Diana Hortsch
J.D., New York University School of Law
Neurodivergence
Biography
Diana Hortsch is an accomplished public interest attorney and a licensed psychotherapist. As Interim Faculty Director, she runs BLS’s robust externship programs which serve over 400 students each year. As Visiting Assistant Professor of Clinical Law, she teaches Learning From Practice.
Professor Hortsch worked for two decades in reproductive and human rights advocacy. She has published on international NGO accountability, ethical lawyering, and reproductive and sexual rights. She has worked for the Ford Foundation, the International Center for Transitional Justice, and a number of smaller human rights groups. While serving as Director of the Law School Initiative at the Center for Reproductive Rights, she collaborated with legal faculty on symposia, litigation strategy sessions, and a faculty amicus brief strategy for a landmark abortion case before the United States Supreme Court.
Professor Hortsch’s current scholarship focuses on psychological development in emerging adulthood (ages 18-28) and its impact on the transition from law student to junior attorney. Her piece, “Externships Rising: A Review of Externship Policy and Practice” is forthcoming in the Journal of Legal Education. She clerked for Magistrate Judge Cheryl Pollak in the Eastern District of New York.