Brandeis Law Welcomes Three New Faculty Members

The University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law welcomes three new faculty members whose careers reflect the breadth of today’s legal profession. From financial regulation and public policy to criminal defense and academic success, each brings extensive real-world experience to new roles teaching, mentoring and supporting Brandeis Law students.

Collectively, they have advised federal policymakers, represented clients in courtrooms, developed approaches to student and bar success and contributed to important conversations shaping the future of the legal profession. Their diverse perspectives strengthen Brandeis Law’s commitment to preparing students for leadership and service in an evolving profession.

Meet the newest members of the Brandeis Law faculty.

Alessandro E. Cocco
Assistant Professor of Law

Alessandro E. Cocco joins Brandeis Law as an assistant professor of law, bringing more than three decades of international experience spanning private practice, financial regulation, public policy and legal education. His career includes senior roles with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank.

At Brandeis Law, Cocco brings that experience into the classroom, connecting legal education with the rapidly changing worlds of financial markets, regulation and technology. His scholarship focuses on the intersection of law, public policy and market structure, including the impact of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, digital assets and distributed ledger systems on financial regulation and systemic risk.

Cocco previously taught graduate law courses at New York Law School and served as a guest lecturer at George Washington University Law School. His approach emphasizes transactional lawyering, regulatory compliance and practical problem-solving, giving students insight into the legal challenges created by technological innovation and increasingly interconnected financial markets.

Licensed to practice law in New York, England and Wales, and Italy, Cocco brings a global perspective to Brandeis Law and a career spent navigating complex issues at the intersection of law, business, government and technology.

Jima Fahnbulleh
Assistant Professor of Law & Academic Success Program Co-Director

Jima Fahnbulleh joins Brandeis Law as an assistant professor of law and co-director of the Academic Success Program, a role that places her at the center of the school’s efforts to help students build the skills they need to thrive in law school, succeed on the bar exam and enter the profession prepared for practice.

Fahnbulleh most recently served as associate director of academic and bar success at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. There, she designed academic and bar success initiatives, led workshops and small-group instruction and provided individualized advising focused on legal reasoning, analytical writing, exam performance and bar readiness.

Her experience also extends beyond legal education. Fahnbulleh previously practiced with the Indiana Department of Child Services, representing the agency in child welfare proceedings, and served as a staff attorney with the Public Health Law Center at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, where she advised public health organizations while also tutoring law graduates preparing for the bar exam.

Fahnbulleh earned both her Juris Doctor and Master of Public Health from Indiana University. Her interdisciplinary interests include constitutional law, health law, evidence and academic success, with scholarship exploring topics including bar exam preparation, public health law and environmental justice.

At Brandeis Law, Fahnbulleh combines teaching, advising and mentorship to help students strengthen their analytical skills, confidence and professional identity throughout their legal education.

Catherine Howard
Assistant Professor of Law

Catherine Howard joins Brandeis Law as an assistant professor of law following an accomplished career in public defense and criminal advocacy in Louisville. Most recently, she served as a staff attorney with Kentucky’s Department of Public Advocacy, providing full representation to clients facing misdemeanor and felony charges from arraignment through trial. She previously spent more than five years as an assistant public defender with the Louisville Metro Public Defender Corporation.

That extensive courtroom experience now informs Howard’s work with Brandeis Law students, bringing the realities of client representation, trial advocacy and professional responsibility directly into the classroom.

Howard earned her law degree, cum laude, from Harvard Law School, where she served as editor-in-chief of the Harvard Journal on Racial and Ethnic Justice and received the David A. Grossman Exemplary Clinical Student Award and Dean’s Scholar prizes in the Criminal Justice Institute and Sports and the Law.

Before beginning her career in public defense, Howard practiced civil litigation with O’Melveny & Myers in Los Angeles. Her scholarly and teaching interests include criminal law and procedure, race and the law, professional responsibility and prison reform.

Through her combination of courtroom experience, scholarship and community engagement, Howard offers students a practitioner’s perspective on the responsibilities of lawyers and the impact effective advocacy can have on clients and communities.