M. Alexander Pearl

About

Professor Pearl is an enrolled citizen of the Chickasaw Nation. He is a nationally recognized scholar in the fields of water law, climate change law and policy, Indigenous legal/social issues, and statutory interpretation. His research focuses both on distinct concepts within these fields as well as intersectional issues that cross legal fields and social dynamics. He regularly works collaboratively with scientists and scholars in related fields to produce practical and theoretical scholarship. 

After graduating from the University of Oklahoma with a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy, Professor Pearl obtained his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley—School of Law. While at Berkeley Law, he was on Law Review, chaired the Native American Law Student Association, and was a research assistant for the late esteemed scholar of Indian Law and statutory interpretation, Professor Philip Frickey. From Berkeley Law, Professor Pearl returned to Oklahoma where he clerked for the Honorable William J. Holloway Jr., of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. After completing his clerkship, Professor Pearl worked as an associate at Kilpatrick Townsend in Washington, D.C. where he exclusively represented Indian tribes and individual Indians in a variety of capacities and in a diverse array of fora. 

Professor Pearl joined the faculty at the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 2020. For the previous six years, he was a member of the faculty at Texas Tech University School of Law. While there, he was the Director of the Texas Tech University School of Law Center for Water Law and Policy. In addition, Professor Pearl was affiliate faculty with the Texas Tech Climate Science Center, where we worked with faculty from a variety of academic departments to address climate change issues at all levels. During his tenure at Texas Tech University, Professor Pearl received the President’s Excellence in Teaching Award, the Hemphill-Wells Excellence in Teaching Award, the Alumni Association New Faculty Award, and the 1L Professor of the Year Award. Professor Pearl’s academic career started at Florida International Award, where he was given the Impact Award by the student body for the 2013-14 academic year.  

Professor Pearl is admitted to practice in Oklahoma, the District of Columbia, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and D.C Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court.