Judybeth Tropp

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Judybeth Tropp
Associate Clinical Professor of Law
Director of Externship & Probono
J.D., Fordham University School of Law;
B.A., Smith College, cum laude
Phone: (619) 961-4319

Judybeth Tropp began teaching at Thomas Jefferson School of Law in 2003.  She developed a highly successful and nationally recognized Clinical Externship program with the educational focus of building empathy and client centered representation skills to her students.  The program is dedicated to enhancing the skills that students acquire in the field and to encourage students to build their own sense of how they will work with clients and build cases.  Since 2003 she has been the Director of Externships and Pro Bono Programs.

Prior to joining Thomas Jefferson School of Law she was the chief strategic planner for Beech Acres, the largest child welfare organization in Southern Ohio, Northern Kentucky and South Eastern Indiana.  In this capacity Professor Tropp developed programing for parenting classes and conferences and played a role in the expansion of the organization’s highly successful Mediation Program.

Upon graduation from Fordham University School of Law, where she co-founded the Public Interest Resource Center, she became an Assistant District Attorney for Kings County (Brooklyn), New York.  She was a member of the Appeals Bureau and she argued over twenty cases in the Appellate Courts in New York State, including arguments at the New York Court of Appeal, the highest court in New York State.  She also tried cases with the Special Trials Bureau.  Following a move to Los Angeles, Professor Tropp became a Deputy Public Defender where she tried over 80 cases throughout LA County.  Professor Tropp graduated with honors from Smith College and with honors from Fordham University School of Law.

Classes: Externship I, II & III; Judicial Seminar

The Thomas Jefferson School of Law faculty is highly prolific in the field of legal scholarship and our professors are in demand as speakers and panelists at legal events in the U.S. and abroad.


Thomas Jefferson School of Law Director of Clinical Externship & Pro Bono Programs Judybeth Tropp quoted in Voice of San Diego

August 5, 2016

Before a law student can become a lawyer in California, he or she must make it through the toughest bar exam in the nation.A new bill written by...

Proposed Legal Connect Externship Program Gains Momentum

April 13, 2015

On Friday, April 10, 2015, Thomas Jefferson School of Law IP Honors Students presented ‘Fulfilling the Commercialization of the Bayh-Dole Act,’ a...

Amy Louttit ‘13 Accepts Position as Public Policy Associate in Washington, D.C.

September 10, 2014

Amy Louttit '13, a South Carolina native, came to California fourteen years ago at the age of seventeen to “build a better life for herself.” At...

Criminal Law Fellow, Tiffany McCloud, Realizes Dream of Becoming a Public Defend

Criminal Law Fellow, Tiffany McCloud, Realizes Dream of Becoming a Public Defender

February 20, 2014

Tiffany McCloud, 3L, has accepted a position as an Assistant Public Defender with the 15th Judicial Circuit of Florida in West Palm Beach. With...

TJSL Externship Program Is Ranked Among Top 20 in Nation

TJSL Externship Program Is Ranked Among Top 20 in Nation

October 7, 2013

Thomas Jefferson School of Law once again has earned recognition for having one of the top externship programs in the nation. TJSL's 18th place...

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