Daiquiri Steele, J.D., Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Law at The University of Alabama School of Law where she teaches Employment Law, Labor Law, Employment Discrimination, Education Law, Torts, Civil Rights, and Legislation & Regulation.
Professor Steele is a nationally recognized expert in retaliation and whistleblower law. She brings extensive expertise in labor & employment law and education law. Her research critically assesses the adequacy of existing legal frameworks designed to protect individuals who report a broad spectrum of misconduct, including discrimination, labor violations, fraud, regulatory noncompliance, ethical breaches, and violations arising in educational settings. Her professional experience includes arbitration and mediation, particularly in labor and employment matters, as well as involvement in investigations and compliance processes in both workplace and educational settings.
Her scholarship has been published or is forthcoming in leading journals, including the Michigan Law Review, Northwestern Law Review, UC Irvine Law Review, Washington Law Review, Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law, Georgia Law Review, Wake Forest Law Review, and Boston University Law Review. She is also a co-author of the second edition of Learning Employment Law.
Professor Steele is the 2024 recipient of the Michael J. Zimmer Award, a national honor recognizing a rising scholar who advances workplace justice and community engagement. She is an elected member of the American Law Institute and an American Bar Foundation Fellow. Her additional honors include the National Bar Association 40 Under 40 Best Advocates Award, the American Bar Association (ABA) On the Rise Top 40 Young Lawyers Award, and the State Bar of Georgia Young Lawyers Division Award of Achievement for Outstanding Service to the Profession.
She maintains an active national leadership profile. She is a Past Chair of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Section on Labor Relations and Employment Law and Past Chair of the AALS Section on Employment Discrimination Law. She currently serves on the AALS Section on Education Law Executive Committee and AALS Section on Women in Legal Education Executive Committee. She is also Chair-Elect of the ABA Section of State, Local & Tribal Government Law and an appointed member of the ABA Advisory Committee to the Standing Committee on the Law Library of Congress. Additionally, she serves on the Alabama Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
Prior to joining the Alabama Law faculty, Professor Steele served as a Forrester Fellow at Tulane Law School. She also served as a Civil Rights Attorney with the U.S. Department of Education, where she advised on federal investigations involving school districts, colleges, universities, and state educational agencies. She previously worked for the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, where she evaluated federal contractors’ compliance with employment discrimination laws.
Professor Steele is deeply committed to community service and civic engagement. She actively supports and serves organizations including Girls Inc. of Central Alabama, Heart Gallery Alabama, Einstein’s Playground, and Kids Play Alabama. In recognition of her sustained service, she was named Volunteer of the Year by the Birmingham Business Journal in 2024.
She earned B.A. degrees in Economics and Political Science from Spelman College, where she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, a J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law, a Masters in Public Policy and Administration from Northwestern University, and a Ph.D. in Business Administration from Hampton University.