Michael Stokes Paulsen

Michael Stokes Paulsen (born April 24, 1959) is an American legal scholar. He is a professor and the Distinguished University Chair at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, and was previously the McKnight Presidential Professor of Law & Public Policy at the University of Minnesota Law School.

Early life and education
Paulsen was born on April 24, 1959. He enrolled in Northwestern University in 1977, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in economics with distinction in 1981 and membership in Phi Beta Kappa. After graduation, Paulsen attended the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, where he was selected for the Northwestern Law Review, for one year before transferring to Yale University, where he dual enrolled in Yale Divinity School and Yale Law School.

Paulsen attended Yale from 1982 until 1985, earning a Master of Arts in religion and a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Yale Divinity School and Yale Law School in 1985, respectively. At Yale Law, he was an editor on the Yale Law Journal.

Legal career
In 1991, Paulsen became an associate professor at the University of Minnesota Law School; he was promoted to a full-time professorship in 1998. He was the university's Julius E. Davis Professor from 1998–1999, an associate dean from 2004–2007, and was appointed as the McKnight Presidential Professor of Law & Public Policy in 2004, serving in that position until 2007. In 2007, Paulsen became a professor of law and the Distinguished University Chair at the University of St. Thomas School of Law.

Stokes is a political conservative. He regularly speaks at the Federalist Society.

Personal life
Paulsen married his wife, Kristen Stokes Paulsen, in 1987. He has two children: Luke Douglas Paulsen and Caroline Margaret Paulsen.