Lorraine Gaynor (11JD) joined the faculty as assistant professor of legal analysis, writing, and research in 2024.

Prior to Iowa Law, Gaynor was a senior staff attorney for Iowa Legal Aid, a nonprofit organization that provides legal assistance and education to low-income and vulnerable Iowans. From 2011 - 2013, Gaynor served in the U.S. Attorney General’s Honors Program as judicial law clerk and attorney adviser in the Executive Office for Immigration Review, a unit of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Gaynor graduated Order of the Coif from Iowa Law and served as president of the University of Iowa Campaign for Human Rights. In 2025, she received the Dean's award for excellence in teaching the first-year curriculum.