Erwin Chemerinsky

Erwin Chemerinsky is the 13th Dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law and its Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law. He was formerly the founding dean, distinguished professor of law, and Raymond Pryke Professor of First Amendment Law at the UC Irvine School of Law, with a joint appointment in political science. His areas of expertise are constitutional law, federal practice, civil rights and civil liberties, and appellate litigation. Previously, he taught at Duke Law School, USC School of Law, UCLA School of Law, and DePaul University College of Law. He is the author of nineteen books, including “Presumed Guilty: How the Supreme Court Empowered the Police and Subverted Civil Rights” and more than 200 articles in top law reviews. He frequently argues cases before the nation’s highest courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, and serves as a commentator on legal issues for national and local media. In 2014 and 2024, National Jurist magazine named Chemerinsky the most influential person in legal education in the U.S., and he has been named a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and was formerly President of the Association of American Law Schools.