Biography

Already at the top of the field of constitutional law before he began his intensive focus on the law of cyberspace, Lawrence Lessig has concentrated his scholarship on the problem of how law should govern the exchange of information and ideas in a digital age. He is a leading figure in the United States and internationally in cyberlaw, a field that lies at the previously unexplored intersection of constitutional law and intellectual property law. Professor Lessig is the founder and co-director of the law school’s Center for Internet and Society, board member of the Creative Commons project, and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His current academic work addresses a kind of “corruption.”

Before joining the Stanford Law School faculty in 2000, he was a law professor at the University of Chicago Law School and at Harvard Law School. After completing his legal studies, Professor Lessig clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia, of the U.S. Supreme Court, and Judge Richard Posner of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Key Works

• Lawrence Lessig, Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity, New York: Penguin Press, 2004. 368 pages.
• Lawrence Lessig, The Future of Ideas: The Fate of the Commons in a Connected World, New York: Random House, 352 pages, 2001.
• Lawrence Lessig, Code, and Other Laws of Cyberspace, New York, NY: Basic Books, 1999.

In the News

• How To Get What We All Want - Reaction Essay
  Cato Unbound, May 06, 2009
• Ten Years Of Code: A Reassessment Of Lawrence Lessig’s Code And Other Laws Of Cyberspace
  Cato Unbound, May 04, 2009
• Lawrence Lessig Responds To Mark Halperin's Argument
  National Public Radio, April 27, 2009
• Bay Area Members Of Congress Post 'Earmark' Wish Lists Online
  San Jose Mercury News, April 14, 2009
• Diplomatic Efforts Get Tech Support
  The Washington Post, April 06, 2009

Courses & Programs

Courses

• Corruption of Democracy
• Intellectual Property: Fair Use in Film

Programs

• Center for Internet and Society, Founder and Faculty Co-Director
• Center for Law and the Biosciences, Professor of Law and John A. Wilson Distinguished Faculty Scholar
• Stanford Program in Law, Science & Technology, C. Wendell and Edith M. Carlsmith Professor of Law

Publications & Cases

Recent Publications View All

• Lawrence Lessig, A Reply to Congressman Conyers, The Huffington Post, March 9, 2009.
• Lawrence Lessig, Reboot the FCC, Newsweek.com, December 23, 2008.
• Lawrence Lessig, Google and Net Neutrality: The Made-Up Dramas of the Wall Street Journal, Seeking Alpha.com, December 15, 2008.
• Lawrence Lessig, Why the Banks All Fell Down, Newsweek, October 27, 2008.
• Lawrence Lessig, Copyright and Politics Don't Mix, New York Times, October 21, 2008, pg. A25.
• Lawrence Lessig, 'Piracy' Was Poor Choice in Headline, Wall Street Journal, October 18, 2008, pg. A12.
• Lawrence Lessig, In Defense of Piracy, Wall Street Journal, October 11, 2008, pg. W3
• Lawrence Lessig, Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in a Hybrid Economy, New York: Penguin Press, October 2008.
• Lawrence Lessig, How the Founders Failed, Stanford Magazine, September/October 2008.
• Letter from Professor Lawrence Lessig, Stanford Law School, to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary of the Federal Communications Commission, Comment on Broadband Industry Practices (August 20, 2008).

Affiliations & Honors

Professional Affiliations

• Board Member, Brave New Films Foundation
• Board Member, MAPLight
• Board Member, Free Press
• Board Member, Change Congress
• Board Member, RedHat Center for Open Source, 2000-01
• Commission Member, Penn National Commission on Society, Culture and Community, U. of Pennsylvania
• Board Member, Creative Commons
• Member, Editorial Advisory Board, Lexis-Nexis Electronic Authors Press, 1995-97

Honors and Awards

• Elected Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• Fellow, World Academy of Art and Science
• Honoree, National Law Journal's "100 Most Influential Lawyers," 2000, 2006
• Honoree, BusinessWeek's "25 Top eBiz Leaders," 2000
• Honoree, BusinessWeek's "25 Top eBiz Leaders," 2001
• Recipient, World Technology Award for Law, 2001