Meet a Colleague: Alex Klein Alex Klein is an assistant professor of law who teaches courses in criminal law.

By Law Communications
October 9, 2024

Alex Klein ‘17L is an Assistant Professor of Law and joined the W&L Law faculty in 2024. She teaches Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure: Adjudication, and Death Penalty. Alex grew up in Head Waters, Virginia and Staunton, Virginia. Before joining W&L Law, Alex was an Assistant Professor of Law at St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio, Texas and a Visiting Assistant Professor of Law at W&L Law. She received her J.D. from W&L Law and her B.F.A. from Virginia Commonwealth University. From 2008 to 2010, she served as a Pearce Corps Volunteer in the Republic of Moldova. She lives in Lexington with her husband Rob, nine-year-old son Dylan, and two dogs, Rory and Tommy.

Q. Where is your favorite location on the W&L campus?
I really love all the areas where the campus is surrounded by trees, like the bridge to the Elrod Commons and the trails. My favorite place, however, is Sydney Lewis Hall. I realize it sounds a bit strange, but I’ve spent a lot of time in this building, and I have a lot of good memories here.

Q. What is your favorite thing to do when you are not working?
My primary down time activities are reading, cooking, baking, embroidery, and hanging out with my family. I love making bread and pastries. Professor Kish Parella and I are trying to bake a new cake every month this academic year, which has been a lot of delicious fun. My son has been getting more interested in cooking and is currently working on mastering various egg dishes. I just taught him how to make an omelet.

Q. Book/Podcast/TV Show Recommendation?
My favorite podcasts are “If Books Could Kill,” “The Recipe,” and “In the Dark.” The TV shows I’ve been enjoying lately include “Only Murders in the Building”, “Slow Horses,” “What We Do in the Shadows,” “His Dark Materials,” “The Great British Bake Off,” and “Resident Alien.” It’s hard to make a book recommendation because I read a little bit of everything. My favorite authors include Pat Conroy, Margaret Atwood, Octavia Butler, Connie Willis, and David Eddings. I have probably read Connie Willis’s “To Say Nothing of the Dog” at least ten times and it’s still extremely funny every single time. More recent recommendations are “Babel“ by R.F. Kuang and “Some Desperate Glory“ by Emily Tesh. Both were brilliant and original. I couldn’t put them down.

Q. What courses are you teaching this semester?
This semester I am teaching Criminal Procedure: Adjudication. It covers all stages of the criminal adjudication process from bail to incarceration and sentencing. It’s a great class for 2Ls and 3Ls because the material is very interesting, and it provides opportunities to review other topics and make connections to other courses such as Criminal Law, Evidence, Professional Responsibility, and Criminal Procedure: Investigation.

Q. Who inspired you to teach?
I’ve had so many wonderful teachers: My sixth-grade teacher, Mrs. Applegate; my middle school English teacher, Ms. Morris; and my high school history, biology, and English teachers: John Davison, Mark Wiley, and Terry Culleton, just to name few. They were so creative in the way they taught. Mark Wiley used to play James Brown during bio lab and take us on nature walks to teach us about the biology of animals and plants around the school. John Davison used to “leave the room to get water” and while he was gone, famous historical figures like Susan B. Anthony or James Monroe would just happen to stop by class. After the guest left, he’d return and ask if he had missed anything. They were the teachers who inspired me when I was a Peace Corps volunteer teaching Health Education in a rural school in Moldova. I definitely borrowed a few of their strategies.

I was inspired to become a law professor because of the faculty at W&L Law. I was so lucky to get to learn from Professors Brian Murchison, David Bruck, Josh Fairfield, Michelle Drumbl, Mark Drumbl, Beth Belmont, Joan Shaughnessy, Doug Rendleman, and Ann Massie, among others. I don’t think I had a single professor while at W&L who was a bad, or even indifferent teacher. It’s a gift to be here as a colleague and to continue to learn from them and my other wonderful colleagues here at W&L Law.

Q. What research are you currently working on?
My research focuses on capital punishment and constitutional issues surrounding execution practices. I’m researching the impact of executions on executioners. Many of them have experienced serious negative mental and emotional impacts from participating in executions. I’m also interested in the impact on spiritual advisors, judges, juries, attorneys, and family members of victims and the person being executed. The cruelty associated with capital punishment affects more than the people who are being put to death.

Q. If you could have coffee or tea with one person, who would it be and why?
I’m picking two people—but they were inseparable in life. My grandfather and grandmother, who passed away in 2019 and 2022 respectively. My grandfather was a filmmaker who spent his career making medical films at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and was a dedicated writer who wrote every single day. She was an accomplished artist who worked in almost every medium. I was lucky to have them in my life as long as I did, but I wish I could talk to them more about their lives. I’d love to tell them about what their great-grandson is up to. He’s been making short movies using his LEGOs and drawing all the backdrops. I think they’d be thrilled to know that their creative legacy has continued.

Q. What is an accomplishment you are proud of?
First, my son Dylan was born during my 2L fall. Becoming a parent during law school was challenging, to put it mildly. I am really proud that I finished law school successfully while figuring out how to parent—he’s an amazing kid. Knowing he was watching me get my diploma, even if he didn’t totally get what that meant because he was only two, meant the world to me.

Second, I’m proud when I can do things to support my students. Earlier this year, while I was still at St. Mary’s Law, the students on The Scholar: St. Mary’s Law Review on Race and Social Justice voted to award me the Al Kauffman Faculty Excellence and Support Award. The award goes to a faculty member who has supported the development of student scholarship and whose work has contributed towards The Scholar’s mission. I’m really passionate about supporting student scholarship. Students work so hard on developing their Notes, and it is such a joy to support them through that process. It’s one of the most fulfilling parts of my job, and I was so honored to receive that award from the students.

Q. Favorite food/restaurant/drink?
I absolutely love Indian and Thai food. I love the bread from Season’s Yield. I miss the pan dulce I used to get in San Antonio—my favorite were marranitos. I drink a lot of coffee and Spindrift—my favorites are raspberry lime and blood orange. Moldova, the country where I served in the Peace Corps, makes exceptionally good wine, so if I see Moldovan wine available, I always get it. My favorite is from the Purcari vineyard in the south of Moldova. They have a wonderful cabernet sauvignon.

Q. Most used/enjoyable app on your phone?
It’s a tie between Kindle and Epicurious, although I really love Libby because I can check out library books any time or put a hold on a book that looks good. Epicurious has thousands of recipes from Gourmet, Epicurious, and Bon Appetit and I use that regularly throughout the week while cooking dinner or baking on weekends.

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