Briefly
Professors/Yale Law School

Heather K. Gerken

Sterling Professor of Law

Constitutional LawElection LawFederalism

Heather K. Gerken is Sterling Professor of Law at Yale Law School, where she served as the school's 17th Dean from 2017 to 2025 -- the first woman to lead the school in its 200-year history. She is a founder of the 'nationalist school' of federalism, and her work on election law and democratic theory has been featured in leading law reviews and popular publications. Before joining Yale in 2006, she was on the Harvard Law School faculty and clerked for Justice David Souter of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Teaching Style

Professor Gerken is known for creating an inclusive and rigorous classroom environment. She uses a modified Socratic method, cold-calling students but in a supportive manner that encourages intellectual risk-taking. Her classes emphasize the structural dimensions of constitutional law and she frequently pushes students to think about law as a tool for institutional design rather than just individual rights.

Cold Call Tips

  1. 1Focus on the structural and institutional dimensions of constitutional questions, not just individual rights
  2. 2Understand the 'nationalist school' of federalism that Gerken pioneered -- how states and localities can serve as sites of dissent
  3. 3Be prepared to discuss how election law intersects with broader democratic theory
  4. 4Come ready with concrete examples of how institutional design affects legal outcomes

Areas of Expertise

Election lawFederalism and decentralizationConstitutional lawVoting rightsDemocratic theory

Education

  • A.B., Princeton University
  • J.D., University of Michigan Law School

Notable Publications

  • The Democracy Index: Why Our Election System Is Failing and How to Fix It

Research Interests

Federalism and dissentElection administration reformDemocratic participationInstitutional designVoting rights and representation

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