Why did you agree to lead the University of California, Irvine School of Law faculty?
I believe that we have the chance to create the ideal law school. I am very excited to work with faculty, administrators and students to design a law school that provides the best education for students, the best in legal scholarship and the best service to the community and the profession.

Why did you go to law school?
I was inspired to go to law school by the civil rights lawyers of the 1950s and 1960s and how they transformed society.

Why did you go into law teaching? What is your teaching style?
Being a law professor is my dream job. I love it as much today as when I began 28 years ago. The best part of my job is teaching. My teaching style emphasizes clarity in organizing and presenting material, preparing students for law practice, challenging them to think through hard questions and being as nurturing as I can.

Describe your scholarship and a favorite pro bono or service project.
I have written six books—casebooks, treatises, monographs—and more than 100 law review articles. Of all the things I have done professionally, the most important was my two years serving as chair of the elected Los Angeles Charter Reform Commission. I was elected by voters to a commission to draft a new city charter (which is like the constitution for the city), which was adopted by the voters in 1999. I also have regularly argued appellate cases, both criminal and civil—virtually always pro bono—in the Supreme Court, federal courts of appeals and state supreme courts.

What are you most excited about doing in the first two years of the law school?
Everything! I am excited about the process of recruiting founding faculty, senior administrators and the initial class of students. I am excited about devising a law school curriculum for the 21st century. I am excited to be part of creating our dream law school.

• J.D., Harvard Law School
• B.S., Northwestern University

• Duke Law School, 2004-2008
• Gould School of Law, University of Southern California, 1983-2004
• DePaul College of Law, 1980-1983

• Constitutional law, federal practice, civil rights and civil liberties, appellate litigation

• Author of six books: Empowering Government: Federalism for the 21st Century (Stanford University Press, 2008); Criminal Procedure (with Laurie Levenson) (Aspen Law and Business 2008); Federal Jurisdiction (Aspen Law & Business 5th ed., 2007) (a one-volume treatise on federal courts); Constitutional Law: Principles and Policies (Aspen Law & Business 3d ed., 2006) (a one-volume treatise on constitutional law); Constitutional Law (Aspen Law & Business 2d ed., 2005) (a casebook); Interpreting the Constitution (Praeger 1987)
• Author of more than 100 law review articles in journals such as the Harvard Law Review, Michigan Law Review, Northwestern Law Review, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Stanford Law Review and Yale Law Journal
• Writes a regular column on the Supreme Court for California Lawyer, Los Angeles Daily Journal and Trial Magazine, and is a frequent contributor to newspapers and other magazines.
• Regularly serves as a commentator on legal issues for national and local media.

• Dean Chemerinsky frequently argues appellate cases, including in the United States Supreme Court and the United States Courts of Appeals.

• Named by Legal Affairs as one of "the top 20 legal thinkers in America," April 2005
• Named by the Daily Journal every year from 1998-2003 as one of the 100 most influential lawyers in California
• Criminal Courts Bar Association, President’s Award, 2003
• Society for Professional Journalists, Freedom of Information Award, 2003
• Western Center on Law and Poverty, Community Service Award, 2002
• Anti-Defamation League, Community Service Award, 2001
• People’s College of Law, Clarence Darrow Award, 2001
• Northwestern University, Alumni Achievement Award, 2000
• American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, Eason Monroe Courageous Advocate Award, 1999
• Judge John Brown Award for Contributions to Federal Judicial Education, 1998
• Also received awards for work on the Los Angeles City Charter from the American Society of Public Administration, the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and the Los Angeles Urban League.
• Served as chair of the mayor’s Blue Ribbon Commission on City Contracting, which issued its report in February 2005.
• Released a report on the Los Angeles Police Department and the Rampart scandal in September 2000, prepared at the request of the Los Angeles Police Protective League.
• Served as a member of the Governor’s Task Force on Diversity in 1999-2000.
• Elected by voters in April 1997 to a two-year term as a member of the Elected Los Angeles Charter Reform Commission. Served as chair of the commission, which proposed a new charter for the city, adopted by the voters in June 1999.

• United States Department of Justice, trial attorney
• Dobrovir, Oakes & Gebhardt, Washington, D.C., trial attorney