The Life and Career of Eugene Volokh: Professor, Pundit, and Entrepreneur
Eugene Volokh
Volokh immigrated to the United States with his family in 1975, settling in Los Angeles, California. He was something of a child prodigy, beginning his career as a computer programmer at the age of 12 and receiving his first college degree, a bachelor's in math and computer science, at the age of fifteen from UCLA, where he is now a professor in the university's law school.
Volokh received his juris doctor degree from the UCLA School of Law in 1992. He has since been a law clerk for Judge Alex Kozinski of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and later for Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. After his stints as a clerk, he joined the faculty at his alma mater, where he teaches to this day.
As a legal scholar, Volokh is known for his libertarian approach to the Constitution, being a strong advocate for the First and Second Amendments and for freedom of expression, particularly religious expression. He is also known for his criticism of what he sees as an overly broad application of sexual harassment laws in the American workplace and for his opposition to racial preferences and quotas. He served as a legal advisor to the state of California in its Proposition 209 campaign.
Volokh is the author of two books, 2001's The First Amendment: Problems, Cases and Policy Arguments and 2003's Academic Legal Writing: Law Review Articles, Student Notes, and Seminar Papers. He has also written many articles, which have been published in Slate, the New York Times, and numerous legal journals. Between his blogging at the Huffington Post (where he has been since 2005) and the Volokh Conspiracy, Volokh keeps himself extremely busy, writing articles for various media outlets and teaching free speech, copyright law, and law pertaining to the interaction of religion and government at the School of Law at UCLA. He is also a partner in a software firm which he founded and has also written on the subject of software.
Mr. Volokh has also, surprisingly, found the time to marry and raise a family (he has two children), who all reside in Los Angeles. Volokh is one of the most prominent American intellectuals, being frequently read in media outlets nationwide (and, via the internet, worldwide). In the legal field, he is almost universally acknowledged as one of the foremost scholars of Constitutional law, and is often cited in matters pertaining to this aspect of American jurisprudence.
More recently, Volokh has taken on the open-source information dissemination giant Wikipedia, arguing against its citation as a source in legal proceedings. Volokh's argument rests on the basis that information contained on Wikipedia may not be entirely accurate. How that story will play out remains to be seen, but one thing's for certain: Whatever comes next for Eugene Volokh, he is unarguably a brilliant mind and one of the most unique and insightful voices in American law and media.
Get the offer in writing, accept in writing, and keep copies of all correspondence.
The Job Search Program that Guarantees Success.
Our career counselor creates a tailor-made job search strategy for you and walks you through every step of the process.
