Robert Pushaw
Pepperdine University School of Law
Professor Pushaw graduated from Yale Law School where he served as the Notes Editor of the Yale Law Journal and received an Olin Foundation Fellowship. He went on to clerk for Judge James Buckley of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit before beginning his teaching career at University of Missouri School of Law. While at Missouri, in 1998 Pushaw won the Blackwell Sanders Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award as the law school's top teacher; two years later, he received the William Kemper Fellowship For Teaching Excellence, the University of Missouri's highest teaching honor. Since joining the faculty at Pepperdine, Pushaw has twice earned the Shook Hardy & Bacon Excellence in Teaching Award. Professor Pushaw's scholarship focuses on the influence of eighteenth-century Anglo-American political theory on the development of modern Constitutional Law and Federal Jurisdiction.
Robert Pushaw On Law Preview . . .
Why do you teach for Law Preview?
I teach for Law Preview because I love to share my enthusiasm for Constitutional Law with fledgling law students.
Why is Law Preview better than other modes of preparing for law school?
Law Preview is the best way to prepare for law school because professors are in a unique position to provide "inside information" on how to succeed. Most law schools will tell you that nothing can really prepare you for law school, and that at most you should perhaps read a few general books about the law and be ready to work really hard. Unfortunately, working hard does not mean working smart--targeting your efforts for maximum results. Law Preview teaches you the practical skills you will need--how to read and analyze cases, take concise and effective notes, outline courses, and succeed on exams.
Robert Pushaw On Law School . . .
What is the most important skill law students lack when they begin law school that Law Preview teaches?
The most important skill that students lack when they begin law school is understanding how to distill clear legal principles from the mass of cases, materials, and notes that they study--and how to apply those principles to a set of facts on an exam. Law Preview fills that gap.
What are your favorite study aids for the subject-matter you teach at Law Preview?
My favorite study aid is Erwin Chemerinsky, Constitutional Law: Principles and Policies.
What is your favorite fiction/non-fiction book for the subject-matter you teach at Law Preview?
My favorite book in Constitutional Law is Akhil Reed Amar, America's Constitution: A Biography (2005).
What is your favorite casebook for the subject-matter you teach at Law Preview?
My favorite casebook is Brest, Levinson, Balkin, Amar & Siegel, Processes of Constitutional Decisionmaking.
What's your favorite thing about teaching the law?
My favorite thing about teaching law is inspiring students to think deeply and critically about our Constitution. Because constitutional law is based on the sovereignty of the People and is continually evolving, I want students to have a sense that they have as much right as anyone else to shape the Constitution's meaning.
Robert Pushaw On Life . . .
What is your greatest accomplishment, professional or personal?
My greatest accomplishment is being the father of three wonderful daughters.
What organization are you most proud to have been a part of in law school?
I was most proud of being an editor of the law review, which gave me a chance to publish an essay and to learn first-hand about the difficult process of legal research and writing.
What person in the legal profession do you most admire?
I most admire my law school classmate Frank Trinity, who turned down the opportunity to develop a lucrative private law firm practice to devote his life to helping the homeless.
If you weren't teaching at your school, what would your "other dream job" be?
Teaching at law school is my dream job. I might, however, consider resigning to become a Supreme Court Justice.
What are your 3 favorite movies?
My favorite movies are: The Godfather, Parts I and II; The Wizard of Oz; and Casablanca.
What are your 3 favorite musicians/bands?
My favorite musicians are Glenn Miller, Neil Young, and the Rolling Stones.
What are your 3 favorite songs/tracks on your iPod?
I'm the only person in California who does not own an iPod.
What are the best/worst things about your job?
The best thing about my job is that I get paid to do what I love--teach and mentor students, and engage in research and writing on topics of interest to me.
How do you relax?
I relax by walking, running, and swimming--all easy to do when you live in Malibu.
What's the best piece of advice you've ever received?
The best advice I ever received as a lawyer was: Your value to your employer depends upon your value in the legal market generally. Thus, if you are an outstanding lawyer in an area of high demand, your own law firm or other legal employer will treat you very well to retain your services. The best advice I've ever received in life is that you have to make time for your family, or you won't have one.
What's the invention you'd most like to see introduced?
I'd like someone to invent a donut that was nutritious.
What is your favorite quote or saying?
My favorite saying is: "Hypocrisy is the tribute that vice pays to virtue."
If you could choose 3 dinner guest in all history, they would be . . . ?
If I could choose three dinner guests in all of history, they would be Jesus, Alexander the Great, and Albert Einstein.
What are you most afraid of?
I am most afraid of the dangers posed by worldwide terrorism.
