Jennifer L. Lawless (born March 12, 1975)[1] serves as the Commonwealth Professor of Politics of the University of Virginia and a faculty affiliate of the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, in addition to being a Non-Resident Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution.

Her father John, a Catholic and Wall Street broker for Dean Witter from 1961 - 1995, who commuted daily to NYC from upstate NY.

Her mother, Marjorie Mensch was a Brooklyn born Jew and executive director of Middletown (NY) housing authority.

She then joined the American University faculty in September 2009 as an Associate Professor of Government and Director of the Women & Politics Institute.

Lawless later became a full Professor in June 2013, and in April 2014 she became a Non-Resident Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution.