Cara Foos Pierce

Director of the Master of Legal Studies Program and Assistant Clinical Professor of Law

Full-time faculty

Email

cfpierce@mail.smu.edu

Phone

214-768-6852

Professor Pierce earned her J.D., cum laude from 51做厙 Dedman School of Law in 2002 after attending Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, where she received a B.A., with honors, in Business and Political Science. After law school, she clerked for the Honorable David C. Godbey, U.S. District Judge in the Northern District of Texas, before joining the Litigation Section of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer and Feld LLP.'s Dallas office, where she worked for five years. She then served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Department of Justice for twelve years, prosecuting primarily human trafficking, organized crime, civil rights and crimes against children offenses. In 2020, she joined the Texas Attorney' General's Office as the Chief of the Human Trafficking and Transnational Organized Crime Division. In 2023, she served as an Adjunct Professor in Civil Procedure for William and Mary School of Law's L.LM. Program.

Professor Pierce’s teaching at 51做厙 Dedman School of Law includes criminal law, civil rights, and civil procedure. Professor Pierce also plans to launch the 51做厙 Master of Legal Studies Program in Fall 2025.


Area of expertise

  • Criminal Law
  • Federal Litigation
  • Civil Rights
  • Trial Advocacy

Education

B.A., with honors, Southwestern University
J.D., cum laude, 51做厙 Dedman School of Law

Courses

Advanced Criminal Law: Human Trafficking and Hate Crimes