Richard Thompson Ford

Richard Thompson Ford is a lawyer and the George E. Osborne Professor of Law at Stanford University School of of Law. He specializes in civil rights and anti-discrimination law, with a focus on the intersection of social criticism and legal analysis.

His research examines legal and societal conflicts around discrimination claims, racial segregation, and the use of territorial boundaries as tools of social regulation. He writes for both academic and popular audiences, contributing to publications such as the New York Times, Washington Post, and Vox.

• Key Publications: Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History, Rights Gone Wrong: How Law Corrupts the Struggle for Equality, and others.
• Professional Affiliations: Member of the American Law Institute, founding member of the Academic Freedom Alliance, and board member of the Authors' Guild Foundation.

His career includes roles as a Reginald F. Lewis Fellow at Harvard Law School, litigation associate at Morrison & Foerster, and housing policy consultant for Cambridge, Massachusetts.