Brence Pernell

Brence Pernell is a legal generalist and Assistant General Counsel at MDRC, a social policy firm that specializes in improving public education and the lives of low-income people. He earned a degree in History from Duke University before studying at Harvard University Graduate School of Education, where he earned his M.Ed. Pernell taught high school for several years before obtaining his J.D. from New York University School of Law as both a Root-Tilden Kern Scholar and an AnBryce Scholar, earning high honors for his writing. After law school, he clerked for two years at the South Carolina District Court and for the Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and worked as a litigator at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, a leading law firm. Pernell is also an Adjunct Professor of Law, having taught at NYU Law School and New York Law School, and is recognized for his expertise in civil rights, commercial law, and policy analysis. His writing has appeared in major law reviews and publications, including the NYU Law Review, Yale Law & Policy Review, and Villanova Law Review, among others. Inspired by the arts, Pernell draws on his wide-ranging experience in various fields to think creatively about social problems.