Notable faculty •
Theodore J. St. Antoine, Dean Emeritus – legal philosopher and labor law scholar •
Reuven Avi-Yonah – tax law scholar •
Samuel Bagenstos – constitutional scholar and expert on
disability rights •
Evan Caminker, Dean Emeritus – constitutional law scholar •
Edward H. Cooper – civil procedure scholar •
Steven P. Croley – expert on administrative and regulatory law •
Donald Duquette – Clinical Professor of Law Emeritus •
Phoebe C. Ellsworth – scholar of law and psychology •
Samuel R. Gross – criminal law expert widely cited for work on exonerations •
Daniel Halberstam – comparative constitutional law, transnational law and European law scholar •
James C. Hathaway – international
refugee law expert and scholar of public international law •
John Hudson – English legal historian •
Ellen D. Katz – voting rights and election law scholar •
Thomas E. Kauper – scholar of property law and antitrust •
Vikramaditya Khanna – expert on international commercial law and the laws of India •
James E. Krier – property law scholar •
Jessica Litman – intellectual property scholar •
Kyle D. Logue – insurance, tax and private law scholar •
Catharine MacKinnon – feminist theorist, scholar and activist •
Barbara McQuade –
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan from 2010 to 2017 •
Aaron Perzanowski – intellectual property scholar •
John A. E. Pottow – scholar of international commercial law, bankruptcy and consumer finance •
Richard Primus – constitutional theorist •
Margaret Radin – legal philosopher, contract and property theorist •
Margo Schlanger – civil rights scholar and founder of the
Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse •
Rebecca J. Scott – legal historian •
Bruno Simma – German international law expert; served as a judge on the
International Court of Justice from 2003 until 2012 •
Mark D. West – former Dean and current Nippon Life Professor of Law- scholar of international commercial law, criminal law and Japanese law •
James Boyd White – founder of the "Law and Literature" movement •
James J. White – commercial law expert •
Christina B. Whitman – Francis A. Allen Collegiate Professor of Law
Former faculty •
Nathan Abbott – former dean of
Stanford Law School and property law scholar •
T. Alexander Aleinikoff – international law scholar and former dean at
Georgetown University Law Center •
Omri Ben-Shahar – law professor •
Lee Bollinger – former president of
Columbia University, former President of the
University of Michigan •
Henry Billings Brown – Justice of the
Supreme Court of the United States •
Thomas M. Cooley – legal scholar and Chief Justice of the
Michigan Supreme Court •
Harry T. Edwards – Senior Judge on the
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit •
Heidi Li Feldman – law professor •
Herbert Funk Goodrich – judge on the
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and former dean of the
University of Pennsylvania Law School •
Harry Hutchins – fourth President of the University of Michigan •
Charles Wycliffe Joiner – judge for the
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan •
Yale Kamisar, Professor Emeritus – criminal law and procedure expert (known as the "father of
Miranda" for his influential role in the landmark
U.S Supreme Court decision in
Miranda v. Arizona (1966)) •
Douglas Laycock – Constitutional law scholar •
Debra Ann Livingston – judge on the
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit •
Wade H. McCree – first
African American appointed to the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Sixth Circuit •
John W. Reed – civil procedure expert •
Henry Wade Rogers – former judge on the
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit •
Lawrence G. Sager – Constitutional theorist and former dean at the
University of Texas Law School •
Joseph Sax –
environmental law scholar known for developing the
public trust doctrine •
Joel Seligman – President of the
University of Rochester •
A. W. B. Simpson – British legal historian •
Scott J. Shapiro – legal philosopher •
David S. Tatel – judge on the
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit •
Elizabeth Warren – bankruptcy expert and senior
United States senator from
Massachusetts •
Joseph H. H. Weiler – European law expert
Notable alumni •
John Robert Brown – judge of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, one of the
Fifth Circuit Four •
Michael T. Cahill – dean of
Brooklyn Law School •
Roger Carter (LL.M., 1968) – dean of
University of Saskatchewan College of Law; recipient of the
Order of Canada •
William W. Cook (J.D. 1882) – heavily published and cited author of textbooks on corporate law; donor of the quadrangle to Michigan •
Ann Coulter (J.D. 1988) – conservative author and commentator •
Jordan Harbinger (J.D. 2006) – broadcaster and talk show host •
George W. Crockett Jr. (LL.B. 1934) – civil rights activist; helped found the
National Lawyers Guild. First African American lawyer hired by the Department of Labor. Recorder's Court Judge, Detroit, Michigan, 1966–74; U.S. House of Representatives (D-Mich.), 1980-91. •
Clarence Darrow (attended) – famous
trial lawyer;
defense counsel in the
Scopes Monkey Trial and
Leopold and Loeb case •
William R. Day (LL.B. 1870) –
United States Secretary of State, 1898;
United States Supreme Court Associate Justice, 1903-1922 •
John Feikens (J.D.) – politician and judge from the U.S. state of
Michigan. He was the Senior Judge,
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (1986-present). Feikens had the unusual honor of being nominated to the same district court by three presidents. •
Harold Ford Jr. (J.D. 1996) – former
U.S. Representative from
Tennessee;
Democratic Leadership Council chair •
Richard Gephardt (J.D. 1965) – U.S. Representative from
Missouri (1977-2005). Served as
House Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995, and as
Minority Leader from 1995 to 2003. •
Ronald M. Gould (J.D. 1973) – judge, the
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit •
James P. Hoffa (LL.B. 1966) – President,
International Brotherhood of Teamsters •
Sada Jacobson (J.D. 2011) – Olympic fencing silver and bronze medalist •
Valerie Jarrett, (J.D. 1981) – Senior Advisor to President
Barack Obama •
Amalya Lyle Kearse (J.D. 1962) – judge,
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit •
Cornelia Groefsema Kennedy (J.D. 1947) – Senior Judge,
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit •
Raymond Kethledge (J.D. 1993) –
United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit •
Frank Murphy (LL.B. 1914) –
United States Attorney General, 1939, and
United States Supreme Court Associate Justice, 1940-1949 •
Rob Portman (J.D. 1984) – United States senator from
Ohio; former Director of the
Office of Management and Budget •
Branch Rickey (LL.B. 1911) –
Major League Baseball executive and
Hall of Famer; created the modern
minor league system and signed
Jackie Robinson to a contract, breaking the sport's
20th-century color line •
Richard Riordan (J.D. 1956) – mayor of
Los Angeles, 1993-2001 •
Ken Salazar (J.D. 1981) – former
U.S. Senator from
Colorado and
United States Secretary of the Interior, 2009-2013 •
Rick Snyder (J.D. 1982) – former CEO of
Gateway; former
Governor of Michigan •
George Sutherland (attended 1891) –
United States Supreme Court Justice •
John D. Voelker (J.D. 1928) –
justice of the
Michigan Supreme Court; author of
Anatomy of a Murder. •
Moses Fleetwood Walker (attended 1881–1882) –
baseball player and author; first African-American to play
major league professional baseball •
Sarah Killgore Wertman (LAW: LLB 1871) – née Sarah Killgore, the first woman to be admitted to the bar of any state in the United States of America •
Sam Zell (J.D. 1966) –
real estate development tycoon; founder of
EQ Office; former National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts chairman and current chairman and majority owner of the
Tribune Company; billionaire ==See also==