Austen Parrish

Expertise:

Transnational Law and Litigation, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Federal Courts

Background:

Austen Parrish joined University of California, Irvine School of Law in August 2022 as its third dean and as a Chancellor’s Professor of Law.  He currently serves as the president-elect of the Association of American Law Schools, is a long-standing member of the board of directors of the AccessLex Institute, and serves as co-editor of the Journal of Legal Education. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute, a fellow with the American Bar Foundation, and a fellow with the Association of American Law Schools.

Parrish’s research and teaching interests focus on international law, transnational litigation, and the role that national courts and domestic institutions play in solving global challenges. He has particular expertise in legal and policy issues related to the extraterritorial application of domestic law. He is the author of dozens of scholarly articles published in leading law reviews and is the co-author of three books. Over his career, he has taught a variety of courses, including Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Federal Courts, Transnational Law, International Environmental Law, and Public International Law.  

Before joining University of California, Irvine, Parrish was the sixteenth Dean and James H. Rudy Professor of Law at Indiana University Maurer School of Law (2014-2022). In 2018 and again in 2021, he was named a Wells Scholars Professor for his work with Indiana University’s prestigious Wells Scholars program. In 2019, he was bestowed with IU’s Bicentennial Medal and, in 2022, he was awarded the Provost’s Medal, the highest honor bestowed by the Office of the Provost, recognizing outstanding and transformative contributions to Indiana University Bloomington.  

Before joining Indiana University Bloomington, Parrish served as interim dean and CEO (2012-2013), vice dean (2008-2012), and the Irwin R. Buchalter Professor of Law (2007-2008) at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles. From 2003 to 2010, he directed Southwestern’s international and comparative summer law program in Vancouver, Canada, hosted by the University of British Columbia Faculty of Law in collaboration with the International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy, a United Nations affiliate. In 2015, he received an honorary doctor of laws degree from Southwestern Law School during its 100th year graduation ceremony, and in 2014 was honored by Southwestern’s Alumni Board with its Outstanding Friend Award. 

Parrish is active in a variety of national organizations focused on legal education. Since 2015, he has served as a member of the board of directors of AccessLex Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the betterment of legal education with a focus on issues of access and affordability. From 2020-2023, and again from 2024 onwards, he has served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Association of American Law Schools and a member of the AALS Deans Steering Committee. He is an officer of the Association, is currently serving as president-elect (2024-2025) and will serve as president in 2025-2026. From 2015-2020, he served as a member, and then chair, of the AALS Membership Review Committee. He served as a member of the faculty/programming committee for the 2019 ABA New Deans Workshop, and that same year the Indiana Supreme Court appointed him to the Study Commission on the Future of the Indiana Bar Examination.  

Prior to entering academia, Dean Parrish was an attorney with O'Melveny & Myers LLP in Los Angeles, where he litigated in state and federal trial and appellate courts. Dean Parrish received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington and his law degree from Columbia University, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone scholar.