Emily Whelan Parento joined the University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law as a Visiting Assistant Professor in July 2009.  Professor Parento graduated magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, from Georgetown University Law Center, where she was Executive Editor of The Tax Lawyer.

Prior to joining the faculty, Professor Parento was a litigation associate in private practice, first at Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York and Menlo Park, California, and then at Stites & Harbison in Louisville.  Her practice included securities and acquisition-related litigation, as well as antitrust and general commercial litigation.  Professor Parento was also a judicial clerk to Judge John G. Heyburn II in Louisville.  Most recently, she served as the Executive Director of a nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing colon cancer through timely screening of at-risk populations.  Professor Parento is presently pursuing a doctorate in public health, focusing on health promotion.  

Professor Parento’s research focuses on the intersection between law and policy as regards various health initiatives, with a particular emphasis on obesity prevention and mitigation efforts.   She is currently researching the many versions of menu labeling regulations enacted and under consideration in various jurisdictions around the United States and internationally.  She is also exploring the strategic use of ordinances restricting the density of certain types of food establishments.