Biography

Larry Kramer joined Stanford Law School in 2004 as Richard E. Lang Professor and Dean. As the school’s 12th dean, he has spearheaded significant educational reforms, including dramatically expanding joint degree programs as part of a multidisciplinary approach to legal studies, enlarging the clinical education program to promote reflective lawyering, revamping programs to foster a public service ethos, and building the international law program to support a growing emphasis on globalization in legal practice.

Dean Kramer has written and taught in such varied fields as conflict of laws, civil procedure, federalism and its history, and most recently, the role of courts in society. His book, The People Themselves: Popular Constitutionalism and Judicial Review, sparked renewed interest in the ongoing debate about the relationship between the Supreme Court of the United States and politics. He is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the American Philosophical Society and the American Law Institute. In December 2008, Equal Justice Works named Dean Kramer to its Board of Directors. He has appointments (by courtesy) with the Stanford University Department of History and with the Graduate School of Business. Before joining the Stanford faculty, Dean Kramer served as Associate Dean for Research and Academics and Russell D. Niles Professor of Law at New York University School of Law; professor of law at the University of Chicago and University of Michigan law schools; and consultant for Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP. Early in his career, Dean Kramer clerked for Justice William J. Brennan Jr. of the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge Henry J. Friendly of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Key Works

• Larry D. Kramer, "The Interest of the Man": James Madison, Popular Constitutionalism, and the Theory of Deliberative Democracy, 41 Valparaiso University Law Review 697 (Winter 2006).
• Larry D. Kramer, The People Themselves: Popular Constitutionalism and Judicial Review, New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2004. 352 pages.
• Larry D. Kramer, Putting the Politics Back Into the Political Safeguards of Federalism, 100 Columbia Law Review 215-293 (2000).
• Larry D. Kramer, Madison's Audience, 112 Harvard Law Review 611-679 (1999).
• Larry D. Kramer, Rethinking Choice of Law, 90 Columbia Law Review 277-345 (1990).

In the News

• Equal Justice Works Honors Three Lawyers For Public Service Contributions
  The Blog of Legal Times, October 30, 2009
• Emotional Ceremony Dedicates New Law School Professorship
  Stanford Report, October 29, 2009
• John Barton, Professor Emeritus Of Law, Dead At 72
  Stanford Report, August 06, 2009
• 'Empathy' Takes a Knock in Confirmation Hearings
  The Wall Street Journal, July 19, 2009
• Yahoo: Carol Bartz Live From Stanford Directors’ College
  Barron's Tech Trader Daily, June 21, 2009

Courses & Programs

Courses

• Legal Studies Workshop

Publications & Cases

Recent Publications View All

• Larry Kramer, Political Organization and the Future of Democracy, in The Constitution in 2020, Jack M. Balkin and Reva B. Siegel, eds., New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.
• Larry Kramer, Two (More) Problems with Originalism (Symposium Essays on Originalism: I. Originalism and Pragmatism), 31 Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy 907 (Summer 2008).
• Larry Kramer, Law School Education, Teaching Art, Korea Economic Daily, September 13, 2007.
• Larry Kramer, Panel on Originalism and Pragmatism, in Originalism: A Quarter-Century of Debate, Steven G. Calabresi, ed., Washington, D.C.: Regnery Pub., September 2007.
• Alan B. Morrison and Diane T. Chin, eds., Beyond the Big Firm: Profiles of Lawyers Who Want Something More, New York: Aspen Publishers, 2007.
• Larry D. Kramer, Foreword, in Beyond the Big Firm: Profiles of Lawyers Who Want Something More, Alan B. Morrison and Diane T. Chin, eds., New York: Aspen Publishers, 2007.
• Larry D. Kramer, "The Interest of the Man": James Madison, Popular Constitutionalism, and the Theory of Deliberative Democracy, 41 Valparaiso University Law Review 697 (Winter 2006).
• Larry Kramer, Generating Constitutional Meaning, 94 California Law Review 1439 (2006).
• Larry D. Kramer, Response (Symposium on The People Themselves: Popular Constitutionalism and Judicial Review), 81 Chicago-Kent Law Review 1173 (2006).
• Larry D. Kramer, The Interest of the Man: James Madison, Popular Constitutionalism and the Theory of Deliberative Democracy, Stanford Public Law Working Paper No. 938721 (2006).

Affiliations & Honors

Professional Affiliations

• Reporter, Federal Courts Study Committee, Subcommittee on the Role of the Federal Courts and Their Relationship to the States, 1989-90
• Member, American Law Institute, 1991-present
• Member, Judicature Society, 1990-present
• Member of Board, Brennan Center for Justice, 1995-2004

Honors and Awards

• Elected Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• Elected Member, American Philosophical Society
• Elected Member, American Law Institute
• Recipient, L. Hart Wright Award for Excellence in Teaching, University of Michigan Law School, 1991
• Recipient, Association of American Law Schools Award for Best Teacher, 2000
• Recipient, Order of the Coif, University of Chicago Law School