WCL’s Fernando Laguarda Joins Biden-Harris Administration as General Counsel to AmeriCorps
Jan. 27, 2021
Fernando Laguarda, faculty director of the American University Washington College of Law Program on Law and Government, is set to join the Biden-Harris Administration as the General Counsel to AmeriCorps (the Corporation for National and Community Service) on Feb. 1, 2021.
“Although we will very much miss his leadership at WCL, we congratulate Fernando on being named to this important presidential appointment at such a crucial time in our nation’s history,” said Acting Dean Robert Dinerstein.
As head of the law school’s Program on Law and Government since 2017, Laguarda championed a rich and dynamic curriculum, helped achieve steady growth in the LL.M. in Law and Government, and recently secured ABA approval for a new LL.M. in Legislation. He oversaw the offering of a number of summer courses and topical seminars and brought exciting new voices to AUWCL through the Law and Government Senior Affiliates Program. Laguarda taught Antitrust, Introduction to Public Law, Legislation, Legal Ethics, and Government Oversight, and served as faculty advisor to LALSA, the American University Legislation and Policy Brief (AULPB), and WCL students pursuing MPP and MPA joint degrees at the AU School of Public Affairs.
With Laguarda’s departure, Stephen Wermiel ’82, professor of practice in constitutional law, will assume the position of acting director of the program and the Oversight Project. In addition, Jeffrey Lubbers, professor of practice in administrative law, will take over Laguarda’s teaching duties and Amanda Frost will continue as the Ann Loeb Bronfman Distinguished Professor in Law and Government, with responsibilities for contributing to the overall vision and direction of the program.