Because age and race are complex topics deeply embedded in legal doctrine, exploring their intersection forms the basis of Professor Alexander Boni-Saenz’s teaching and groundbreaking research.
“Alex is very good at combining worlds, both in his scholarship and in his life,” says Katharine Baker, family law professor at the University of Iowa College of Law. Boni-Saenz was formerly professor and Associate Dean for Scholarship and Faculty Development at Chicago-Kent College of Law, where Baker served in a similar role.
“His scholarship is very multi-disciplinary, bringing together philosophy and social science as well as legal doctrine in order to ask questions about aging and the meaning of age — questions that for years have gone completely unscrutinized. By bringing those different strands together, he poses new questions,” Baker explains. “And in life, he is one of those people who can talk to anybody about anything. He exudes warmth and is incredibly unintimidating, even though he clearly has formidable brain power.”
Boni-Saenz, the Robins Kaplan Distinguished Scholar, joined the Law School in 2023, drawn by the interdisciplinary aspects of its full-fledged research, access to departments such as sociology and philosophy, and rich intellectual atmosphere. “The resources that Minnesota provides give me a perch for getting my ideas out there and listened to,” he says.
Born to a “classic D.C. couple,” Boni-Saenz grew up in the nation’s capital, attuned to public service and international issues through his father, a USAID employee, and mother, who worked for the Pan American Health Organization. A close relationship with his grandmother, who was 65 when he was born, inspired his interest in age and aging. In high school, he discovered his passion for visiting older adults in independent living and nursing home facilities, a practice he continued in college.
“I saw things I didn’t love. It was eye-opening,” he says.
He studied psychology and government as a Truman Scholar at Harvard, where he later earned his J.D., magna cum laude. He also holds an M.Sc. in Social Policy from the London School of Economics. After clerking for Judge Diane P. Wood of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, he practiced law as a Skadden Fellow at Legal Aid Chicago. There, with the Erie Family Health Center, he created a medical-legal partnership for low-income, often Spanish-speaking seniors. Offering medical and legal expertise in the same place created “a bit of a culture clash” but established an innovative, interdisciplinary model that became the Health Justice Project at Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
“It’s important to go where the people are,” he says. “People have holistic needs that need to be addressed holistically. You can’t silo needs.”
Boni-Saenz focuses on age in many contexts. Writing about “aged racism,” he describes how age affects racism on the individual level, as stereotypes, prejudice, or discriminatory behavior, and at the institutional level, lodged in legal doctrines or social systems. Both ends of the age spectrum come into play.
Economic inequality provides another example. “Age is embedded in so many legal rules, especially in the labor market. Our child labor laws are undergoing modification, making it easier for children to work, especially with labor shortages. At the older end, attacks on Social Security and Medicare are direct and indirect. Pressure exists at both ends.”
Today’s politics have both motivating and demotivating effects on his teaching and research. With mass deportations echoing historical events, the topics covered in a recent Latinos and the Law seminar felt current. “It was exciting to see the parallels and use the law to advance social justice in various ways,” he says. Yet constant bad news and attacks on the rule of law can be demotivating. “The key is to pay attention to both.”
Chicago-Kent honored Boni-Saenz for teaching excellence. He is also particularly skilled at mentoring, says Professor Rachel Lopez, who credits him in part for her current position at Temple Law. Early in the pandemic, he launched the ongoing Latina Law Scholars Virtual Workshop Series, providing a forum to support more than 30 scholars in publishing and employment quests. He is not only savvy but also “extremely generous, grounded, and supportive. The legal academy is not an easy place to navigate, especially for women of color,” she says. “What I really appreciate is how he always gives rigorous feedback while building confidence and resilience at the same time. That’s a delicate balance to strike. Students love him. He’s incredibly organized, thoughtful, and deeply concerned about teaching them what they need to know and how to question the status quo,” Baker adds.
Recently selected as a member of the American Law Institute, Boni-Saenz is poised to reform and influence the law nationally and internationally. As an exploding senior population faces myriad legal concerns, his expertise in age issues will become even more valuable. “The legal profession has not kept up in terms of providing practitioners, which is not unique to law,” he says, noting a dearth of geriatricians. “The demand is there, and we have a deficit of folks who are willing and able.”