Amanda Stephens

Biography

Amanda Stephens, J.D., Ph.D., joined the St. Mary’s University School of Law as a Law Success Instructor in 2022 and is now a Visiting Assistant Professor of Law.

Before joining St. Mary’s, Stephens practiced general civil litigation at Ferguson law (Bloomington, Indiana) and insurance litigation defense at Valdez & Treviño (San Antonio, Texas). Throughout and after law school, she has also engaged in various pro bono activities in mostly of the area of family law and served on local city boards. 

Stephens grew up in Huntington, West Virginia, where she earned her B.A. and M.A. in English from Marshall University. Thereafter, she obtained her J.D. and Ph.D. in Gender Studies from Indiana University-Bloomington. Her research centers on gender discrimination in India and the United States and the limits and possibilities of domestic and international law to eradicate it.

In her free time, Stephens enjoys yoga, weightlifting, being outdoors and spending time with her spouse, friends and pets.

• Internal Faculty Research Grant Award, for research project entitled, Brahman Saviors: Confronting Our Investments in Women’s Inequality, St. Mary’s University, 2023
• Fulbright-Nehru Student Research Grant, Indiana University-Bloomington, India, 2017
• Critical Language Enhancement Award—Hindi, Indiana University-Bloomington, India, 2016
• Critical Language Scholarship—Hindi, Indiana University-Bloomington, India, 2015
• Kenneth and Louise Yahne Fellowship, Indiana University Maurer School of Law, 2014
• National Association for Women Lawyers Outstanding Law Student Award, Indiana University Maurer School of Law, 2014
• Terry and Judy Albright Pro Bono Publico and Public Interest Award, Indiana University Maurer School of Law, 2014
• Robert McConnell Memorial Scholarship, Indiana University Maurer School of Law, 2013
• A* (Highest Grade in Class) in Feminist Jurisprudence, Indiana University Maurer School of Law, 2013

Articles in Periodical

• Amanda Stephens, Is the Women’s Treaty a Paper Tiger? Indian Courts’ Application of the United Nations Treaty, 55 U. Mem. L. Rev. 189 (2024).
• Amanda Stephens, A Model for Understanding CEDAW’s Impact on Implementing Gender Equality Reforms: Lessons from Canada and India, 72 CLEV. ST. L. REV. 1027 (2024).
• Amanda Stephens & Sean Viña, On Women Professors Who Teach Legal Writing: Addressing Stigma and Women’s Health, 48 VT. L. REV. 237 (2024).

Public Commentaries

• Commentary, Seek Gender Equity at Space Command, San Antonio Express-News, Dec. 8 2020.
• Letter to the Editor, Brief Experience (criticizing the lack of legal and judicial experience of then-Supreme Court nominee Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett), San Antonio Express-News, Oct. 25 2020.
• Letter to the Editor, Denounce Lawmakers’ Comments (criticizing Indiana state legislators’ sexist comments about the 2017 Women’s March in Indianapolis), Herald-Times, Feb. 16, 2017.
• Guest Column, A Call for Daily Resistance to Rape, Indiana Daily Student, Apr. 26, 2016.

Presentations

• Speaker, “Problematizing Anti-Non-Disclosure-Agreement Laws in Sexual Harassment Employment Discrimination Cases.” St. Mary’s University’s New Faculty Research Debut. San Antonio, TX, 2025.
• Speaker, “CEDAW as Customary International Law.” Southeastern Association of Law Schools (SEALS) Annual Meeting. Amelia Island, FL, 2025.
• Speaker, “Why Liberal-feminist Laws Fail.” St. Mary’s University’s Annual Research Showcase. San Antonio, TX, 2025.
• Speaker, “From Monsters to Mothers: Judicial Perceptions of Lesbian Parents from the 1980s to the Present.” Northeastern University School of Law’s Junior Scholars Conference. Boston, MA, 2025.
• Speaker, “Gender Violence—Why Women Resist and Perpetuate Gender Inequality.” St. Mary’s University’s Annual Research Showcase. San Antonio, TX, 2024.
• Speaker, “Does Ratifying CEDAW Make a Difference in Women’s Lives? Lessons from India’s Ratification of CEDAW and Subsequent Passage of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.” ClassCrits Conference. Southwestern Law School, Los Angeles, CA, 2024.
• Speaker, “The Intersection of Race, Legal Writing Professor Status, and ABA Standard 405(d).” Legal Writing Institute’s (LWI’s) One-Day Workshop on Improving Legal Writing Faculty Status. Virtual, 2023.
• Speaker, “Brahman Saviors: Confronting Our Investments in Women’s Inequality.” St. Mary’s University’s Annual Research Showcase. San Antonio, TX, 2023.
• Speaker, “Addressing Stigma in the LRW Classroom.” Annual Rocky Mountain Legal Writing Conference. William S. Boyd School of Law, Las Vegas, NV, 2023.