Professor Sarah Haan Plans to Tap Into Brooklyn Law School’s Tremendous Advantages as Vice Dean

Professor Sarah Haan, who teaches corporate law and is a pioneering scholar on corporate governance and democracy, will be moving her office to the dean’s suite as the Law School’s new vice dean, effective July 1, 2026.  

The role was previously held by Professor William Araiza, the Stanley A. August Professor of Law, who temporarily stepped in to fill an opening in 2025–26, and will be on sabbatical for the upcoming academic year.  

Prior to joining Brooklyn Law School as the inaugural Sheridan Albert ’48 Professor of Law at the start of the 2025–26 academic year, Haan spent eight years on the faculty of Washington & Lee School of Law, where she was the Class of 1958 Uncas and Anne McThernia Professor of Law. She has also been a visiting professor at the University of Virginia School of Law and began her teaching career at the University of Idaho College of Law.  

"Sarah Haan will bring a fresh perspective and broad experience at three other law schools in her role as vice dean," said President and Joseph Crea Dean David D. Meyer. "She also has New York City roots, having graduated from Columbia Law School and practiced at Davis Polk & Wardwell before entering the legal academy."  

Two of Haan’s articles, "Corporate Governance and the Feminization of Capital," and "Voting Rights in Corporate Governance: History and Political Economy," were named among the 10 best corporate and securities law review articles of 2022 and 2024, respectively. She is also writing a book about the history of corporate democracy.  

Leaning Into a Lively Community 

Haan looks forward to the opportunity to make an impact on Brooklyn Law School through this vital new role, which entails managing day-to-day academic operations, bridging the gap between faculty and students, and keeping the Law School's educational, research, and administrative functions running. 

"The vice dean marshals the resources of this institution to advance the educational mission of the Law School, and I’m really excited to be in a position to do that and am thinking about the many ways to make the most of all the amazing advantages that Brooklyn Law School has," Haan said. 

Chief among the advantages, she added, are the community, especially the Brooklyn Law School students who bring lively discussions and impressive professional experiences to the learning environment.  

"The students are so dynamic," she said. "In the fall, I taught Business Associations at night and was really struck by the amazing energy that students bring to the classroom, since many of them work a full-time job and then are taking multiple law school classes in the evening." 

While teaching Mergers & Acquisitions in the spring, Haan was impressed with the sophistication of the students, some of whom had, through previous or current positions, worked on Wall Street and negotiated deals, and were applying that experience in class.  

"We’re able to have a really high level of conversation, and there is a tremendous amount of classroom participation by the students," she said. "I am also struck by how compassionate they are toward each other. I taught The Law of Money in Politics in the spring, and we had classroom discussions where there was fundamental disagreement. But it worked. Not every institution can say that in these really challenging political conversations, everybody is trying to understand the perspective of others and that is a wonderful thing that our students bring into the classroom." 

Building on Strength in Experience 

"The students benefit from the work of the Law School’s outstanding faculty, which together with an engaged alumni base, and a high-energy staff keep the Law School thriving," she added. 

One of the greatest assets at Brooklyn Law School that Haan points to is the Board of Trustees. 

"It will be great to have the opportunity to interface with them more and hopefully translate some of their insights into things we do in the classroom and build on that collaboration," Haan said. "It is a real strength of the institution, because everyone on the board has an understanding of the law and legal practice, in one form or another. It’s just a very savvy Board of Trustees." 

In passing the torch, Araiza leaves a solid foundation for Haan to build on. Besides working tirelessly to support students and colleagues, he led several important initiatives, from shepherding the Law School’s successful accreditation by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education to orchestrating a special summer-start program this year for incoming 1L students. The Law School is grateful for his service and looks forward to seeing Haan in her new role.