Lawrence Lessig

Professor Lawrence Lessig is a world-renowned legal scholar and thought leader whose work has shaped modern understanding of the relationship between law, technology, and democracy. He is the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership at Harvard Law School, where he continues to advance groundbreaking ideas at the intersection of constitutional law, political reform, and digital innovation.

Prior to returning to Harvard, Lessig taught at Stanford Law School, where he founded the Center for Internet and Society, and at the University of Chicago. Earlier in his career, he clerked for Judge Richard Posner on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and Justice Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court. He holds degrees from the University of Pennsylvania (BA in Economics and BS in Management), Cambridge University (MA in Philosophy), and Yale Law School (JD).

A pioneer of the digital commons movement, Lessig founded Equal Citizens and was a founding board member of Creative Commons. He serves on the Scientific Board of the AXA Research Fund and is a member of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society. His numerous honors include the Webby Award, the Free Software Foundation's Freedom Award, the Scientific American 50 Award, and the Fastcase 50 Award.

Lessig's early work explored the interaction between law and technology, particularly copyright in the digital age. His recent focus has turned to the structural challenges facing democracy and the innovations needed to restore public trust. He is the author of more than a dozen influential books, including They Don't Represent Us (2019), Fidelity & Constraint (2019), Republic, Lost (2011, 2015), Free Culture (2004), and Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace (1999).