Brian Soucek

Brian Soucek is the Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law and Chancellor’s Fellow at UC Davis School of Law (King Hall). He holds a B.A. from Boston College, a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Columbia University, and a J.D. from Yale Law School. His expertise spans constitutional law, academic freedom, First Amendment jurisprudence, antidiscrimination law, immigration policy, and the intersection of law and aesthetics. Soucek's work has been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court and federal circuits, and his forthcoming book critiques institutional neutrality in higher education. He chairs key committees on academic freedom and serves on the American Law Institute.

Research interests include judicial neutrality, free speech, diversity statements, and art law. Notable publications include The Constitutional Irrelevance of Art and Queering Sexual Harassment Law. Soucek has clerked for federal judges, led the AALS Law and Humanities Section, and was awarded the Dukeminier Prize for legal scholarship. His teaching covers constitutional law, civil procedure, and art law. He advocates for academic freedom while critiquing censorship in artistic subsidies and asylum policy reforms.

• Education:
  • B.A., Philosophy & Economics, Boston College (1998)
  • Ph.D., Philosophy, Columbia University (2006)
  • J.D., Yale Law School (2011)

Recent honors include the Chancellor’s Achievement Award for Diversity (2023) and UC Davis Law’s repeated teaching nominations. His interdisciplinary approach bridges legal philosophy with aesthetic theory, addressing topics like artistic expression’s constitutional status and the ethical dimensions of judging.