List of Cornell Law School alumni

This is a list of notable alumni of the Cornell Law School.

Academia

Jessica Berg (1994), dean and professor at UC Davis School of Law

Edward J. Bloustein (1959), former president of Rutgers University

Jonathan Brand (1996), 15th president of Cornell College and president of Doane University

Douglas Burgess (2002), professor of history in Yeshiva University and an affiliated professor at Benjamin N Cardozo School of Law

Hannah Buxbaum (1992), John E. Schiller Chair in Legal Ethics at Indiana University School of Law

Terry Calvani (1972), former professor of Antitrust Law at Vanderbilt University Law School, FTC commissioner, and member of the Competition Authority (Ireland)

Paul L. Caron (1983), Duane and Kelly Roberts Dean of the Pepperdine University School of Law

Dan Coenen (1978), University Professor and Harmon W. Caldwell Chair in Constitutional Law at the University of Georgia Law School

Anna Dolidze (JSD 2013), professor of International Law at the University of Western Ontario

Marc A. Franklin (1956), Frederick I. Richman Professor of Law at Stanford Law School

Charles Garside (1923), former president of the State University of New York

Michael Goldsmith (1975), Woodruff J. Deem Professor of Law at Brigham Young University Law School

William B. Gould IV (1961), Charles A. Beardsley Professor of Law at Stanford Law School

Ernest Huffcut (1888), professor of Law at Indiana University School of Law

Julie O'Sullivan (1984), Agnes Williams Sesquicentennial Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center

John W. Reed (1942), Thomas M. Cooley Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School

Ruth Roemer (1939), professor at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health; namesake of Ruth Roemer Social Justice Leadership Award

R. Smith Simpson (1931), co-creator with Peter F. Krogh of the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service

Business

J. Carter Bacot (1958), former president and CEO of the Bank of New York

Val A. Browning (1918), president and board chairman of the Browning Arms Company

Gerald Cassidy (1967), co-founder and CEO of Cassidy & Associates, author, and lobbyist

Louis W. Dawson (1919), president of the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York

Henry D. Edelman (1973), first president and chief executive officer of the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation

Sol Linowitz (1938), chairman of Xerox

Seth Metcalf (2004), financial technology executive and former Ohio deputy treasurer

Myron Charles Taylor (1894), CEO of U.S. Steel

Robert D. Ziff (1992), former co-CEO of Ziff Brothers Investments

Entertainment

Frank Joslyn Baum (1905), film producer and author, son of L. Frank Baum

Steven W. Carabatsos, screenwriter and story editor for Star Trek

Michael S. Chernuchin (1981), television writer and producer who worked on Law & Order and Brooklyn South

Frank Rosenfelt (1950), former CEO of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Studio

Government

United States government

Executive branch

U.S. attorneys general

Arnold Burns (1953), served as United States deputy attorney general

William P. Rogers (1937), served as United States attorney general

Other cabinet and cabinet-level officials

William J. Lynn III (1980), United States Deputy Secretary of Defense

Edmund Muskie (1939), United States Secretary of State, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981

Samuel Pierce (1949), United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

William P. Rogers (1937), United States Secretary of State, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1973

Legislative branch (U.S. Congress)

Senators

Edmund Muskie (1939), United States senator from Maine (1959–1980)

Representatives

John G. Alexander (1916), United States representative for Minnesota's 3rd congressional district (1939–1941)

Rob Andrews (1982), United States representative for New Jersey's 1st congressional district (1990–2014)

Katherine Clark (1989), United States representative for Massachusetts's 5th congressional district (2013–present)

Barber Conable (1948), United States representative for New York's 30th congressional district (1983–1985), president of the World Bank (1986–1991)

Sharice Davids (2010), United States representative for Kansas's 3rd congressional district (2019–present)

Reuben L. Haskell (1898), United States representative for New York's 10th congressional district (1915–1919)

Frank Horton (1947), United States representative for New York's 36th congressional district (1963–1973), 34th district (1973–1983), and 29th district (1983–1993)

Charles Samuel Joelson (1939), United States representative for New Jersey's 8th congressional district (1961–1969)

Norman F. Lent (1957), United States representative for New York's 4th congressional district (1973–1993)

Edward Worthington Pattison (1957), United States representative for New York's 29th congressional district (1975–1979)

John Raymond Pillion (1927), United States representative for New York's 42nd congressional district (1953–1965)

Alexander Pirnie (1926), United States representative for New York's 34th congressional district (1959–1963) and 32nd district (1963–1973), awarded the Legion of Merit and Bronze Star Medal for service in Europe during World War II

Howard W. Robison (1939), United States representative for New York's 39th congressional district (1958–1975)

Henry P. Smith (1936), United States representative for New York's 40th congressional district (1965–1973)

Judicial branch

Federal courts of appeals

Mark J. Bennett (1979), United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Robert Boochever (1941), United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (1980–1986)

Peter W. Hall (1977), United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (2004–2021)

Alison J. Nathan (2000), United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

Amy J. St. Eve (1990), United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

Elbert Parr Tuttle (1923), one of the "Fifth Circuit Four," United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (1954–1981), United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (1981–1996), and chief judge of the Fifth Circuit 1960–1967; received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981; the courthouse for the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit is named in his honor

Ellsworth Van Graafeiland (1940), United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (1974–2004)

Richard C. Wesley (1974), United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

Federal district courts

Simon L. Adler (1889), United States District Court for the Western District of New York (1928–1934)

Frederic Block (1959), United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (1994–present)

Leonie Brinkema (1976), United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (1993–present)

John M. Cashin (1915), United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (1955–1970)

John H. Chun (1994), United States District Court for the Western District of Washington (2022–present)

Albert Wheeler Coffrin (1947), United States District Court for the District of Vermont (1972–1993), chief judge of the District of Vermont 1983–1988

Brian Cogan (1979), United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (2006–present)

Alfred Conkling Coxe Jr. (1903), United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (1929–1957)

Paul A. Crotty (1967), United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

Phillip S. Figa (1976), United States District Court for the District of Colorado (2003–2008)

Robert Dixon Herman (1938), United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (1969–1990)

Frederick Bernard Lacey (1948), United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (1971–1986)

Lloyd Francis MacMahon (1938), United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (1959–1989), chief judge of the Southern District of New York 1980–1982

Anne M. Nardacci (2002), United States District Court for the Northern District of New York

Stacey D. Neumann (2005), United States District Court for the District of Maine (2024– )

Pamela Pepper (1989), United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, chief judge of the Eastern District of Wisconsin from 2019

Hernan Gregorio Pesquera (1948), United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico (1972–1982), chief judge of the District of Puerto Rico 1980–1982

Aubrey Eugene Robinson (1947), United States District Court for the District of Columbia (1966–2000), chief judge of the District of Columbia 1982–1992

Stephen C. Robinson (1984), United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (2003–2010)

Shira Scheindlin (1975), United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (1994–2012)

Karen Gren Scholer (1982), United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas (2018–present)

Gary L. Sharpe (1974), United States District Court for the Northern District of New York (2004–present), chief judge of the Northern District of New York from 2011

Roger Gordon Strand (1961), United States District Court for the District of Arizona (1985–2000)

Joseph L. Tauro (1956), United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (1972–2013), chief judge of the District of Massachusetts 1992–1999

Christy C. Wiegand (2000), United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania (2020–present)

Thomas Samuel Zilly (1962), United States District Court for the Western District of Washington (1988–2004)

Other federal courts

Mary H. Donlon (1920), United States Customs Court (now the United States Court of International Trade) (1955–1977)

U.S. diplomatic figures

Arthur Dean (1923), special deputy secretary of state with the rank of ambassador; chief U.S. negotiator of the Korean Armistice Agreement

Sol Linowitz (1938), United States ambassador to the Organization of American States, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998

Michael Punke (1989), United States ambassador to the World Trade Organization (2010–2017)

William vanden Heuvel (1952), representative of the United States to the European Office of the United Nations

Other U.S. government figures

Michael Atkinson (1991), inspector general of the Intelligence Community (2018–2020)

Tyrone Brown (1967), commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission and consulting counsel at Wiley Rein LLP

Oliver D. Burden (1897), United States attorney for the Northern District of New York 1923–1936

George H. Cohen (1957), director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service

Philip Perry (1990), former general counsel of the United States Department of Homeland Security and former general counsel for the Office of Management and Budget

Michael E. Toner (1992), former chair of the Federal Election Commission and chief counsel for the Republican National Committee

State government

Governors

Philip H. Hoff (1951), 73rd governor of Vermont

John T. Morrison (1890), 6th governor of Idaho

Edmund Muskie (1939), 64th governor of Maine

State attorneys general

Mark J. Bennett (1979), attorney general of Hawaii

Thomas Carmody (1882), attorney general of New York

Gordon MacDonald (1994), attorney general of New Hampshire

Edward R. O'Malley (1891), attorney general of New York

Peter N. Perretti Jr. (1956), attorney general of New Jersey

William Sorrell (1974), attorney general of Vermont

State legislators

Patrice Arent (1981), Utah House of Representatives and Utah State Senate

David Bishop (1954), Minnesota House of Representatives

Parley P. Christensen (1897), Utah House of Representatives and Los Angeles City Council

James M. Coleman (1951), New Jersey General Assembly and judge in New Jersey Superior Court

Constance E. Cook (1943), member of the New York State Assembly who in 1970 coauthored the first legislation that legalized abortion

Dale Denno (1975), Maine House of Representatives and assistant attorney general of Maine

Frances Kellor (1897), secretary and treasurer of the New York State Immigration Commission, chief investigator for the Bureau of Industries and Immigration of New York State, and chairman of the Women's Committee for the National Hughes Alliance

Clarence D. Rappleyea Jr. (1962), minority leader of the New York State Assembly (1982–1995)

State judges

Barry T. Albin (1976), associate justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey (2002–present)

William F. Bleakley (1904), justice of the New York Supreme Court

Robert Boochever (1941), associate justice of the Supreme Court of Alaska (1972–1980), chief justice of the Supreme Court of Alaska 1975–1978

Abraham S. Bordon (1914), justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court (1961)

Albert M. Crampton (1922), justice of the Supreme Court of Illinois (1948–1953)

Howard H. Dana Jr. (1966), associate justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court (1993–2007)

Rowland L. Davis (1897), associate justice of the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department (1921–1926), Third Department (1926–1931), and Second Department (1931–1939)

J. Michael Diaz (2002), judge of Washington Court of Appeals

Marvin R. Dye (1917), associate judge of the New York Court of Appeals (1945–1965)

Ellen Gorman (1982), associate justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court (2007–2022)

Stewart F. Hancock Jr. (1950), associate judge of the New York Court of Appeals (1986–1993)

Irving G. Hubbs (1891), associate judge of the New York Court of Appeals (1929–1939)

Anthony T. Kane (1969), associate justice of the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department (2002–2009)

Gordon MacDonald (1994), chief justice of the Supreme Court of New Hampshire (2021–present)

Louis W. Marcus (1889), justice of the New York Supreme Court (1905–1923)

Anne M. Patterson (1983), associate justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey (2011–present)

Cuthbert W. Pound (1887), associate judge of the New York Court of Appeals (1915–1934), chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals 1932–1934

Phillip Rapoza (1976), chief justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court (2006–2015), associate justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court (1998–2006)

Roberto A. Rivera-Soto (1977), associate justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey (2004–2011)

Burton B. Roberts (LLM 1953), justice of the New York Supreme Court, model for the character Myron Kovitsky in the book The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe

Robert M. Sohngen (1908), justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio (1947–1948)

Harry Taylor (1893), associate justice of the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department (1924–1936)

Joseph Weintraub (1930), chief justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey (1957–1973), associate justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey (1956–1957)

Richard C. Wesley (1974), associate judge of the New York Court of Appeals (1997–2003)

Paul Yesawich (1951), associate justice of the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department (1974–1981), Third Department (1981–1999)

City government

Quinton Lucas (2009), 55th mayor of Kansas City, Missouri

Thomas Richards (1972), 68th mayor of Rochester, New York

County government

William F. Bleakley (1904), county executive of Westchester County

Edwin L. Crawford (1950), Broome County, New York's first county executive and executive director of the New York State Association of Counties

Non-United States government

Non-United States political figures

Kissi Agyebeng (LLM 2006), special prosecutor of Ghana

Anna-Michelle Assimakopoulou (1991), member of the European Parliament for Greece

Carlos Mendoza Davis (LLM 1995), governor of Baja California Sur (2015–2021)

Anna Dolidze (JSD 2013), chief legal adviser to the President of Georgia, appointed to the High Council of Justice

Juan Carlos Esguerra Portocarrero (LLM 1973), ambassador of Colombia to the United States and Colombian Minister of Justice and Law

Huang Kuo-chang (JSD 2006), Taiwanese politician, activist, legal scholar, researcher, and writer

Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol (LLM 2002, JSD 2005), princess of Thailand

Kotaro Nagasaki (1994), member of the House of Representatives in the Diet of Japan

Laxmi Mall Singhvi (JSD 1955), served as High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom (1991–1997)

Martín Travieso (1903), served as provisional governor of Puerto Rico, a member of the first Senate of Puerto Rico, mayor of San Juan

Tsai Ing-wen (LLM 1980), first woman to serve as president of Taiwan (2016–2024)

Jan van Zanen (LLM 1984), mayor of The Hague

Non-United States judicial figures

Jillian Mallon (LLM 1993), judge of the Court of Appeal of New Zealand

Akira Ojima (LLM 1990), associate justice of the Supreme Court of Japan

Angel de Jesús Sánchez (1913), fifth chief justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico

Song Sang-Hyun (JSD 1970), judge of the International Criminal Court (2003–2015), president of the International Criminal Court 2009–2015

Martín Travieso (1903), associate and chief justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico

Law

Paul Batista (1974), trial lawyer and author of the leading treatise on civil RICO

David Buckel (1987), LGBT rights lawyer who worked with Lambda Legal and The Legal Aid Society

George B. Clementson (1892), first attorney to develop bicycle law as an area of practice within the law

Jonathan Cuneo (1977), general and legislative counsel in the first case to challenge the Joe Camel cigarette advertising campaign and the case on behalf of defrauded Enron investors

Mary H. Donlon (1920), first female editor-in-chief of a US law review; first female partner of a Wall Street law firm

Milton S. Gould (1933), founding partner of Shea & Gould; namesake of Milton Gould Award for Outstanding Advocacy

Gitanjali Gutierrez (2001), first lawyer to meet with a detainee at Guantanamo Bay, Information Commissioner for Bermuda

Marc Kasowitz (1977), founding partner of Kasowitz Benson Torres

Frances Kellor (1897), founding member of the American Arbitration Association and expert in international arbitration

Ron Kuby (1983), criminal and civil rights lawyer, counsel on cases such as Texas v. Johnson

Gail Laughlin (1898), first woman from Maine to practice law; founder of the National League for Women's Service

William F. Lee (1976), intellectual property lawyer, co-managing partner of WilmerHale, first Asian-American to lead a major US law firm

Samuel Leibowitz (1915), criminal and civil rights lawyer, represented The Scottsboro Boys and argued Norris v. Alabama; namesake of Samuel Leibowitz Professorship

Leonard Leo (1989), conservative legal activist, co-chair of the board of the Federalist Society

Harold O. Levy (1977), Executive Director of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation and former Chancellor of New York City Schools

Shannon Minter (1993), civil rights attorney, named one of the TIME 100 Most Influential People in the World (2026)

Jan Schlichtmann (1977), environmental and toxic tort attorney, lead plaintiffs' lawyer in Anderson v.