Shakisha A. Morgan is a property law and wealth equity scholar, professor, and estate planning attorney whose work sits at the intersection of wealth preservation, community empowerment, and legal education. Her research explores the role of heirs’ property in perpetuating the racial wealth gap, particularly in urban and Black communities. Her current research seeks to offer a policy framework for eliminating heirs’ property through law reform, local government action, and accessible legal services. Her forthcoming article, Preserving Urban Heirlooms: Safeguarding Black Wealth by Resolving Heirs’ Property, examines how modern legal frameworks like the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act can help stem Black land loss in cities such as Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. Professor Morgan’s work combines doctrinal analysis, policy critique, and the insights of a practitioner-scholar deeply rooted in community impact. Since joining UDC Law in 2018, Professor Morgan has been a significant contributor to the development and impact of the Academic Success and Bar Preparation Program.
She has led multiple initiatives to support student success, including directing the alumni bar coaching program (BarPrep Plus) when our alumni achieved a 25%-point increase for the first-time bar passage rate for July 2024 takers. Her teaching includes Property as well as courses in academic success and bar preparation, including Introduction to Bar Strategies, Advanced Legal Analysis and Strategies: Bar Exam Multiple Choice, and Legal & Bar
Success Foundations. She has also taught an upper-level seminar on Advanced Wills, Trusts, and Estates at Howard Law. Prior to entering academia, Professor Morgan practiced for over a decade as an estate planning and probate attorney, including serving as Principal Attorney at The Morgan Firm, LLC and as Maryland Practice Lead at The Griffin Firm, PLLC. Across her legal career, she has advised hundreds of families—many of them first-generation—on wills, trusts, probate, and heirs’ property challenges. When Professor Morgan is not teaching, she is known as The Legacy Counselor™. Her community-facing approach has made her a sought-after speaker on intergenerational wealth and estate planning. She has educated thousands through forums ranging from the Maryland State Bar Association’s Advanced Estate Planning Institute to community colleges and faith-based groups. Professor Morgan earned her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and her B.A. in Communication from Stanford University. She is admitted to practice in Maryland and before the United States Supreme Court. She currently serves as Board Vice Chair of the Young, Black & Giving Back Institute and hosts two public education platforms: the Estate Ready Podcast with the Legacy Counselor and the Mary & Martha Podcast for faith-driven women leaders seeking purpose and impact.