Robert Solomon
Distinguished Clinical Professor of Law
Co-Director, Community & Economic Development Clinic
Co-Chair, UCI Center for the Study of Cannabis
Expertise:
Community & Economic Development, Housing, Banking
Background:
Robert Solomon is Distinguished Clinical Professor of Law, Co-Director of the Community & Economic Development Clinic, and Co-Chair of the UCI Center for the Study of Cannabis. Professor Solomon was a legal services attorney from 1972-1985, and had the benefit of being a generalist with an enormous amount of client contact. During that time, he came to believe that problem solving was the most important specialty in the practice of law.
Professor Solomon has been a clinical teacher since 1985, with a focus on civil litigation and community development.
(Log in to view full course descriptions in the UCI Law Course Catalog)
- Solomon, R. (2019). How to Increase Our Affordable Housing Stock. In P. Enrich & R. Dyal-Chand (Eds.), Legal Scholarship for the Urban Core: From the Ground Up (pp. 117-138). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Bob Solomon, The Fall (and Rise?) of Community Banking: The Continued Importance of Local Institutions, 2 U.C. Irvine L. Rev. 945 (2012).
- Prof. Solomon's Scholarly Papers on SSRN
- Jan. 22, 2022:
Presenter, What Would Reparations Look Like?, CLEAR Martin Luther King Jr. Day Panel Discussion, UCI Law, Online - Aug. 21, 2021:
Presenter, Law School Disorientation, National Lawyers Guild of Los Angeles, Online - Feb. 8, 2021:
Panelist, Colonialism Today – Cannabis as a Tool of Racial Oppression, UCI Office of Global Engagement, Online - Dec. 9, 2020:
Speaker, Weed Wednesdays Education in Cannabis, Pro Cannabis Media, Online - Nov. 14, 2020:
Panelist, Cannabis and CBD: From Research to Racial Justice, University of Southern California Integrative Health Conference, Online - Oct. 6, 2020:
Speaker, Cannabis Revisited, Orange County Bar Association Environmental Law Section, Webinar - Dec. 12, 2019:
Speaker, Cannabis and CEQA: Seeds of Environmental Change, Orange County Bar Association Environmental Law Section, Newport Beach, CA - Oct. 28, 2019:
Speaker, The State of Affairs for Medical Cannabis, OCTANe Medical Technology Innovation Forum, Newport Beach, CA - Sept. 28, 2019:
Panelist, Cannabis and Hemp Academia Town Hall, Cannabis World Congress & Business Exposition, Paramus, NJ - Sept. 10, 2019:
Featured Speaker, The Sacred Plant Expert Interview, Webinar - April 18, 2019:
Speaker, The Law of Cannabis, Exploratorium, San Francisco, CA - April 12, 2019:
Speaker, Syringe Exchange Programs, Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management regional conference, UC Irvine, Irvine, CA - Dec. 7, 2018:
Speaker, "Electronic and Digital Evidence in California," Los Angeles Dependency Lawyers - Dec. 4, 2018:
Speaker, "Cannabis sativa: The Plant and its Impacts on People: A Changing Legal Landscape," UC Davis - March 21, 2018:
Presenter, "The Law of Cannabis," Orange County Business Trial Lawyers, Costa Mesa, CA - Oct. 28, 2016:
Speaker, Conference on Poverty and Inequality in California, UC Irvine - May 2, 2016:
Panelist, “Constructing a Blueprint for Choosing Clients in Community and Economic Development Clinics,” 39th Annual Conference on Clinical Legal Education, Baltimore - April 13, 2012:
Speaker, Business Law as Public Interest Law Symposium, UCI Law
- 2018 Upper Level Professor of the Year, UCI Law
- The Christian Science Monitor: Growing like a weed: Taking stock 10 years after legalization began
- Profiles in Excellence: Reflections on UCI Law’s 15th Anniversary
- UCI Law Faculty, Staff and Student Awarded 2023 Pro Bono Honor Roll by AALS
- CalMatters: A California program to fix mobile home parks approved 1 application in 10 years. Will a rebrand work?
- Prof. Solomon speaks on CNN about President Biden's pardon on prior federal offenses of "simple marijuana possession"
- The Los Angeles Times: "Inside California's pot legalization failures: Corporate influence, ignored warnings"
- CoinDesk: Prof. Solomon, co-chair of the Center for the Study of Cannabis, talks to CoinDesk about how its tax burden is the top issue facing the cannabis industry
- Los Angeles Times: Prof. Solomon quoted on YouTube channel that attempts to catch child predators, issues with vigilante plans
- WalletHub: Prof. Solomon quoted on peer-to-peer lenders and what consumers should look for when taking out a loan
- OC Register: Prof. Solomon quoted on CA gubernatorial candidate Kevin Paffarth’s housing plan
- UCI Office of Global Engagement: WATCH: Prof. Solomon participates in panel discussion on cannabis as a tool of racial oppression
- OC Register: Prof. Solomon, co-director of UCI’s Center for the Study of Cannabis quoted on changing national attitudes toward cannabis
- The Hill: Prof. Solomon and Prof. Piomelli write op-ed on the criminalization of cannabis
- Daily Journal: Prof. Solomon quoted on ‘legal deserts,’ the importance of mentorship, and financial challenges of new lawyers
- SF Gate: Prof. Solomon quoted on constitutionality of rent-forgiveness policies
- New York Times: Prof. Solomon comments on illegal sale of cannabis in California
- UCI Law: Prof. Solomon Named Editor of Cannabis Research Journal
- Academia Town Hall: Prof. Solomon participated in an Academia Town Hall on cannabis public policy
- Nippon TV: Prof. Solomon discusses changing perspectives on cannabis
- Los Angeles Times: Prof. Solomon and alum Brooke Weitzman '14 opine on 9th Circuit decision that could dramatically impact OC homeless lawsuit
- WalletHacks: Prof. Solomon comments on the importance of knowing your home value
- The Washington Post: Prof. Solomon comments on subpoena of Beverly Hills Hotel in case against Trump
- Los Angeles Times: Prof. Solomon, Prof. Piomelli op-ed: Can pot blunt the opioid epidemic? We don’t know because the federal government blocks research
- OZY: Prof. Solomon quoted: "No-brainer" that Dodd-Frank will be amended, if not repealed
- OZY: Prof. Solomon quoted: Small banks can fill the vacuum left by big banks
- The Washington Post: Dean Chemerinsky and 17 UCI Law professors among more than 1,200 law school faculty nationwide opposing nomination of Sessions as Attorney General
- KPCC: Prof. Solomon discusses LA County measure to tax marijuana to help combat homelessness
- KPCC: Prof. Solomon quoted re: proposed federal housing bill to address homelessness
- KPCC: Prof. Solomon describes desert housing conditions for working poor, and CED Clinic’s improvement efforts
- The Orange County Register: UCI Law clinic students and professors assist merchants in redevelopment money struggle
- New Haven Independent: Prof. Solomon is New Haven's loss, UCI Law's gain
- The National Law Journal: "UC Irvine reaches into the Ivy League for new hires"