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Articles on the Huffington Post
Professor Brescia is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post.
Biography
B.A., Fordham University
J.D., Yale Law School
Professor Brescia combines his experience as a public interest attorney in New York City with his scholarly interests to address economic and social inequality, the legal and policy implications of financial crises, how innovative legal and regulatory approaches can improve economic and community development efforts, and the need to expand access to justice for people of low and moderate income.

Before coming to Albany Law, he was the Associate Director of the Urban Justice Center in New York, N.Y., where he coordinated legal representation for community-based institutions in areas such as housing, economic justice, workers' rights, civil rights and environmental justice. He also served as an adjunct professor at New York Law School from 1997 through 2006. Prior to his work at the Urban Justice Center, he was a staff attorney at New Haven Legal Assistance and the Legal Aid Society of New York, where he was a recipient of a Skadden Fellowship after graduation from law school.

Professor Brescia also served as Law Clerk to the pathbreaking Civil Rights attorney-turned-federal judge, the Honorable Constance Baker Motley, Senior U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of New York. While a student Yale Law School, Professor Brescia was co-recipient of the Charles Albom Prize for Appellate Advocacy; was a student director of several clinics, including the Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights Law Clinic and the Homelessness Clinic; and was Visiting Lecturer in Yale College.
Professor Brescia is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post.
Follow him on Twitter to receive notice of his new posts.
Read his blog: the Future of Change.
View Professor Brescia’s TEDx Talk on Creativity in the Law.
Blog: the Future of Change
Read his blog: the Future of Change.
Twitter
Follow him on Twitter to receive notice of his new posts.

Books

HOW CITIES WILL SAVE THE WORLD: URBAN INNOVATION IN THE FACE OF POPULATION FLOWS, CLIMATE CHANGE, AND ECONOMIC INEQUALITY (Ray Brescia and John Travis Marshall, eds., Routledge, 2016)9781472450265

Publications

The Strength of Digital Ties: Virtual Networks, Norm-Generating Communities, and Collective Action Problems, 122 Dickinson Law Review 479 (2018)Link to publication
Financial Crisis of 2008 and Communities of Color, chapter in RACIAL & ETHNIC RELATIONS IN AMERICA: VOLUME 2 (Salem Press 2nd ed. 2017) (Kibibi Mack-Shelton and Michael Shally-Jensen, eds.) Link to publication
On Objects and Sovereigns: The Emerging Frontiers of State Standing, 96 Oregon Law Review 363 (2018)Link to publication
Using Technology to Improve Rural Access to Justice, 17 Government, Law and Policy Journal 59 (2017)Link to publication
Teaming Up To Fight Blight and Promote Sustainability: An Academic-Governmental Collaboration for Sustainable Development, 10 Sustainability: The Journal of Record 308 (2017) (with Meghan Cook)Link to publication
The Benefit Corporation: A Viable Option for Social Entrepreneurs, chapter in EDUCATING SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS: FROM BUSINESS PLAN FORMULATION TO IMPLEMENTATION, VOLUME II (Business Expert Press 2017) (Miesing and Aggestam, eds.)
Law and Social Innovation: Lawyering in the Conceptual Age, 80 Albany Law Review 235 (2017)Link to publication
Ranking New York's Banks: Comparing the Products and Services of the Nineteen Largest Banks Serving Consumers in the Empire State (2017) (with Ralph Scunziano)Link to publication
When Interests Converge: An Access-to-Justice Mission for Law Schools, 24 Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law & Policy 205 (2017)Link to publication
Through a Glass, Clearly: Reflections on Team Lawyering, Clinically Taught, 61 New York Law School Law Review 87 (2016-2017)papers.cfm
Safe at Home: Considering a Right to Counsel in Civil Cases as a State Constitutional Matter, in MAKING A MODERN CONSTITUTION: THE PROSPECTS FOR CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM IN NEW YORK (Scott Fein & Rose Mary Bailly, eds., 2016)Link to publication
Uber for Lawyers: The Transformative Potential of a Sharing Economy Approach to the Delivery of Legal Services, 64 Buffalo Law Review 745 (2016)papers.cfm
The Downside of Disruption: The Risks Associated with Transformational Change in the Delivery of Legal Services, 2 New York Law School IMPACT 113 (2016)papers.cfm
What We Know and Need to Know About Disruptive Innovation, 67 Univ. S. Car. L. Rev. 203 (2016)papers.cfm
Four Questions at the Intersection of the Legal Profession and Technology, for Both Evangelists and Skeptics, 26 Albany Law Journal of Science and Technology 388 (2016)papers.cfm
HOW CITIES WILL SAVE THE WORLD: URBAN INNOVATION IN THE FACE OF POPULATION FLOWS, CLIMATE CHANGE, AND ECONOMIC INEQUALITY (Ray Brescia and John Travis Marshall, eds., Routledge, 2016)9781472450265
Regulating the Sharing Economy: New and Old Insights into an Oversight Regime for the Peer-to-Peer Economy, 95 Nebraska Law Review 87 (2016)Link to publication
Introduction (with John Travis Marshall), chapter in in HOW CITIES WILL SAVE THE WORLD: URBAN INNOVATION IN THE FACE OF POPULATION FLOWS, CLIMATE CHANGE, AND ECONOMIC INEQUALITY (Ray Brescia and John Travis Marshall, eds., Routledge, 2016)papers.cfm
Cities and the Financial Crisis, chapter in in HOW CITIES WILL SAVE THE WORLD: URBAN INNOVATION IN THE FACE OF POPULATION FLOWS, CLIMATE CHANGE, AND ECONOMIC INEQUALITY (Ray Brescia and John Travis Marshall, eds., Routledge, 2016)
Think Global, Pay Local, chapter in HOW CITIES WILL SAVE THE WORLD: URBAN INNOVATION IN THE FACE OF POPULATION FLOWS, CLIMATE CHANGE, AND ECONOMIC INEQUALITY (Ray Brescia and John Travis Marshall, eds., Routledge, 2016)
Embracing Disruption: How Technological Change in the Delivery of Legal Services Can Improve Access to Justice, 78 Albany Law Review 553 (2015) (with Walter McCarthy, Ashley McDonald, Kellan Potts and Cassandra Rivais)papers.cfm
The Community Reinvestment Act: Guilty, but Not as Charged, 88 St. John’s Law Review 1 (2014)papers.cfm
The Price of Crisis: Eminent Domain, Local Governments, and the Value of Underwater Mortgages, Temple Journal of Civil & Political Rights (2014)papers.cfm
The Politics of Procedure: An Empirical Analysis of Motion Practice in Civil Rights Litigation under the New Plausibility Standard, 46 Akron Law Review 329 (2014)papers.cfm
Scoring the Banks: Building a Behaviorally Informed Community Impact Report Card For Financial Institutions, 18 Fordham Journal of Corporate and Financial Law 339 (2013) (with Sonia Steinway)papers.cfm
When Cities Sue: The Standing of Municipalities in Nuisance Litigation to Combat Climate Change, chapter in GREENING LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: LEGAL STRATEGIES FOR PROMOTING SUSTAINABILITY, EFFICIENCY, AND FISCAL SAVINGS, K. Hirokawa & P. Salkin, eds., American Bar Association, 2012 papers.cfm
The Iqbal Effect: The Impact of New Pleadings Standards in Employment and Housing Discrimination Litigation, 100 Kentucky Law Journal 235 (2012).papers.cfm
Crisis Management: Strategies for the Disposition of Federally Owned and Foreclosed Homes, 45 Indiana Law Review 305 (2012) (with Elizabeth A. Kelly and John Travis Marshall)papers.cfm
Leverage: State Enforcement Actions in the Wake of the Robo-Sign Scandal, 64 Maine Law Review 17 (2011)papers.cfm
The Cost of Inequality: Social Distance, Predatory Conduct, and the Financial Crisis, 66 NYU Annual Survey of American Law 641 (2010)papers.cfm
On Public Plaintiffs and Private Harms: the Standing of Municipalities in Climate Change, Firearms and Financial Crsis Litigation, 24 Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics and Public Policy 7 (2010)papers.cfm
Line in the Sand: Progressive Lawyering, 'Master Communities', and a Battle for Affordable Housing in New York City, 73 Albany Law Review 715 (2010) papers.cfm
A CRA for the 21st Century: Congress Considers the Community Reinvestment Modernization Act of 2009, 28 Banking & Financial Services Policy Report 1 (October 2009)
Tainted Loans: The Value of a Mass Torts Approach in Subprime Mortgage Litigation, 78 University of Cincinnati Law Review 1 (2009)papers.cfm
Trust in the Shadows: Law, Behavior, and Financial Re-Regulation, 57 Buffalo Law Review 1361 (2009)papers.cfm
Beyond Balls and Strikes: Towards a Problem-Solving Ethic in Foreclosure Proceedings, 59 Case Western Reserve Law Review 305 (2009)papers.cfm
Part of the Disease or Part of the Cure: The Financial Crisis and the Community Reinvestment Act, 60 University of South Carolina Law Review 617 (2009)papers.cfm
Subprime Communities: Reverse Redlining, the Fair Housing Act and Emerging Issues in Litigation Regarding the Subprime Mortgage Crisis, 2 Albany Government Law Review 164 (2009)papers.cfm
Sheltering Counsel: Towards a Right to Counsel in Eviction Proceedings, 24 Touro Law Review 187 (2008)papers.cfm
Capital in Chaos: The Subprime Mortgage Crisis and the Social Capital Response, 56 Cleveland State Law Review 271 (2008)papers.cfm
Who's in Charge Anyway? A Proposal for Community-Based Legal Services, 25 Fordham Urban Law Journal 831 (1998) (with Robert Solomon and Robin Golden)
Procedural Justice and International Human Rights: Towards a Procedural Jurisprudence for Human Rights Tribunals, 18 Yale Journal of International Law 559 (1993) (with Gates Garrity-Rokous)papers.cfm

Forthcoming Publications

Dominance and Disintermediation: Subversive Stories and Counter-Narratives of Cooperation, Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal (forthcoming 2018)
Understanding Institutions: A Multi-Dimensional Approach, University of New Hampshire Law Review (forthcoming)
Finding the Right “Fit”: Matching Regulations to the Shape of the Sharing Economy, chapter in HANDBOOK ON THE LAW OF THE SHARING ECONOMY (Davidson, Infranca, and Finck, eds., Cambridge University Press, forthcoming 2018)

Selected Achievements

Professor Ray Brescia was a panelist and working group co-facilitator at the New York State Permanent Commission on Access to Justice's 2018 Statewide Civil Legal Aid Technology Conference at Cornell Tech in New York City on June 19, 2018.
Professor Ray Brescia and two students, Alexandria Decatur and Julia Kosineski, presented their work creating a web-based interface for the provision of legal information to non-profit organizations at the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction's annual conference, held at American University-Washington College of Law in Washington, D.C., on June 8, 2018.
Professor Ray Brescia was a featured speaker at Union College's TEDx conference, Imagination to Innovation, on May 26, 2018.
Professor Ray Brescia was one of the featured video presenters at the 1st Annual Clinnovation Conference: Where Legal Innovation and Technology Meet Clinical Pedagogy at Suffolk University Law School on April 9, 2018. The conference, hosted by Suffolk Law’s Legal Innovation and Technology Lab, explored ways that law schools can use technology to bridge the access to justice gap.
Professor Ray Brescia presented his paper “Understanding Institutions: A Multi-Dimensional Approach” at the University of New Hampshire School of Law as part of Albany Law School’s faculty scholarship exchange program on January 25, 2018.
Professor Ray Brescia presented a work-in-progress addressing the role of technology in social movements at New York Law School as part of the school’s Clinical Theory Workshop Series on November 17, 2017.
Professor Ray Brescia presented his work-in-progress “Understanding Institutions: A Multi-Dimensional Approach” at a Gathii scholarship and teaching luncheon at Albany Law School on November 8, 2017.
Professor Ray Brescia moderated the panel "Internet of Things" at the two-day Cybersecurity and the Law conference at Albany Law School on October 19, 2017.
Professor Ray Brescia, with assistance from several Albany Law students, co-authored an amicus brief filed in the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of 138 members of Congress opposing the Trump administration's travel ban.
Professor Ray Brescia, with assistance from six first-year students, co-authored amicus briefs recently filed in two U.S. Courts of Appeals on behalf of 165 members of Congress. The briefs argued that the Trump administration's executive order limiting travel from six predominantly Muslim countries was “vastly overbroad.”
Professor Ray Brescia moderated the session “Civil and Criminal Advocacy” at the “Access to Justice is Social Justice” CLE at Albany Law School on March 30, 2017.
Professor Ray Brescia, with assistance from six first-year students, co-authored an amicus brief filed on behalf of 167 members of Congress opposing the Trump administration’s immigration executive order.
Professor Ray Brescia spoke on and moderated the panel "New Administration: How It May Impact Public Interest and Government Work" at NYU School of Law on February 3, 2017.
Professor Ray Brescia spoke at "Storming the Court at 25: Lessons from HCC v. Sale for Student Lawyering Against Long Odds" at Yale Law School on December 2, 2016.
Professor Ray Brescia spoke about his book, "How Cities Will Save the World," at Georgia State University College of Law on September 8, 2016.
Professor Ray Brescia was cited in the American Bar Association’s Report on the Future of Legal Services (Aug. 2016).
Professor Ray Brescia was appointed to Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan's blue ribbon panel on rail oil safety.
Professor Ray Brescia has been appointed director of the law school’s Government Law Center, effective Aug. 13, 2013.

In the News

Professor Ray Brescia's op-ed "Rage Against the (Eviction) Machine: With a Possible Solution" was published by the New York Law Journal on July 27, 2018.
Professor Ray Brescia was quoted in the University at Albany article "Tackling Urban Blight: Students from Rockefeller College, Albany Law Share Ideas for Vacant Properties" on May 17, 2018.
Professor Ray Brescia was interviewed on WAMC radio for the segment "Exploring Legal Ethics during the Trump Presidency." on April 17, 2018.
Professor Ray Brescia joined “The Capitol Pressroom” to discuss his book, HOW CITIES WILL SAVE THE WORLD, and the role that cities play in tackling societal problems on April 10, 2018.
Professor Ray Brescia was quoted in the Mother Jones magazine article “These Companies Created a Lead Paint Crisis—and Refuse to Clean It Up.” (March/April 2018 issue.)
Professor Ray Brescia discussed Rule 50 motions with the Times Union for its article "State wants judge to overturn free-speech verdict" on January 11, 2018.
Professor Ray Brescia published the column “Will Law Schools See a ‘Trump Bump’?” for the Huffington Post on November 26, 2017.
Recently promoted professors Raymond Brescia, Keith Hirokawa and Sarah Rogerson were featured in the Times Union's "On the Move" section and the Business Review's "People on the Move" section in July 2017.
Professor Ray Brescia appeared on Spectrum’s “Capital Tonight” on July 26, 2017 to explain when states have standing to sue the federal government.
Professor Ray Brescia was quoted in the New Yorker article "Why Corrupt Bankers Avoid Jail" (July 31, 2017 issue).
Professor Ray Brescia was quoted in the USA Today article "'SEE YOU IN COURT:' Trump's vow proves prophetic" on July 20, 2017.
Professor Ray Brescia was quoted in the Bloomberg Businessweek article "Three Little-Noticed Wins for Corporations at the Supreme Court" on June 27, 2017.
Professor Ray Brescia was quoted in the Bloomberg Businessweek article "The Litigation Storm Around President Trump" on June 27, 2017.
Professor Ray Brescia's column "State Standing: The Arcane Issue at the Heart of the Immigration Ban Litigation" was published on Medium.com on May 14, 2017.
Professor Ray Brescia published “Split Decision: Supreme Court Goes Two Steps Forward, One Step Back on Holding Banks Accountable for Discriminatory Practices” on Medium on May 1, 2017.
Professor Ray Brescia was a guest on Spectrum’s "Capital Tonight" to discuss his latest project, the New York Bank Ratings Index, on April 19, 2017.
Professor Ray Brescia's column "Putting Consumer Protection in the Hands of the Consumer" was published on Medium on March 22, 2017.
Professor Ray Brescia contributed "Empowering the Consumer Voice in Consumer Protection: A New Bank Ratings Index Assesses Bank Conduct" to The Huffington Post on March 23, 2017.
Professor Ray Brescia was interviewed for the PBS Frontline report “Forever Prison,” which explored a lawsuit brought by a group of Yale law students against the U.S. government over the Guantanamo Bay prison.
Professor Ray Brescia's column, “Was Hillary Netflixed?," was published on Medium on January 3, 2017.
Professor Ray Brescia was a guest on the Center for Court Innovation's "New Thinking" podcast in December 2016. He discussed the role lawyers can play in addressing poverty and eviction, among other topics.
Professor Ray Brescia's column, “Want Change? Go to Law School,” was published on Medium on December 10, 2016.
Professor Ray Brescia's column, "Playbook for Student Resistance," was published on Medium on November 30, 2016.
Professor Ray Brescia's column, "Hope for Progressive Reform? Look to the Cities," was published by The Huffington Post on November 20, 2016.
Professor Ray Brescia's column, "For Lawyers, the Future is Now," was published in The Huffington Post on September 6, 2016.
Professor Ray Brescia's column "Legal Industry Should Wake Up Before It's Too Late" was published by Bloomberg Big Law Business on July 25, 2016.
Professor Ray Brescia joined TWC News' "Capital Tonight" to discuss his book, "How Cities Will Save the World," on June 6, 2016.
Professor Ray Brescia discussed the issues and themes in his book, "How Cities Will Save the World," with WFAN's Bob Salter on May 22, 2016.
Professor Ray Brescia's column, "How Cities Will Save the World: Where Progressive Reform Starts," was published by The Huffington Post on May 9, 2016.
Professor Ray Brescia was quoted in the article "Attorneys face cyber future in sharing economy" in the Times Union on April 22, 2016.
Professor Ray Brescia's column, "Lawyers: Bulwark against Inequality and Gentrification?" was published by The Huffington Post on April 11, 2016.
Professor Ray Brescia's column, "Could 'Uber for Lawyers' Be a Thing?" was published by The Huffington Post on March 28, 2016. His scholarship on the topic was also covered by Law360.
Professor Ray Brescia's column, "How to Regulate the Sharing Economy? Look to the Law Governing Lawyers," was published in The Huffington Post on February 10, 2016.
Professor Ray Brescia's column, "Legal Tech: Rise of the Machines, or the Phantom Menace?" appeared in The Huffington Post on January 12, 2016.

Raymond H. Brescia

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