Larry Kramer (legal scholar)

Larry D. Kramer (born June 23, 1958) is an American legal scholar serving as the president and vice chancellor of the London School of Economics since April 2024. Previously, Kramer served as president of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation from 2012 through 2023. Prior to that role, he was the Dean of Stanford Law School (2004–2012). He is a scholar of both constitutional law and civil procedure.

Early life and education
Kramer was born on June 23, 1958, in Chicago, Illinois. Kramer attended Brown University, where he graduated in 1980 with a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, in psychology and religious studies with membership in Phi Beta Kappa. He graduated Order of the Coif and cum laude from the University of Chicago Law School in 1984.

Kramer clerked for Judge Henry Friendly of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (1984–85) and U.S. Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan Jr. (1985–86).

Academic career
Kramer was an assistant professor at the University of Chicago Law School from 1986-1990 and a professor from 1990-1991. He then served as a visiting professor at the University of Michigan Law School from 1990-1991, and as a professor from 1991-1994. Kramer was a visiting professor at New York University Law School from 1993-1994, as well as at Harvard Law School in 1997, and at Columbia Law School in 2001. From 1994 to 2004, he was the Associate Dean for Research and Academics and the Russell D. Niles Professor at New York University Law School. From 2004-2012 he served as the Richard E. Lang Professor and Dean at Stanford Law School. Before joining Stanford, he served as a consultant for Mayer Brown.

During his tenure at Stanford, Kramer spearheaded significant reforms, including expanding joint degree programs as part of a multidisciplinary approach to legal studies. He enlarged the clinical education program and revamped programs to foster a public service ethos and built out the international law program to support a growing emphasis on globalization in legal practice. He was a significant supporter of the Afghanistan Legal Education Program, an initiative led by Stanford Law Students to develop innovative legal curricula to help Afghanistan's university train the next generation of lawyers and leaders.

In July 2023, it was announced that Kramer would be the new president and vice-chancellor of the London School of Economics, beginning in April 2024. He took office on April 1, 2024.

Legal scholar
Kramer has written and taught in such varied fields as constitutional law, conflict of laws, civil procedure, federal and its history, and the role of courts in society. He is the author of numerous books and articles, including The People Themselves: Popular Constitutionalism and Judicial Review, Reforming the Civil Justice System, Conflict of Laws: Cases-Comments-Questions, Judicial Supremacy and the End of Judicial Restraint, Madison's Audience, and Popular Constitutionalism.

Other
Kramer serves on the board of directors of Equal Justice Works, a nonprofit organization that helps advance public interest law, and the ClimateWorks Foundation. Kramer is also an advisor to Ravel Law, a legal research start-up founded by two Stanford Law students while he was Dean.

Kramer posted $500,000 for the bond of Samuel Bankman-Fried.