Professor Burnham began her career at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, litigating school desegregation cases. In 1978, she was appointed an associate justice of the Boston Municipal Court, and in 1989 returned to law practice as a founding partner of Bostonšs first law firm headed by African-American women.

She has held fellowships at Harvard's DuBois Institute and Radcliffe's Bunting Institute. In 1992, former South African president Nelson Mandela asked Professor Burnham to serve on an international commission that investigated human rights violations committed by the African National Congress. That commission was a precursor to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission established after the 1994 election in South Africa.

Professor Burnham's fields of expertise include civil rights, human rights and employment. She has held teaching appointments at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston College Law School and Brandeis University. She teaches Constitutional Law, Comparative Constitutional Law, and Federal Courts and the Federal System.

[ Selected Publications: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law ]

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