Carol Lani Guinier (; April 19, 1950 – January 7, 2022) was an American civil rights theorist, lawyer, academic and politician. She was a professor at Harvard Law School, and the first woman of color to have a permanent position as professor. She was a Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School for ten years. She was born in New York City.
President Bill Clinton nominated Guinier for Assistant Attorney General in April 1993. After Democrats and Republicans criticized the nomination, she withdrew it a month later.
Guinier died on January 7, 2022 under hospice care in Cambridge, Massachusetts from problems caused by Alzheimer's disease at the age of 71.