowledges hard work and inspired me to put forth my best effort.” Another reported “Having already learned about [legal writing] will give me a leg up in law school. When talking to admissions officers during my application process they were all very impressed that I already possessed some of the most important skills you learn as a 1L [first-year law student]. Courses like this are the reason I choose to attend Drexel and join the UGLaw program.”

In addition to core courses including The Common Law and Legal Reasoning, Prof. Germany teaches electives such as Rights of the Accused and The History of Crime Control. As her students’ comments demonstrate, our UGLaw faculty don’t just instruct: they guide, lead, and inspire.