Renee Knake Jefferson

Renee Knake Jefferson is an American law professor. She holds the Joanne and Larry Doherty Chair in Legal Ethics at the University of Houston Law Center and is a member of the Board of Trustees at Michigan State University. She is the author of four books and teaches legal ethics, constitutional law, and leadership among other topics. She is an elected member of the American Law Institute.

Early life and education

Jefferson grew up in the Midwest, living in Kansas, Minnesota, and Missouri, where she was born. She received her JD from the University of Chicago Law School.

Jefferson became the Joanne and Larry Doherty Chair in Legal Ethics at the University of Houston in 2016. She was appointed to the Michigan State University Board of Trustees by Governor Gretchen Whitmer in December 2019, replacing Nancy Schlichting who resigned the same year.

Jefferson is the author of four books, including Shortlisted: Women in the Shadows of the Supreme Court published by New York University Press in 2020,