Vikram Amar

Vikram David Amar (born c. 1963) is an American legal scholar focusing on constitutional law, federal courts, and civil and criminal procedure. In August 2015, he became dean of the University of Illinois College of Law and the Iwan Foundation Professor of Law. He was the first American-born person of Indian descent to serve as a dean of a major American law school.

Prior to his arrival at Illinois Law, Amar was professor and senior associate dean for academic affairs at the UC Davis School of Law (King Hall). Before becoming a professor, he clerked for Judge William Albert Norris of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and for Justice Harry Blackmun at the U.S. Supreme Court (where he appears to be the first person of South Asian heritage to have clerked). After serving as a clerk, Amar worked in the Sacramento office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, then began his career in legal academia in 1993 at King Hall. He joined the UC Hastings faculty in 1998, before returning to King Hall in 2007.

Amar received a BA in history from UC Berkeley. In 1988 he earned his J.D. from Yale Law School, serving as an articles editor for the Yale Law Journal.

He writes a biweekly column for justia.com. Previously, he wrote a regular column for FindLaw's Writ. He also frequently appears on national radio and television programs as a commentator on contemporary legal issues.