Pepperdine law professor teaching law and religion class

Ms. Sarah Nissel, a Pepperdine University law professor who is an expert in end-of-marriage issues, is teaching the Honors Law, Religion and the American Jewish Community class this year. 

At Pepperdine Ms. Nissel teaches family law, law and religion, and alternative dispute resolution, which includes mediation, arbitration, and also religious arbitration panels.  

She is also Executive Director of the Los Angeles nonprofit Jewish Divorce Assistance Center, which provides free legal services and mediation, working in collaboration with the Clinical Education Program at Pepperdine. 

Earlier Ms. Nissel was a litigator for six years, working as a white collar criminal defense attorney.

In an interview, she said she got into teaching as a way of finding an outlet that could balance out her work at the non-profit.

“[It’s] a big responsibility to be a professor or a teacher,” Ms. Nissel said. “To mold people’s minds, to help people figure out how to think and how to critically think and also how to write.

“I find that to be so positive, and such a positive feeling that it balances out sort of the sadness sometimes, or the conflict, that I’m working in. So for me it’s really nice synthesis of all the things I’m trying to accomplish.”

Ms. Nissel added that the small class size – 10 students – would allow her to get to know her students well. 

She also said that the energy of the class is very different from the classes she teaches in law school which she described as being more “sterile.” 

Her class at Shalhevet is right before Mincha and said that she loves being able to attend.

And although she is only teaching one class, she’d like to be a resource for all Shalhevet students. 

“If there is in any way, me as a human being, as a Modern Orthodox woman, who’s been where they’ve been, and I could be supportive in any way outside of the classroom, I welcome each and every student at Shalhevet to please use me as a resource in any way that they see fit,” Ms. Nissel said.

Community Editor Joshua Gamson contributed to this story.