David G. Post (born 1951) is an American legal scholar. Post is an expert in
intellectual property law and
cyberspace
Cyberspace is a concept describing a widespread interconnected digital technology. "The expression dates back from the first decade of the diffusion of the internet. It refers to the online world as a world 'apart', as distinct from everyday rea ...
law. Until his retirement in 2014, Post served as Professor of Law at
Beasley School of Law
The Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law is the law school of Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1895 and enrolls about 530 students.
Student body
Admission for fall 2019 entering class was highly compe ...
of
Temple University in
Philadelphia.
[David G. Post: Research & Writing](_blank)
(updated September 2014).
Education
Post received his B.A. ''cum laude'' from
Yale College in 1972, his Ph.D. in
anthropology from
Yale University in 1978, and his
J.D. ''summa cum laude'' from
Georgetown University Law Center in 1986.
[David G. Post CV](_blank)
, Temple University Beasley School of Law (accessed July 3, 2016).
Career
Post was the director of programs for the
American Anthropological Association
The American Anthropological Association (AAA) is an organization of scholars and practitioners in the field of anthropology. With 10,000 members, the association, based in Arlington, Virginia, includes archaeologists, cultural anthropologists, ...
from 1976 to 1981 and an assistant professor of anthropology at
Columbia University from 1981 to 1983.
Post served as
law clerk
A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...
to
Ruth Bader Ginsburg twice, once from 1986 to 1987, when Ginsburg was a judge of the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (in case citations, D.C. Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. It has the smallest geographical jurisdiction of any of the U.S. federal appellate cou ...
, and a second time from 1993 to 1994, after Ginsburg had been elevated to the
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
.
In between, from 1987 to 1993, Post practiced law in Washington, D.C. as an associate at the
law firm
A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to r ...
of
Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering.
From 1994 to 1997, Post was an associate professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center. In 1997, he joined the
Beasley School of Law
The Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law is the law school of Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1895 and enrolls about 530 students.
Student body
Admission for fall 2019 entering class was highly compe ...
of
Temple University in
Philadelphia as a professor of law, remaining there until his retirement as the I. Herman Stern Professor of Law in fall 2014.
Post is a fellow of the
Center for Democracy and Technology and the
New York Law School's Institute for Information Law and Policy, an adjunct scholar at the
Cato Institute, and a contributor to the
Volokh Conspiracy
The Volokh Conspiracy ( ) is a blog co-founded in 2002 by law professor Eugene Volokh, covering legal and political issues from an ideological orientation it describes as "generally Libertarianism in the United States, libertarian, Conservatism i ...
blog at ''
The Washington Post''.
Post was formerly a senior fellow at the
Open Technology Institute of the
New America Foundation.
[David Post: Senior Fellow, Open Technology Institute](_blank)
Open Technology Institute (accessed June 3, 2016).
Works and views
Post's main area of scholarly interest is
intellectual property law and the relationship of
complexity theory to the law.
Post wrote ''In Search of Jefferson's Moose: Notes on the State of Cyberspace'' (
Oxford, 2009).
[David G. Post](_blank)
Cato Institute (accessed June 3, 2016). In the book, Post draws a parallel "between the Internet and the natural and intellectual landscape that
Thomas Jefferson explored, documented, and shaped." The book earned positive reviews from legal scholars, including
Lawrence Lessig,
Jonathan Zittrain, and
Sean Wilentz.
Post also coauthored, with
Paul Schiff Berman
Paul Schiff Berman (born February 12, 1966) is an American lawyer and the Walter S. Cox Professor of Law at The George Washington University School of Law. He has held several other positions at the University including Vice Provost for Online ...
and Patricia Bellia, another book, ''Cyberlaw: Problems of Policy and Jurisprudence in the Information Age'' (
West, 2007),
currently in its fourth (2011) edition.
Post had authored a number of
amicus briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court and other courts.
Post was a signatory to an
open letter from law professors in 2014 that expressed support for the legal recognition of
same-sex marriages but also expressed concern that events (such as the resignation of
Mozilla CEO
Brendan Eich after an outcry over a contribution that Eich had made to an anti-same-sex-marriage effort) "signal an eagerness by some supporters of same-sex marriage to punish rather than to criticize or to persuade those who disagree."
Freedom to Marry, Freedom to Dissent: Why We Must Have Both
RealClearPolitics.com
RealClearPolitics (RCP) is an American Political journalism, political news website and Polling aggregator, polling data aggregator formed in 2000 by former option (finance), options trader (finance), trader John McIntyre (publisher), John McInty ...
(April 22, 2014)
See also
*
References
External links
*
Blog postings
by Post at the Volokh Conspiracy
The Volokh Conspiracy ( ) is a blog co-founded in 2002 by law professor Eugene Volokh, covering legal and political issues from an ideological orientation it describes as "generally Libertarianism in the United States, libertarian, Conservatism i ...
on ''The Washington Post''
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Post, David
American legal scholars
Cato Institute people
Georgetown University Law Center alumni
Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States
Living people
Temple University faculty
Yale College alumni
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr associates
1951 births