69 thinkers, books, and ideas connected to this field.
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States who led the nation through the Civil War and issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
American legal scholar who has contributed to administrative law and has more recently argued for 'common good constitutionalism' — a natural law-based alternative to both originalism and living constitutionalism.
Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court (2020–) — former Notre Dame Law professor and Seventh Circuit judge — the most junior of the three Trump-appointed justices — whose originalist jurisprudence has shaped the Court's conservative supermajority.
Ghanaian philosopher who was brought to Europe as a child, earned a doctorate at Halle, and produced original philosophical work on the nature of the human mind and sensation.
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court (1986–2016) — who pioneered constitutional originalism and statutory textualism — the most influential American jurist of the last 50 years — whose jurisprudence has restructured constitutional law debate.
American politician who served as the 44th President of the United States — the first African American president — whose 2008 election was the defining political moment of its decade and whose presidency reshaped American political identity.
Barbara Grutter was a white Michigan applicant who sued the University of Michigan Law School, leading to the landmark Supreme Court case Grutter v. Bollinger (2003).
Bill Clinton is the 42nd President of the United States, known for presiding over economic prosperity in the 1990s and for his impeachment over perjury and obstruction of justice related to the Monica Lewinsky affair.
Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court (2018–) — former DC Circuit judge — Bush White House Staff Secretary — whose Senate confirmation was the most contentious since Bork (due to Christine Blasey Ford's sexual assault allegations) — a more centrist conservative voice than Alito or Thomas.
American lawyer and author — author of The Immortality Key — who argues that ancient Greek and early Christian religious rites used psychedelic beverages, and that these rites are the origin of Christianity.
American lawyer — White House Counsel to George H.W. Bush — US Ambassador to the EU — who was instrumental in drafting the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments and creating the acid rain cap-and-trade program.
Casey Martin was an American professional golfer with a degenerative leg condition who successfully sued the PGA Tour for the right to use a golf cart under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
American legal scholar and philosopher who co-developed nudge theory, has written on deliberative democracy, and was Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs under Obama.
American lawyer and Republican politician — former Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (2005–2009) — former US Representative from California — White House counsel under Reagan.
American scholar at Hoover Institution — former President of Pepperdine University — who writes on federalism, education, and conservative governance.
American economist — author of The Machinery of Freedom — son of Milton Friedman — who has developed the most rigorous academic case for anarcho-capitalism (the replacement of government with market-provided legal and security services).
The founding document of the United States authored primarily by Thomas Jefferson, asserting self-evident truths about equality and inalienable rights as the philosophical basis for colonial independence.
American lawyer and politician — US Attorney General under Reagan (1985–88) — former Reagan White House counselor — who championed originalism as the basis for constitutional interpretation and was the most influential conservative legal official of the Reagan era.
Elizabeth Stern was the adoptive mother in the Baby M case who sought to enforce the surrogacy contract against surrogate mother Mary Beth Whitehead.
English philosopher and statesman — Lord Chancellor — author of Novum Organum and The Advancement of Learning — who created the inductive scientific method and argued that knowledge gives power over nature — the philosophical architect of the Scientific Revolution.
American journalist and former constitutional lawyer who reported Edward Snowden's NSA surveillance revelations and has become a prominent critic of both the Democratic establishment and mainstream media.
Governor of Texas (2015–) — former Texas Attorney General — who has led the most aggressive state-level conservative governance experiment in America, including border enforcement operations (Operation Lone Star), school choice, and anti-DEI legislation.
American free speech lawyer and author — CEO of FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression) — co-author with Jonathan Haidt of The Coddling of the American Mind — the leading legal advocate for free speech on college campuses.
America's oldest university, founded in 1636, whose undergraduate computer science program produced Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, and Nate Blecharczyk among the most consequential technology entrepreneurs of the 20th and 21st centuries.
American politician — brother of William F. Buckley Jr. — Senator from New York (1971–77, Conservative Party) — Federal Judge (DC Circuit) — whose 1976 Buckley v. Valeo Supreme Court victory established that campaign spending is protected First Amendment speech.
American trial attorney who became a prominent social media figure teaching communication and conflict resolution skills.
Jennifer Gratz was a white Michigan applicant who sued the University of Michigan's undergraduate admissions program, leading to Gratz v. Bollinger (2003).
American lawyer and education reformer — Chancellor of New York City schools (2002–2010) — former head of DOJ Antitrust Division (prosecuted Microsoft) — who led the most ambitious urban school reform effort in American history.
American legal scholar at UC Berkeley — former Bush DOJ official who wrote the 'torture memos' authorizing enhanced interrogation techniques — the most controversial national security lawyer in American government.
Republican Senator from Missouri (2019–) — Yale Law graduate — former Missouri Attorney General — who raised his fist in solidarity with January 6 protesters and then objected to certification of the 2020 election results — the most intellectually ambitious nationalist conservative in the Senate.
American banker and judge who founded T. Mellon & Sons bank in Pittsburgh in 1869 — after a legal career — and who built the financial institution that his son Andrew Mellon would grow into one of America's great banking fortunes.
Judy Sheindlin, known as Judge Judy, is an American former family court judge turned television personality whose courtroom reality show became the highest-rated daytime program in American television history.
American legal scholar at Harvard who founded Creative Commons, developed the theory that code is law, and became a leading voice for copyright reform and campaign finance regulation.
Lewis F. Powell Jr. was a U.S. Supreme Court Justice whose plurality opinion in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978) defined affirmative action law for the next 25 years.
Athenian logographer (speech writer) — one of the ten canonical Attic orators — whose speech on love (arguing that it is better to gratify the non-lover than the lover) opens Plato's Phaedrus and is used by Socrates as a foil for his own account of eros.
Roman statesman, orator, and philosopher — Consul (63 BCE) — who translated Greek philosophy into Latin, defended the Republic against Caesar and Antony, and whose execution by Antony's soldiers made him the martyr of Roman republicanism.
Margaret Marshall was Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court whose Goodridge v. Department of Public Health (2003) opinion legalized same-sex marriage in Massachusetts.
American philosopher at the University of Chicago Law School who has developed the capabilities approach to justice, written influentially on the role of emotions in ethics, and defended liberal education.
Mary Beth Whitehead was the surrogate mother in the Baby M case who refused to surrender the child she had borne, precipitating a landmark legal battle over commercial surrogacy.
British lawyer and motorsport executive who served as president of the FIA (Formula 1's governing body) from 1993 to 2009, working in partnership with Bernie Ecclestone to consolidate commercial and regulatory control of the sport.
American lawyer and government official — Secretary of Homeland Security (2005–2009) — federal judge — US Attorney for New Jersey who prosecuted organized crime — co-author of the USA PATRIOT Act — founder of the Chertoff Group.
French political philosopher — author of The Spirit of the Laws (1748) — who developed the doctrine of separation of powers, argued that climate affects political systems, and created comparative government as an analytical discipline — whose work directly influenced the US Constitution.
Hebrew prophet and lawgiver — the central figure of the Hebrew Bible — who led the Israelites out of Egypt, received the Torah at Sinai, and is considered by Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions to be the greatest prophet who ever lived.
Medieval Jewish philosopher, rabbi, and physician who synthesized Aristotelian philosophy with Jewish theology — the most influential Jewish thinker since the biblical period.
Corsican-born French military commander and Emperor (1804–1814, 1815) — who conquered most of Europe, codified French law (Napoleonic Code), reorganized government and education, and was ultimately defeated at Waterloo and exiled to St. Helena — the most militarily gifted commander since Caesar.
Omar ibn al-Khattab — the second Caliph of Islam (634–644 CE) — who oversaw Islam's most dramatic period of military expansion (Persia, Egypt, the Levant), established the Islamic administrative state, and is revered in Sunni Islam as a model of just and austere leadership.
American legal and political scholar at Hoover Institution — former Director of Policy Planning at the State Department — author of Constitutional Conservatism and Virtue and the Making of Modern Liberalism.
American legal scholar at NYU Law and Hoover Institution — author of Takings, Simple Rules for a Complex World, and Forbidden Grounds — the leading libertarian legal theorist in the US — who has argued for radical simplification of regulatory law.
37th American President whose opening of relations with China, ending of the Vietnam War, and creation of the EPA and OSHA defined his foreign and domestic policy — before the Watergate scandal and his resignation ended his presidency.
Governor of Florida (2019–present) — former US Navy lawyer and Iraq War veteran — whose governance of Florida (COVID policies, anti-ESG policies, education reform) made him the leading Republican challenger to Trump before his 2024 primary defeat.
American journalist and author — New Yorker — who broke the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault story and the Matt Lauer and Les Moonves stories — Pulitzer Prize 2018 — author of Catch and Kill — the journalist most associated with the #MeToo movement.
Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court (2006–) — author of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health (overturning Roe v. Wade) — one of the most assertively originalist voices on the current Supreme Court.
Sandra Day O'Connor was the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, appointed by President Reagan in 1981, and for many years the Court's decisive swing vote.
Athenian statesman and poet — who was appointed to reform Athens's constitution (594 BCE) — cancelled debt bondage (seisachtheia), reformed the Athenian class system, and created the first Athenian democratic institutions — one of the Seven Sages of Ancient Greece.
Republican Senator from Texas (2013–) — former Texas Solicitor General — Harvard Law Review editor — who argued multiple cases before the Supreme Court — 2016 Republican presidential candidate (lost to Trump) — the most constitutionally literate Senator in recent memory.
The University of Texas Law School is the defendant in Hopwood v. Texas (1996), the Fifth Circuit case that temporarily banned race-conscious admissions in Texas.
William Stern was the biological father in the Baby M case (1988), the first major American court case to evaluate the validity of commercial surrogacy contracts.
Yale University, founded 1701 in New Haven Connecticut — one of the founding Ivy League universities — whose Law School, Divinity School, and humanities departments have produced major American intellectual figures, and whose residential college system is the model for liberal arts education.
Israeli-American legal scholar who developed the theory of commons-based peer production — arguing that networked information production represents a fundamental shift in economic organization.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission — the federal agency responsible for regulating securities markets, enforcing disclosure requirements, and protecting investors.
Second President of the United States — the Founding Father most associated with constitutional law, independence advocacy, and the intellectual framework of the American founding.
A legal and academic framework, founded in the 1980s by legal scholars including Derrick Bell, that examines how race and racism are embedded in law and social institutions — and challenges the liberal assumption that color-blind law is sufficient for racial justice.
Ryan Holiday's narrative of Peter Thiel's secret multi-year campaign to destroy Gawker Media by funding Hulk Hogan's privacy lawsuit — a study in conspiratorial patience and strategic power.
David Friedman's comparative study of radically different legal systems — Icelandic sagas, Jewish law, Romany law, Somali xeer — arguing that private law can function without a state monopoly.
The oldest surviving written legal code of any significance — Babylonian king Hammurabi's 282 laws inscribed on a stele, establishing the principle that rulers govern by law, not just arbitrary decree.
American religious leader (1806-1850), co-founder of the Latter-day Saints movement alongside Joseph Smith. Served as the primary scribe for the Book of Mormon translation and was one of the Three Witnesses to the golden plates. Later excommunicated but rebaptized before his death.
Canadian politician born in 1979, leader of the federal New Democratic Party (NDP) since 2017. A Sikh-Canadian lawyer from Brampton, Ontario, Singh brought visible-minority leadership to a mainstream federal party and steered the NDP into a supply-and-confidence agreement with Trudeau's minority Liberal government (2022–2024), enabling major social policy expansions including dental care and pharmacare before withdrawing support in 2024.
Canadian law professor born c. 1964, professor at Queen's University Faculty of Law. A leading Canadian voice for classical liberal and rule-of-law principles in legal academia, Pardy has written extensively on the erosion of procedural fairness, administrative law overreach, and ideological capture of legal institutions. He has been a prominent critic of human rights tribunals, compelled speech doctrines, and the expansion of equity and DEI mandates in law.
Canadian politician and legal academic born in 1963. Liberal MP for LaSalle-Emard-Verdun, he served as Parliamentary Secretary for Innovation and then as federal Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada (2019–2024) under Justin Trudeau. A former McGill law professor specialising in intellectual property, Lametti presided over significant contentious legislation including Bill C-11 (Online Streaming Act), criminal law amendments, and medical assistance in dying (MAID) expansions.