Amanda M. Bertrand
Professor of Law
(954) 262-6133 abertrand@nova.edu Education:
- J.D., Roger Williams University School of Law, 2004
Amanda M. Bertrand became a full-time faculty member in 2010. Her courses include Legal Research and Writing I and II, Civil Procedure, Disability Law, Insurance Law, Torts, and Women & the Law Seminar. She also teaches in the NSU Law Master’s in Health Law program. Previously, Professor Bertrand was an Adjunct Professor at Seton Hall University School of Law where she taught Legal Research and Writing.
Professor Bertrand's scholarship focuses on Disability Rights Law – specifically, reasonable accommodations under the ADA for people with invisible disabilities and insurance coverage issues related to children and adults with disabilities. Her most recent law review article entitled, Inclusion of Emotional Support Animals as Service Animals Under the ADA: Creating the Right to Use Dogs to Assist People Living with Mental Health Issues, was the lead article in the January 2022 issue of the Western New England Law Review. This article was listed on SSRN’s Top Ten download list for Animal Law eJournal and PsychRN: Psychotherapy & Mental Health Treatment (Topic) (Dec. 15, 2020), Disability Law eJournal (Dec. 18, 2020), and Clinical & Counseling Psychology eJournal (Dec. 23, 2020). In January 2019, her article entitled, Don’t Be Distracted by the Peacock Trying to Board an Airplane: Why Emotional Support Animals are Service Animals and Should Be Regulated in the Same Manner, was published in the Albany Law Review. Further, in October 2018, this article was listed on the Social Science Research Network’s Top Ten download list for Animal Law eJournal and Disability Law eJournal. Professor Bertrand’s first law review article entitled, Reasonable Accommodations on the Bar Exam: Leveling the Playing Field or Providing an Unfair Advantage?, was the lead article in the Spring 2014 issue of the Valparaiso University Law Review. In addition, Professor Bertrand presented this article at the Eleventh Circuit Legal Scholarship Forum held at Stetson University College of Law in November 2013. Professor Bertrand is a frequent presenter at teaching methods conferences for law school professors. These conferences have included the Legal Writing Institute One-Day Workshop, the Southeast Regional Legal Writing Conference, the Capital Area Legal Writing Conference, the Central States Regional Legal Writing Conference, and the New England Consortium of Legal Writing Teachers Conference.
Prior to entering academia, Professor Bertrand enjoyed a career as a litigator in the Princeton, New Jersey area. Professor Bertrand represented clients in commercial and civil litigation matters. Immediately following graduation from law school, Professor Bertrand served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Jane Grall, JAD in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division. As a law student, Professor Bertrand served as a summer judicial intern for the Honorable Arthur N. Votolato in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Rhode Island.
Professor Bertrand graduated from Loyola College in Maryland in 2001 with a B.A. in Political Science and French. She was a member of the Pi Sigma Alpha National Political Science Honor Society and Pi Delta Phi National French Honor Society. As an undergraduate, Professor Bertrand studied abroad in Montpelier, France, and Melbourne, Australia. She received her Juris Doctor degree from the Roger Williams University School of Law in Bristol, Rhode Island in 2004. As a law student, Professor Bertrand participated in a Comparative Advocacy Internship Program in London, England. She is admitted to practice in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Professor Bertrand's scholarship focuses on Disability Rights Law – specifically, reasonable accommodations under the ADA for people with invisible disabilities and insurance coverage issues related to children and adults with disabilities. Her most recent law review article entitled, Inclusion of Emotional Support Animals as Service Animals Under the ADA: Creating the Right to Use Dogs to Assist People Living with Mental Health Issues, was the lead article in the January 2022 issue of the Western New England Law Review. This article was listed on SSRN’s Top Ten download list for Animal Law eJournal and PsychRN: Psychotherapy & Mental Health Treatment (Topic) (Dec. 15, 2020), Disability Law eJournal (Dec. 18, 2020), and Clinical & Counseling Psychology eJournal (Dec. 23, 2020). In January 2019, her article entitled, Don’t Be Distracted by the Peacock Trying to Board an Airplane: Why Emotional Support Animals are Service Animals and Should Be Regulated in the Same Manner, was published in the Albany Law Review. Further, in October 2018, this article was listed on the Social Science Research Network’s Top Ten download list for Animal Law eJournal and Disability Law eJournal. Professor Bertrand’s first law review article entitled, Reasonable Accommodations on the Bar Exam: Leveling the Playing Field or Providing an Unfair Advantage?, was the lead article in the Spring 2014 issue of the Valparaiso University Law Review. In addition, Professor Bertrand presented this article at the Eleventh Circuit Legal Scholarship Forum held at Stetson University College of Law in November 2013. Professor Bertrand is a frequent presenter at teaching methods conferences for law school professors. These conferences have included the Legal Writing Institute One-Day Workshop, the Southeast Regional Legal Writing Conference, the Capital Area Legal Writing Conference, the Central States Regional Legal Writing Conference, and the New England Consortium of Legal Writing Teachers Conference.
Prior to entering academia, Professor Bertrand enjoyed a career as a litigator in the Princeton, New Jersey area. Professor Bertrand represented clients in commercial and civil litigation matters. Immediately following graduation from law school, Professor Bertrand served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Jane Grall, JAD in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division. As a law student, Professor Bertrand served as a summer judicial intern for the Honorable Arthur N. Votolato in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Rhode Island.
Professor Bertrand graduated from Loyola College in Maryland in 2001 with a B.A. in Political Science and French. She was a member of the Pi Sigma Alpha National Political Science Honor Society and Pi Delta Phi National French Honor Society. As an undergraduate, Professor Bertrand studied abroad in Montpelier, France, and Melbourne, Australia. She received her Juris Doctor degree from the Roger Williams University School of Law in Bristol, Rhode Island in 2004. As a law student, Professor Bertrand participated in a Comparative Advocacy Internship Program in London, England. She is admitted to practice in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Areas of Interest
- Civil Procedure
- Disability Rights Law
- Health Law
- Insurance Law
- Legal Practice Skills
- Legal Writing and Research
- Torts
- Women & the Law