Fellows
Lecturers in Law
Alma Diamond
Law & Philosophy Fellow, Lecturer in LawBiography
Alma Diamond’s research focuses on social practices and the norms and institutions they sustain. She is interested in what this analysis teaches us about the nature of legal reasoning and the relationship between legal, social, and political norms. She uses legal-theoretical frameworks to investigate the interaction between social practices and legal norms in the context of constitutional and contract law. Her doctrinal research interest is in the rules governing the remoteness of contract damages. In this context, her work has focused on comparative analysis of these rules across different common and civil law jurisdictions.
Prior to joining the Law School, Alma completed doctoral studies in legal theory at NYU Law, where she also served as co-chair of the African Law Association and Senior Articles Editor at the Review of Law and Social Change. Before that, she lectured in microeconomics and law.
Alma holds a JSD and LLM from NYU Law; and an undergraduate degree in economics as well as postgraduate degrees in law (LLB and LLM) from the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa.
Education
New York University School of Law
2023 JSD
Dissertation: The Practice and Normativity of Law, A Genealogy
Committee: Jeremy Waldron (supervisor), David Dyzenhaus, Liam Murphy
2019 LLM (Legal Theory) (cum laude)
Stellenbosch University
2016 LLM (Contract Law) (cum laude)
Dissertation: The Remoteness of Contract Damages, A Comparative Study
2015 LLB
2012 B.Com. Econ. (Hons.)
Dissertation: Altruism in Game Theory
University of Antwerp
2014 International and European Legal Studies Certificate
Experience
New York University School of Law
Lecturer, Legality (Spring 2022)
Teaching Assistant, Contract Theory and Law Colloquium (Spring 2020)
Teaching Assistant, Introduction to U.S. Law (Summer 2019)
Boston City Campus (South Africa)
Senior Lecturer, Company Law (2015-2016)
Senior Lecturer, Introduction to South African Law (2015-2016)
Senior Lecturer, Economics (2015-2016)
Stellenbosch University
Tutor, Contract Law (2014)
Tutor, Roman Law (2014)
Tutor, Family Law (2012-2013)
Tutor, Microeconomics (2011-2013)
Presentations
Invited Talks
- Description & Evaluation in Legal Theory. University of Sydney Faculty of Law (July 19, 2023)
- Practice & Normativity. Joint Legal and Political Discussion Group–Universities of Aberdeen, Durham, Hull, Liverpool, Manchester, Surrey, Westminster (March 15, 2023)
- The Practice Theory of Rules Revisited. Edinburgh University Faculty of Law, Legal Theory Reading Group (Feb 2, 2023)
- Practices & Rules. Cambridge University Faculty of Law, Legal Theory Discussion Group (Nov 1, 2022)
- We are All Austinians Now: A Look at HLA Hart’s Legacy in Analytic Jurisprudence. Technische Universität Braunschweig (July 19, 2022)
Conference Activity
Paper Presentations
- Joseph Raz: Eliminativist. Society of Legal Scholars Conference (May 11, 2023)
- Shadows or Forgeries?. Humboldt Berlin Graduate Workshop (Feb. 17, 2023)
- Membership and Responsibility for Collective Harm. SAFI Annual Conference (Oct. 2, 2022)
- Membership as Authority. UK-IVR (Jun. 10) & Lisbon Law & Ethics Conference (Mar. 4, 2022)
- Constitutions as Transition: Some Lessons from TJ for US Politics. Junior Law and Politics Research Forum (Oct. 6, 2021)
- Law as Common Ground. ICON-S Mundo Conference (July 8, 2021)
Moderator
- Legality and Plans: A Conversation with Scott Shapiro. NYU Law, Center for Law & Philosophy (Apr. 11, 2022)
- Current Debates on Judicial Review and Democracy: A Conversation with Jeremy Waldron and Roberto Gargarella (Oct. 19, 2019)
Discussant
- Legal Reasoning & Adjudication Symposium. University of Wisconsin Law School (May 18, 2023)
- The Long Arc of Legality: A Conversation with Professor David Dyzenhaus (Nov. 4, 2022)
- The Resilient Constitution. Book Launch: Constitutionalism–Old Dilemmas, New Insights (May 7, 2021)
- Kelsen’s Contribution to Contemporary Philosophy of International Law. NYU IILJ History and Theory Workshop (Mar. 3, 2020)
Awards and Honors
- 2019: NYU Law. David H. Moses Memorial Prize (LL.M. student with the highest academic average).
- 2015: Stellenbosch University Faculty of Law. Dean’s Trust Scholarship.
- 2014: University of Antwerp Faculty of Law. IELSP (International and European Legal Studies Program) student with the highest academic average.
- 2012 Winner: African Human Rights Moot Court Competition, Anglophone Division.
Service
- 2022 Ambassador in the United States. SAFI Network. (SAFI is an interdisciplinary network which aims to support and promote the research of women working on law and legal theory.)
- 2019-2022: Co-Chair & Communications Lead. Africa Law Association, NYU Law
- 2021-2022: Committee Service. Visiting Doctoral Student Selection Committee, NYU Law
- 2021: Research Fellow. Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging, NYU Law
- 2019-2020: Committee Service. NYU Law Student-Faculty Committee: Preparation for Academic Careers.
- 2019-2020 Senior Articles Editor. NYU Law Review for Law & Social Change.
- 2018-2019 Staff Editor. NYU Law Review for Law & Social Change.
- Peer Review: Transnational Legal Theory (Taylor & Francis), Constellations (Wiley), Stellenbosch Law Journal (Stellenbosch University Press)
- 2015-2017: Academic Quality Assurance Manager. Coordinated faculty-wide academic quality assurance practices, Boston City Campus (South Africa)
Community Service
- Brooklyn Public Library: 28th Amendment Project. February-July 2020. Community meetings across Brooklyn about a hypothetical 28th Amendment to the US Constitution.
- Conversations New York. 2019-2020. Founded ‘Examined Lives’, a conversation series that invites New Yorkers from all walks of life to participate in informal discussions about issues in ethics.
- Chinook Fund (Denver, CO). 2017-2018. Community fundraising for grassroots social justice organizations in Colorado.
- Funda Fundisa (South Africa). 2011-2016. Volunteer as mathematics, accounting, and economics tutor in under-served high schools.