Keith Mack
Lawrence Lessig is an American legal scholar, political activist, and law professor at Harvard Law School. He has written several books on constitutional law, including Fidelity and Constraint: How the Supreme Court has Read the American Constitution, in which he explores the two kinds of fidelities for the Supreme Court in American constitutional practice. Lessig's career began with a focus on constitutional and comparative constitutional law, and he has since shifted his focus to various areas, including the Internet, intellectual property, and institutional corruption.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Lawrence Lessig |
| Profession | Law professor and activist |
| Focus | Constitutional law, comparative constitutional law, institutional corruption, internet, intellectual property |
| Work | Creative Commons, Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace, Fidelity and Constraint: How the Supreme Court Has Read the American Constitution |
| Academic Affiliations | Harvard Law School, Stanford Law School, University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania |
| Awards and Honors | Elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2007 |
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What You'll Learn
Lessig's work on constitutional law
Lawrence Lessig is an American legal scholar, political activist, and law professor. He is known for his expertise in constitutional law and his work in this field spans several decades. Lessig's career began with a focus on constitutional and comparative constitutional law. He has since become a prominent figure in the field of law and technology, especially concerning copyright and intellectual property.
In his 1999 book, "Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace", Lessig explores the ways in which computer code can be used as an instrument of social control, leading to his dictum that "Code is law." He later updated his work and released "Code: Version 2.0" in 2006. Lessig's exploration of the intersection of law and technology has also led him to write about the "remix culture", which he presents as a desirable cultural practice distinct from piracy.
Lessig has also been actively involved in political activism and has called for state-based activism to promote substantive reform of the government through a Second Constitutional Convention. In 2014, he launched a crowd-funded political action committee called Mayday PAC, aiming to elect candidates to Congress who would prioritise campaign finance reform. Additionally, Lessig has taught at various prestigious institutions, including Harvard Law School, Stanford Law School, and the University of Chicago. He has also founded several organisations, including Creative Commons and Equal Citizens, and served on the boards of multiple lobbying groups.
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His career and work archive
Lawrence Lessig is an American legal scholar, law professor, and political activist. He is currently the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership at Harvard Law School, and was previously a professor at Stanford Law School and the University of Chicago.
Lessig's career began with a focus on constitutional and comparative constitutional law. In the mid-1990s, his focus shifted to the Internet and intellectual property, and he founded the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School. He has since written several books on the subject, including "Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace" (1999) and "Remix" (2008), in which he explores the concept of "'remix culture' as intrinsic to technology and the Internet".
In addition to his academic work, Lessig has been actively involved in political activism. He founded Creative Commons, a non-profit organization devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon and share legally. He has also called for state-based activism to promote substantive reform of the government through a Second Constitutional Convention. In 2014, he launched a crowd-funded political action committee called Mayday PAC, which aimed to elect candidates to Congress who would pass campaign finance reform.
More recently, Lessig's work has focused on institutional corruption and the fight to establish a representative democracy in America. He has written several books on this topic, including "America, Compromised" (2018) and "Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Our Congress—and a Plan to Stop It" (2015). In his lectures and talks, he continues to engage with these themes, offering insights into constitutional law theory and the role of the Supreme Court.
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His political activism
Lawrence Lessig is an American legal scholar, political activist, and law professor. He is the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership at Harvard Law School and the former director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University. Lessig's career began with a focus on constitutional and comparative constitutional law. In the mid-1990s, his focus shifted to the Internet and intellectual property, and he founded the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School. He has also been a strong advocate for reduced legal restrictions on copyright, trademark, and radio frequency spectrum, particularly in technology applications.
As a political activist, Lessig has called for state-based activism to promote substantive reform of the government with a Second Constitutional Convention. He has been a vocal supporter of campaign finance reform and, in May 2014, launched a crowd-funded political action committee called Mayday PAC. The group's goal was to elect candidates to Congress who would pass campaign finance reform. Lessig has also been a candidate for the Democratic Party's nomination for president of the United States in the 2016 U.S. presidential election but withdrew before the primaries. He had promised to run if his exploratory effort raised $1 million by Labor Day, which it did. Lessig stated that he would serve as a "referendum president," occupying the White House only until a bill was passed to reform the nation's elections and end congressional district gerrymandering.
In addition to his work with Mayday PAC, Lessig has been involved in other political activism. He was a founder of Creative Commons, a nonprofit organization devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon and share legally. He has also been a board member of several organizations, including the Free Software Foundation, the Software Freedom Law Center, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. In 2014, he participated in the New Hampshire Rebellion, a 185-mile march to raise awareness about corruption in politics and promote the idea of tackling "the systemic corruption in Washington."
Lessig's political views have evolved over time. He previously held strong conservative or libertarian political views and was a highly active member of the Teenage Republicans. However, after studying philosophy at Cambridge in the mid-1980s, his views became more politically liberal. He has since been skeptical of government intervention but favours some regulation, calling himself "a constitutionalist."
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His views on the Supreme Court
Lawrence Lessig is a Professor of Law and Leadership at Harvard Law School. He has previously taught at Stanford Law School and the University of Chicago. Lessig has also clerked for Judge Richard Posner on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals and Justice Antonin Scalia on the United States Supreme Court.
Lessig has been involved in several notable cases before the Supreme Court. In 2003, he experienced disappointment with his defeat in the Eldred copyright-extension case, where he tried to convince Chief Justice William Rehnquist to back his "market-based" approach to intellectual property regulation. Despite this setback, Lessig has continued to advocate for reform in this area, as evidenced by his book "Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace" (1999) and his work with the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School.
In 2017, Lessig announced a movement called Equal Votes, challenging the winner-take-all Electoral College vote allocation in various states. He also served as counsel for electors in the Supreme Court case Chiafalo v. Washington, where the court decided that states could force electors to follow the popular vote for their state.
Lessig has also been involved in cases before state supreme courts, such as the New Jersey Supreme Court case in 2006, where he successfully restricted the scope of immunity that had protected nonprofits from legal liability in cases of sexual abuse. Additionally, he played a role in the Microsoft case, assisting Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson with technical aspects and contributing to the report.
Lessig's views on the Supreme Court are reflected in his book "Fidelity & Constraint: How the Supreme Court Has Read the American Constitution" (2019). He has also written extensively on the intersection of law and technology, with a focus on intellectual property and copyright law.
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His books and publications
Lawrence Lessig is an American legal scholar, law professor, and political activist. He is currently the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership at Harvard Law School, and he has previously taught at Stanford Law School and the University of Chicago. Lessig's career began with a focus on constitutional and comparative constitutional law, but in the mid-1990s, his focus shifted to the Internet and intellectual property.
Lessig has authored several books and publications throughout his career. His notable works include:
- Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace (1999): In this book, Lessig explores the ways in which "code" can be an instrument of social control, leading to his dictum that "Code is law." He later updated this work and released it as Code: Version 2.0 in 2006 to keep up with prevailing views.
- Remix (2008): In this book, Lessig presents remix culture as a desirable cultural practice distinct from piracy and intrinsic to technology and the Internet.
- Republic, Lost: The Corruption of Equality and the Steps to End It (2015): This book addresses the issue of institutional corruption and its impact on democracy.
- Fidelity & Constraint: How the Supreme Court Has Read the American Constitution (2019): Lessig's most recent book, where he explores his theory of constitutional law, focusing on the two kinds of fidelities for the Supreme Court: fidelity to meaning and fidelity to the Court's role.
In addition to his books, Lessig has also published several articles and lectures. He has been an activist for state-based activism to promote substantive reform of the government and has founded organisations like Creative Commons and Equal Citizens.
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Frequently asked questions
Lawrence Lessig is an American legal scholar, law professor, and political activist.
Lawrence Lessig has written about constitutional law in his book "Fidelity and Constraint: How the Supreme Court Has Read the American Constitution".
Lawrence Lessig began his career with a focus on constitutional and comparative constitutional law. He has since shifted his focus to the internet, intellectual property, and institutional corruption.
Lawrence Lessig has been politically liberal since studying philosophy at Cambridge in the mid-1980s. He remains skeptical of government intervention but favours some regulation and calls himself "a constitutionalist".
Lawrence Lessig has focused on the intersection of law and technology, especially as it affects copyright and intellectual property. He has also written about the role of code as an instrument of social control and its relationship with statutory law.
