Daniel Markovits
Guido Calabresi Professor of Law
Daniel Markovits is the Guido Calabresi Professor of Law at Yale Law School and Founding Director of the Center for the Study of Private Law. His scholarship bridges law, philosophy, and economics, with influential work on contract theory, legal ethics, and distributive justice. His bestselling book The Meritocracy Trap offered a sustained critique of American meritocracy and was widely discussed in national media. Prospect Magazine named him to its list of the world's top 50 thinkers in 2021.
Teaching Style
Professor Markovits brings a uniquely philosophical approach to teaching contracts and private law. He cold-calls students and pushes them to examine the moral and economic foundations underlying legal doctrines. His Socratic questioning is probing and interdisciplinary, drawing on philosophy, economics, and behavioral science. Students should expect to think deeply about why legal rules exist, not just what they are.
Cold Call Tips
- 1Think about contracts not just as legal rules but as moral commitments -- Markovits emphasizes the philosophical foundations
- 2Be prepared to engage with economic analysis and behavioral science alongside traditional doctrine
- 3Read his work on meritocracy to understand his broader intellectual framework
- 4Be ready to defend or critique the adversary system from an ethical standpoint
Areas of Expertise
Education
- B.A., Yale University (summa cum laude, Mathematics)
- M.Sc., London School of Economics (Econometrics and Mathematical Economics)
- B.Phil. and D.Phil., University of Oxford (Philosophy, Marshall Scholar)
- J.D., Yale Law School
Notable Publications
- The Meritocracy Trap
- A Modern Legal Ethics: Adversary Advocacy for a Democratic Age
- Contract Law and Legal Methods (casebook)
Research Interests
More Professors at Yale Law School
Constitutional Law, Constitutional History, Criminal Procedure
International Law, Human Rights, National Security Law, Transnational Litigation
Constitutional Law, Election Law, Federalism
Legislation and Statutory Interpretation, Constitutional Law, Family Law, Sexuality, Gender, and the Law
Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Policing and Public Policy
Contracts, Antitrust, Property, Law and Economics