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University Announces Yair Listokin as Interim Dean and Formation of Search Committee

The stone tower above the entrance of Sterling Law Building against a blue sky

On July 17, 2025, Yale President Maurie McInnis announced that Shibley Family Fund Professor of Law Yair Listokin ’05 has been named interim dean of Yale Law School effective August 1. President McInnis also announced the formation of a Dean Search Committee which is charged with identifying the next Dean of Yale Law School over the coming months.

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The announcement comes after Dean Heather K. Gerken was named the next president of the Ford Foundation. Gerken will step down as dean on August 1 after eight years of transformative leadership at the helm of Yale Law School.

Yair Listokin
Yair Listokin

Listokin is a distinguished scholar in the field of law and economics. His areas of expertise include tax law, corporate law, and Jewish Law. His book “Law and Macroeconomics: Legal Remedies to Recessions,” played a key role in launching the emerging academic field of law and macroeconomics.  Listokin has served for the past three years as deputy dean and will work closely with the faculty and senior leadership team to ensure a smooth transition while a search for the next dean commences. He also serves as the faculty director of the Howard Wexler Brodie ’93 Center for Jewish and Israeli Law at Yale Law School.

“Given the depth of his experience as deputy dean and deep understanding of academic affairs at the law school, I am confident Professor Listokin will be a steadfast and thoughtful leader during this period of transition,” said McInnis. “I am grateful to him for stepping up to serve the school at this moment.”

To conduct the search for the next dean of Yale Law School, the Dean Search Committee will be co-chaired by Joseph M. Field ’55 Professor of Law Doug Kysar and Walton Hale Hamilton Professor of Law Tracey Meares. Other committee members include:

  • Jack Balkin, Knight Professor of Constitutional Law and the First Amendment
  • Jon Macey, Sam Harris Professor of Corporate Law, Corporate Finance, and Securities Law
  • Miriam Gohara, Clinical Professor of Law
  • Natasha Sarin, Professor of Law
  • Gideon Yaffe, Wesley Newcomb Hohfeld Professor of Jurisprudence

“I wish to thank the members of the committee for volunteering their time to lead this important search process over the next several months,” McInnis said. 

The committee will conduct outreach to Yale Law School faculty members, staff, students, and alumni, as well as other members of the University community. Feedback can be sent to the committee via a web form.