List of University of Chicago Law School alumni

This list of University of Chicago Law School alumni consists of notable people who graduated or attended the University of Chicago Law School. The school has produced many distinguished alumni in the judiciary, government and politics, academia, and business, and other fields. Its alumni include heads of state and politicians around the world; the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales; the president of the Supreme Court of Israel; judges of United States Courts of Appeals; several U.S. attorneys general and solicitors general; members of Congress and cabinet officials, privy counsellors; university presidents and faculty deans; founders of the law firms Kirkland & Ellis, Baker McKenzie, and Jenner & Block; CEOs and chairpersons of multinational corporations; and contributors to literature, journalism, and the arts. The law school counts among its alumni recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Fulbright Scholars, Rhodes Scholars, Marshall Scholars, Commonwealth Fellows, National Humanities Medallists, and Pulitzer Prize winners.

Classes at the law school started in 1902. All degrees listed below are J.D., unless noted otherwise.

Law and government

United States government

Executive branch

U.S. attorneys general John Ashcroft (1967), 79th U.S. attorney general (2001–2005) Ramsey Clark (1950), 66th U.S. attorney general (1966–1969) Edward H. Levi (1935), 71st U.S. attorney general (1975–1977)

U.S. solicitors general Robert Bork (1953), 35th U.S. solicitor general (1973–1977); also judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (1982–1988) Noel Francisco (1996), 47th U.S. solicitor general (2017–2020) Rex E. Lee (1963), 37th U.S. solicitor general (1981–1985); also president of Brigham Young University (1989–1995)

Other cabinet and cabinet-level officials Mary Azcuenaga (1973), commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission (1984–1998) Pat Cipollone (1991), 39th White House counsel (2018–2021) James Comey (1985), 7th director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (2013–2017); also 31st U.S. deputy attorney general (2003–2005) Douglas M. Costle (1964), administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (1977–1981) Harold L. Ickes (1907), 32nd secretary of the interior (1933–1946); also high commissioner to the Philippines (1942–1945) Kevin McAleenan (1998), United States secretary of Homeland Security (2019); also commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (2017–2019) Abner Mikva (1951), 27th White House counsel (1994–1995); also judge and later chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (1979–1994); and recipient of Presidential Medal of Freedom (2014) Lisa Monaco (1997), 39th U.S. deputy attorney general (2021–present), 6th U.S. Homeland Security advisor (2013–2017), and assistant attorney general for National Security (2011–2013) Abraham Ribicoff (1933), 4th secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (1961–1962); also U.S. senator (D-Connecticut) (1963–1981) and 80th governor of Connecticut (1955–1961) Eugene Scalia (1990), 28th United States secretary of labor (2019–2021) Ed Siskel (2000), 42nd White House counsel (2023–present)

Legislative branch (U.S. Congress)

Senators Carol Moseley Braun (1972), U.S. senator (D-Illinois) (1993–1999); also United States ambassador to New Zealand (1999–2001) and United States Ambassador to Samoa (2000–2001) Zales Ecton (1921), U.S. senator (R-Montana) (1947–1953) Herbert E. Hitchcock, U.S. senator (D-South Dakota) (1936–1938) Roman Hruska (did not graduate), U.S. senator (R-Nebraska) (1954–1976) James W. Huffman (1922), U.S. senator (D-Ohio) (1945–1946) Amy Klobuchar (1985), U.S. senator (D-Minnesota) (2006–present) James P. Pope (1909), U.S. senator (D-Idaho) (1933–1939); also 35th mayor of Boise, Idaho (1929–1933) Abraham Ribicoff (1933), U.S. senator (D-Connecticut) (1963–1981); also 4th Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (1961–1962) and 80th governor of Connecticut (1955–1961) David W. Stewart (1917), U.S. senator (R-Iowa) (1926–1927) Jim Talent (1981), U.S. senator (R-Missouri) (2002–2007)

Representatives John B. Bennett (1926), U.S. representative (R-Michigan) (1943–1945, 1947–1964) Elizabeth Cheney (1996), U.S. representative (R-Wyoming) (2017–present) and Chair of the House Republican Conference (2019–2021) Albert M. Cole (1925), U.S. representative (R-Kansas) (1945–1953) James I. Dolliver (1921), U.S. representative (R-Iowa) (1945–1957) Edward C. Eicher (1906), U.S. representative (D-Iowa)(1933–1938); also chief justice of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (1942–1944) Charles N. Fowler (1878),This alumnus attended the law school when it formed part of the Old University of Chicago, which closed in 1886 after it was damaged by a fire, and which was later renamed the University of Chicago. U.S. representative (R-New Jersey) (1895–1911) Edgar A. Jonas (1910), U.S. representative (R-Illinois) (1949–1955) David M. McIntosh (1983), U.S. representative (R-Indiana) (1995–2001) David Minge (1967), U.S. representative (D-Minnesota) (1993–2001); also judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals (2002–2012) Patsy Mink (1951), U.S. representative (D-Hawaii) (1965–1971, 1990–2002) and recipient of Presidential Medal of Freedom (2014) Samuel J. Nicholls (1909), U.S. representative (D-South Carolina) (1915–1921) Kathryn O'Loughlin McCarthy (1920), U.S. representative (D-Kansas) (1933–1935) J. W. Robinson (1912), U.S. representative (D-Utah) (1933–1947) Jessie Sumner (1923), U.S. representative (R-Illinois) (1939–1947) Sidney R. Yates (1933), U.S. representative (D-Illinois (1949–1963, 1965–1999)

Judicial branch Federal courts of appeals Florence E. Allen (did not graduate), judge and later chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (1934–1966); also associate justice of the Ohio Supreme Court (1923–1934) Danny Julian Boggs (1968), judge and formerly chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (1986–present) Frank H. Easterbrook (1973), judge and formerly chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (1985–present) Allison H. Eid (1991), judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (2017–present); also associate justice of the Colorado Supreme Court (2006–2017) Philip J. Finnegan (1913), judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (1949–1959) Jerome Frank (1912), judge of U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (1941–1957); Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (1939–1941); and leading figure in the legal realism movement Douglas H. Ginsburg (1973), judge and formerly chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (1986–present) James C. Ho (1999), judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (2018–present); also 4th solicitor general of Texas (2008–2010) Anthony Johnstone (1999), judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; also solicitor general of Montana (2008–2011) Michael W. McConnell (1979), judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (2002–2009); also professor at Stanford Law School George Thomas McDermott (1909), judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (1929–1937) Monroe G. McKay (1960), judge and formerly chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (1977–2020) Abner Mikva (1951), judge and chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (1979–1994); recipient of Presidential Medal of Freedom (2014) Eric D. Miller (1999), judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (2019–present) Eric E. Murphy (2005), judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (2018–present); also 9th solicitor general of Ohio (2013–2017) Walter Lyndon Pope (1912), judge and later chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (1949–1969) Neomi Rao (1999), judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (2019–present); also administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (2017–2019) Julius N. Richardson (2003), judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (2018–present) Beth Robinson (1989), judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (2021–present); also associate justice of the Vermont Supreme Court (2011–2021) Elmer Jacob Schnackenberg (1912), judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (1954–1968) Mary M. Schroeder (1965), judge and formerly chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (1979–2011) Milan Smith (1969), judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (2006–present) Hardress Nathaniel Swaim (1916), judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (1950–1957); also Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court (1939–1945) David S. Tatel (1966), judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (1994–present) Eric Tung (2010), judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (2025–present)

Federal district courts Richard B. Austin (1926), judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (1961–1977) Axel J. Beck (1922), judge and later chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota (1958–1981) Morton A. Brody (1958), judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine (1991–2000) Douglas R. Cole (1993), judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (2019–present); also 5th solicitor general of Ohio (2003–2006) Edward C. Eicher (1906), chief justice of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (1942–1944); also U.S. Representative (D-Iowa)(1933–1938) Roger Thomas Foley (1910), judge and later chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada (1945–1974) Paul Grewal (1996), magistrate judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (2010–2016); chief legal officer at Coinbase (2020–present) Terry J. Hatter Jr. (1960), judge and formerly chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (1979–present) Maria Lanahan (2013), judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri (2025–present) William Charles Lee (1962), judge and previously chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana (1981–present) Harry Leinenweber (1962), judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (1985–present) William J. Martínez (1980), judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado (2010–present) Claude C. McColloch (1909), judge and later chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon (1937–1959) Peter Jo Messitte (1966), judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland (2008–present) Walker David Miller (LL.M. 1965), judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado (1996–2013) Robert Dale Morgan (1937), judge and later chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois (1979–2002) and judge and later chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois (1967–1979) Alexander J. Napoli (1929), judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (1966–1972) Carl J. Nichols (1996), judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (2019–present) Howard C. Nielson Jr. (1997), judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah (2019–present) Martha M. Pacold (2002), judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (2019–present) Rebecca R. Pallmeyer (1979), chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (1998–present) Barrington D. Parker (1947), judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (1969–1993) James Benton Parsons (1949), judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (1961–1993); also first African-American to serve as a United States federal judge