Professor of Law for Designated Project or Service at The Elisabeth Haub School of Law, Jonathan H. Brown

Jonathan H. Brown

Professor of Law for Designated Project or Service
Director, Food and Farm Business Law Clinic
Elisabeth Haub School of Law
Corporate and Business Law
Food Law
Sustainable Business

Jonathan H. Brown

White Plains
Preston Hall, Fourth Floor |
By Appointment Only

Biography

Professor Jonathan Brown joined the Haub Law faculty in 2016. Professor Brown is the founder and director of the school’s Food and Farm Business Law Clinic, which launched in January 2017. The Food and Farm Business Law Clinic provides pro bono transactional legal services to small farm businesses, artisan food manufacturers, craft beverage entrepreneurs, and related nonprofit organizations. By providing pro bono legal representation to its clients, the Clinic seeks to facilitate the development of a more just and sustainable regional food system and economy. At the same time, by teaching fundamental lawyering skills and professionalism through hands-on legal work and client interaction, the Clinic seeks to transform law students into practice-ready professionals.

Prior to joining the Pace faculty, Professor Brown was a Clinical Lecturer in Law and Eugene Ludwig/Robert M. Cover Fellow in Law at Yale Law School, where he co-taught in the Community and Economic Development Clinic. Previously, Brown was a senior associate at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP, in New York. There, he primarily represented lenders and borrowers in large corporate finance transactions, and also represented not-for-profit organizations on corporate matters.

Professor Brown serves on the board of the Northeastern Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA-NY), New York’s leading non‐profit organization providing programs and services to promote sustainable, local organic food and farming.

Education

  • BA, University of Pennsylvania
  • JD, New York University School of Law

Selected Publications

View all of Professor Brown’s publications on his CV (PDF).

  • Nurturing a More Just and Sustainable Food System: The First Year of Pace Law’s Food and Beverage Law Clinic (PDF), Natural Resources & Environment (quarterly publication of the ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources) (2018)
  • Beyond Corporate Form: A Response to Dan DePasquale’s, Surbhi Sarang’s and Natalie Vena’s Forging Food Justice Through Cooperatives in New York City, 45 Fordham Urb. L.J. 1121(2018)
  • When Social Enterprises Fail, 62 Vill. L. Rev. 27 (2017)
  • Teaching Law Students About Business and Finance, 18 Transactions, Tenn. J. Bus. L. 541 (2016) (with Barbara Wagner)

Honors & Awards

  • Ottinger Prize for Faculty Achievement, 2022 (chosen by faculty peers for service to law school and outside communities)
  • Hunter College New York City, “Food Policy Center 40 Under 40: The Rising Stars in New York City Food Policy,” 2018

Areas of Interest

Food and Beverage Law, Business Law, Nonprofit Organizations, Sustainable Business, Agricultural Law

Related News and Stories

Press Release

The Farm Bill Law Enterprise (FBLE) recently published five reports that seek to infuse new ideas and amplify calls to action ahead of negotiations for the next farm bill. The reports focus on five areas of action for the forthcoming bill: Climate & Conservation, Equity in Agricultural Production & Governance, Farm Viability, Farmworkers, and Food Access & Nutrition.

Press Release

Professor Jonathan Brown has been named the recipient of the 2022 Ottinger Award for Faculty Achievement. The Richard Ottinger Faculty Achievement Award is awarded annually by the Faculty Development Committee, in consultation with the Dean, in recognition of a full-time professor’s outstanding service to the law school, the legal profession, or both. The award generally is based on the faculty member’s outstanding service during the previous academic year.