Paul J. Larkin, Jr.

Paul J. Larkin, Jr., is the John, Barbara & Victoria Rumpel Senior Legal Research Fellow in the Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at the Heritage Foundation. At Heritage, he works on drug policy, criminal justice policy, and regulatory policy. Before joining Heritage, Paul held various positions with the federal government and in the private sector. Larkin served as an Assistant to the Solicitor General at the U.S. Department of Justice, Assistant General Counsel at Verizon Communications when Bill Barr was the General Counsel, and clerked for Judge Robert H. Bork of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. Paul has published several articles on different aspects of drug policy, including ”Driving While Stoned in Virginia”, “Reflexive Federalism, and “Opioids, Overdoses, and Cannabis: Is Marijuana an Effective Therapeutic Response to the Opioid Abuse Epidemic?” (with Bertha K. Madras). His honors include the Secretary of Defense Medal for Meritorious Civilian Service, which he received in 1994 for representing the military before the Supreme Court. Paul received his law degree from Stanford Law School, a master’s degree in public policy from George Washington University, and he has a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from Washington & Lee University.