Dan Farber is the Sho Sato Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley. He also has leadership roles at two Berkeley research centers: the Center for Law, Energy, and Environment; and the Edley Center on Law and Democracy. Professor Farber is a member of the American Academy of Arts.
Professor Farber is a graduate of the University of Illinois, where he earned his B.A., M.A., and J.D. degrees. He graduated, summa cum laude, from the College of Law, where he was the class valedictorian and served as editor-in-chief of the University of Illinois Law Review. After law school, he was a law clerk for Judge Philip W. Tone of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and then for Justice John Paul Stevens of the U.S. Supreme Court. Professor Farber practiced law with Sidley & Austin, where he primarily worked on energy issues, before returning to the University of Illinois as a faculty member in 1978. He taught at the University of Minnesota Law School faculty from 1981 to 2002, where he was the McKnight Presidential Professor of Public Law. He also has been a visiting professor at the Stanford Law School, Harvard Law School, and the University of Chicago Law School.
His most recent book is Contested Ground: How to Understand the Limits on Presidential Power (UC Press 2021). His earlier books include Research Handbook on Public Choice and Public Law (Elgar 2010) (with A. O’Connell); Judgment Calls: Politics and Principle in Constitutional Law (Oxford University Press 2008) (with S. Sherry); Retained by the People: The “Silent” Ninth Amendment and the Rights Americans Don’t Know They Have (Basic Books 2007); Lincoln’s Constitution (University of Chicago Press 2003); and Eco-Pragmatism: How to Make Sensible Environmental Decisions in an Uncertain World (University of Chicago Press 1999).
Education
B.A., University of Illinois (1971)
M.A., University of Illinois (1972)
J.D., University of Illinois (1975)
Daniel Farber is teaching the following courses in Spring 2025:
• 206C sec. 001 - Note Publishing Workshop
• 272.3 sec. 001 - Climate Change and the Law
• 274.7 sec. 001 - Environmental Law Colloquium
Courses During Other Semesters
| Semester | Course Num | Course Title |  Teaching Evaluations | Summer 2025 | 201S sec. 001 | Business Torts | 206.51S sec. 001 | Advanced Writing Project | Fall 2024 | 201 sec. 003 | Torts | Summer 2024 | 201S sec. 001 | Torts for LLMs | View Teaching Evaluation | 206.51S sec. 001 | Advanced Writing Project | View Teaching Evaluation |
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Election Implications: Professors Describe What to Expect in Various Areas of Law
Berkeley Law experts describe what to expect — depending on who wins the presidency and which party controls the Senate — from health care and the environment to immigration and criminal justice.
Climate Control
The nation’s top-ranked environmental law program ramps up an already robust set of climate initiatives.
Powering Partnerships
In Oakland, Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy & the Environment is a partner in EcoBlock, a public-private collaboration aimed at sustainable neighborhood redevelopment. “It’s taking an existing residential block and trying to retrofit it with cutting-edge energy and water efficiency mechanisms in a replicable and hopefully scalable way.”
Professor Delivers a Telling State-by-State Report about Renewables in America
When it comes to energy policy, our attention veers to Washington, D.C. But Berkeley Law Professor Dan Farber will let you in on a little secret: state governments actually control
New Faculty Books Feted with Comic Wordplay
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Korean and US Scholars Tackle Issues of Security, Con Law & Environment
Berkeley and Korean law scholars tackled issues of national security, constitutional law and the environment at an inaugural workshop last month that may set the stage for closer collaboration.
Retiring Staffer Leslie Stone Part of a Strong Family Imprint at UC Berkeley
A valued member of Berkeley Law’s Faculty Support Unit, Stone assisted a dozen professors this academic year.