Owen M. Fiss
Sterling Professor Emeritus of Law
Owen Fiss is Sterling Professor Emeritus of Law of Yale University. He teaches procedure, legal theory, and constitutional law and is the author of many articles and books on these subjects, most recently Pillars of Justice: Lawyers and the Liberal Tradition. He is also one of the leaders of Yale’s international programs in Latin America and the Middle East.
FULL BIOGRAPHY
Contact Information
- Room 347
- 203-432-4963
- owen.fiss@yale.edu
Faculty Assistant
Ashley Polverari
- 349
- 203-432-8549
- ashley.polverari@yale.edu
Education & Curriculum Vitae
LL.B., Harvard, 1964
B. Phil., Oxford, 1961
B.A., Dartmouth, 1959
Courses Taught
- A Community of Equals
Owen Fiss is Sterling Professor Emeritus of Law and Professorial Lecturer in Law of Yale University. He was educated at Dartmouth, Oxford, and Harvard. He clerked for Thurgood Marshall (when Marshall was a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit) and later for Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. He also served in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice from 1966 to 1968. Before coming to Yale, Professor Fiss taught at the University of Chicago. At Yale he teaches procedure, legal theory, and constitutional law.
Professor Fiss is the author of many articles and books, including The Civil Rights Injunction, Troubled Beginnings of the Modern State, The Structure of Procedure (with Robert Cover), Liberalism Divided, The Irony of Free Speech, A Community of Equals, A Way Out: America’s Ghettos and the Legacy of Racism, Adjudication and its Alternatives (with Judith Resnik), The Law as it Could Be, The Dictates of Justice: Essays on Law and Human Rights, and A War Like No Other: The Constitution in a Time of Terror. In a 2012 study, four of his articles were named as among the top 100 most-cited law review articles of all time. His most recent book is Pillars of Justice: Lawyers and the Liberal Tradition.
Professor Fiss is one of the founders of the Law School programs in Latin America and the Middle East and, along with Anthony Kronman, directs the Abdallah S. Kamel Center for the Study of Islamic Law and Civilization. Professor Fiss is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has received honorary doctorates from the University of Toronto, Universidad de Chile, Universidad de Buenos Aires, and Universidad de Palermo (Buenos Aires). He was also awarded La distinción Sócrates from Universidad de Los Andes (Bogotá) and was appointed honorary visiting professor at Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México. Most recently, Professor Fiss was awarded the 2020 Henry M. Phillips Prize in Jurisprudence by the American Philosophical Society, becoming only the 26th recipient of the prize since it was established in 1888.
Monday, November 30, 2020
Law professor awarded prize for lifetime achievement in jurisprudence
Yale Daily News
The Yale Daily News reports on Sterling Professor Emeritus of Law Owen Fiss being awarded the 2020 Henry M. Phillips Prize.
Wednesday, November 18, 2020
Owen Fiss Awarded Prize in Jurisprudence
Sterling Professor Emeritus of Law Owen Fiss received the 2020 Henry M. Phillips Prize in Jurisprudence from the American Philosophical Society.
Wednesday, July 10, 2019
Seminar Returns to Argentina with Gender and Equality Focus
Legal scholars from Yale Law School and 14 countries convened in Buenos Aires in June for the 24th annual Seminario en Latinoamérica de Teoría Constitutional y Política, or SELA, this year addressing the topic of gender and equality.
Wednesday, July 3, 2019
La agenda de la democracia liberal
Clarín
The work of Sterling Professor Emeritus of Law Owen Fiss is discussed in a commentary in the newspaper Clarín (Argentina).
Friday, June 28, 2019
La debilidad de los medios de comunicación puede representar una amenaza para la democracia
El Mercurio
Sterling Professor Emeritus of Law Owen M. Fiss is interviewed about freedom of expression as it relates to current events. (Spanish language)
Monday, June 24, 2019
Professor Fiss Meets with Argentine President, Recalling 1985 Visit
Sterling Professor Emeritus of Law Owen M. Fiss recently met with Argentine President Mauricio Macri at the presidential residence in Buenos Aires, a visit that commemorated Fiss's first trip to Argentina in 1985.
Thursday, June 20, 2019
Professor Fiss Receives Honorary Doctorate from the University of Chile
The University of Chile awarded an honorary doctorate to Sterling Professor Emeritus of Law Owen M. Fiss.
Monday, March 18, 2019
Linkaging between Latin America and YLS
Students from Yale Law School and from partner schools in Argentina, Chile, and Brazil recently visited each others' countries through Latin American Linkages, a long-running annual exchange program.
Monday, February 11, 2019
California Law Review Symposium Includes Essay by Professor Fiss
The California Law Review published a symposium in its December 2018 issue including an essay by Sterling Professor Emeritus of Law Owen Fiss.
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
Remarks by Professor Fiss at the University of Buenos Aires
On December 11, 2018, the law faculty of the Universidad de Buenos Aires inaugurated a new academic program and read remarks by Sterling Professor Emeritus of Law Owen Fiss.
Monday, April 30, 2018
Brief Lives
A review of Sterling Professor Emeritus of Law Owen Fiss’s latest book, “Pillars of Justice: Lawyers and the Liberal Tradition.”
Tuesday, January 16, 2018
Inspiring Profiles: From an Age of Optimism
Washington Lawyer Magazine
A review of Pillars of Justice: Lawyers and the Liberal Tradition by Sterling Professor Emeritus of Law Owen Fiss.
Thursday, October 26, 2017
Owen Fiss and the Liberal Legal Tradition
The Nation
Sterling Professor Emeritus of Law Owen Fiss’s book Pillars of Justice is reviewed.
Friday, July 14, 2017
Owen Fiss, Lawyers and the Liberal Tradition
National Constitution Center
Sterling Professor Emeritus of Law Owen Fiss discussed his new book, Pillars of Justice: Lawyers and the Liberal Tradition.
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
Fiss Publishes Book on Influential Lawyers and the Liberal Tradition
In his latest book Sterling Professor Emeritus Owen Fiss explores the purpose and possibilities of life in the law through moving accounts of thirteen lawyers who shaped the legal world during the past half century.
Saturday, September 10, 2016
Judge in 9/11 Suits Feels No Regret That None Ever Went to Trial
The New York Times
Sterling Professor Emeritus Owen Fiss is quoted in an article about the federal lawsuits filed by the families of some of the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Thursday, January 28, 2016
Lecture Series on Latin American Law Debuts
A new lecture series titled "The State of the Rule of Law in Latin America: Contemporary Challenges and Crises," will debut at Yale Law School on February 1 at 12:10 p.m.
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Kamel Center Lectures Set for Spring 2016
The Abdallah S. Kamel Center for the Study of Islamic Law and Civilization at Yale Law School will host a series of lectures featuring academics from around the country during the Spring 2016 semester.
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Owen Fiss Authors Book on Constitutional Law After 9/11
Owen Fiss, Sterling Professor Emeritus of Law at Yale Law School, surveys the major legal controversies surrounding U.S. counterterrorism policies post-9/11.
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
SELA Celebrates 20th Anniversary in Peru
Scholars and lawyers from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, and the United States met in Peru to celebrate the 20th anniversary of SELA - The Seminar in Latin America on Constitutional and Political Theory (SELA).
Friday, January 31, 2014
2014 Middle East Legal Studies Seminar Focused on “Transformations”
Yale Law School’s Middle East Legal Studies Seminar celebrated the 17th year since its founding with a meeting this January in New Haven. As in past years, the seminar brought together scholars, students, jurists, and practicing lawyers for high-level discussions of legal issues relevant to the Middle East.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Symposium Participants Revisit Owen Fiss’ Groundbreaking Paper, Against Settlement
In April 2009, the Fordham Law Review held a symposium at Fordham Law School to consider the arguments Owen Fiss made 25 years ago in his paper, Against Settlement.
Monday, October 12, 2009
SELA Participants Gather in Paraguay to Examine Law and Sexuality
Nearly 100 lawyers and legal scholars from North and South America gathered in Asunción, Paraguay, this past June for the 2009 SELA meeting.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Owen Fiss Honored for Achievement in Teaching and Scholarship
Owen Fiss, Sterling Professor of Law at Yale Law School