Kathryn Judge
Harvey J. Goldschmid Professor of Law
Kathryn Judge is the Harvey J. Goldschmid Professor of Law at Columbia Law School, where she teaches financial regulation, banking, and corporate law. Her research focuses on financial intermediation, systemic risk, and the ways middlemen shape modern economies. Before entering academia, she clerked for Judge Richard Posner on the Seventh Circuit and Justice Stephen Breyer on the U.S. Supreme Court. Her book Direct examines how intermediary layers in the economy affect consumers, markets, and power structures.
Teaching Style
Professor Judge is a clear and structured lecturer who excels at breaking down complex financial regulatory frameworks into digestible components. She uses a steady Socratic method in class, cold-calling students to walk through the mechanics of financial transactions and regulatory structures. She expects students to understand both the legal doctrines and the economic realities of financial markets, and she is known for being approachable and encouraging outside of class.
Cold Call Tips
- 1Understand the basic mechanics of financial instruments and institutions before class — Judge expects baseline financial literacy
- 2Be prepared to explain how regulatory structures like Dodd-Frank actually work in practice, not just in theory
- 3Think about systemic risk and how individual transactions can create broader market vulnerabilities
- 4Follow current financial news and be ready to connect doctrine to real-world market events
Areas of Expertise
Education
- J.D., Stanford Law School
- A.B., Princeton University
Notable Publications
- Direct: The Rise of the Middleman Economy and the Power of Going to the Source (2022)
- Intermediary Influence (University of Chicago Law Review)
Research Interests
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Constitutional Law, Comparative Constitutional Law, Federal Courts, First Amendment
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Computers, Privacy and the Law, Legal History, Law in the Internet Society