Skip to main content
Elected Member

Professor
Lee
B.
Kovarsky

Location
Austin, TX, USA
Affiliation
University of Texas School of Law
Education
Yale University
University of Virginia School of Law

Professor Kovarsky is the Bryant Smitth Chair in Law at the University of Texas School of Law, and the Co-Director of its Capital Punishment Center.

He is a leading scholar of the death penalty and habeas corpus. His teaching and writing also focuses on civil and criminal procedure, criminal justice, federal jurisdiction, and conflicts of law. His most recent articles are forthcoming or have been published in the California Law Review, the Cornell Law Review, the Duke Law Journal, the New York University Law Review, the Notre Dame Law Review, the Stanford Law Review, the Vanderbilt Law Review, and the Virginia Law Review. His shorter, more recent essays appear in online formats for the Chicago Law Review, the Cornell Law Review, the Minnesota Law Review, and the Virginia Law Review. He has co-authored two books with Professor Brandon L. Garrett, including a leading case book on habeas corpus for which the second edition is in progress.

Professor Kovarsky remains an active habeas and capital litigator. He regularly represents death-sentenced prisoners as they await execution, and he has worked on many dozens of capital post-conviction cases. He argued Ayestas v. Davis before the U.S. Supreme Court during the October 2017 term, with the Court deciding unanimously in the capital prisoner's favor. He frequently drafts and contributes to amicus briefing before U.S. Supreme and other appellate courts, usually representing law professors or other professional organizations, including the American Bar Association (ABA) and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL). 

Professor Kovarsky received his B.A. in Political Science and Economics from Yale University, with awards of academic distinction in both majors. He received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was an Articles Editor for the Virginia Law Review. After law school, he clerked for the Honorable Jerry E. Smith on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He worked for several years as an appellate practitioner before beginning his academic career with a three-year appointment as an Acting Assistant Professor at New York University School of Law. He joined the School of Law in the summer of 2020, after a decade at the University of Maryland. 

Member News

Traynor on Liberty, Law, and Democracy

In his essay "Liberty, Law, and Democracy: Are There Grounds for Realistic Optimism?" Michael Traynor, former President of The American Law Institute, reflects on the challenges facing American democracy amid political polarization and institutional strain. He examines threats to the balance between liberty and law, citing dysfunction across the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, while drawing on historical context and recent scholarship to frame these concerns.

Despite his sober assessment, Traynor maintains a guarded optimism rooted in America’s resilience, civic traditions, and individual potential to effect change. He highlights positive actions within the legal community, nonprofit organizations, and among engaged citizens, while outlining five practical steps Americans can take to strengthen democracy: improving civic education, demanding accountability, fostering open debate, participating in elections and local governance, and resisting simplistic solutions.

Traynor concludes that democracy is “stubborn work,” incremental, imperfect, and ongoing, but expresses confidence that Americans have the resolve to preserve it.

Read the full article The New Nationalist

Michael Traynor is senior counsel at Cobalt LLP in Berkeley California. He served as ALI President from 2000 to 2008, and as Chair of the Council from 2008 to 2011. He is also a recipient of ALI's Distinguished Service Award. Mr. Traynor is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, the California Academy of Appellate Lawyers, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.   He received the John P. Frank Outstanding Lawyer Award from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He is an honorary life trustee of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and of Earthjustice and a past President (1973) of the Bar Association of San Francisco.