Michael Stokes Paulsen

Michael Stokes Paulsen (born April 24, 1959) is an American legal scholar. He is a professor and the Distinguished University Chair at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, and was previously the McKnight Presidential Professor of Law & Public Policy at the University of Minnesota Law School.

Early life and education Paulsen was born on April 24, 1959. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Northwestern University in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) with distinction in economics, and then enrolled in the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, where he was selected for the Northwestern University Law Review. Paulsen later transferred to Yale University, where he dual enrolled in Yale Divinity School and Yale Law School.

As a student at Yale Law School, Paulsen was roommates with Akhil Amar, studied under Robert Bork, and served as an editor of the Yale Law Journal. He received both his Master of Arts (M.A.) in religion and his Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Yale in 1985.

Personal life Paulsen and his wife have two children.