Professor Joshua Teitelbaum Named Interim Dean of Georgetown Law

Interim President of Georgetown University Robert Groves announced today that Professor Joshua Teitelbaum, the David Belding Professor of Law and Professor of Economics (by courtesy), will serve as interim dean of Georgetown Law and Executive Vice President of Georgetown University after the current dean, William M. Treanor, steps down at the end of June. Teitelbaum’s appointment takes effect on July 1, 2025.

“Professor Teitelbaum has all the talent and collegial support to lead the Law Center through the next months as we search for the new dean,” said Groves in his announcement to the Georgetown Law faculty.

Teitelbaum is a prolific scholar whose work focuses on the intersection of law and social science, and specifically on decision theory and the interplay between microeconomics and the law. He joined the Georgetown Law faculty in 2009, and between 2015 and 2017, served as Associate Dean for Research and Academic Programs at the Law Center. He is the co-editor of the Research Handbook in Behavioral Law and Economics, an editor of the International Review of Law and Economics and a fellow at the Georgetown Center for Economic Research.

“I feel honored to have been chosen to lead the Law Center during this interim period, and grateful for the confidence placed in me by President Groves and my colleagues,” said Teitelbaum of his new role. “Georgetown Law is my professional home. I love Georgetown, its people and our mission.”

Teitelbaum holds a B.A. from Williams College, a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a Ph.D. in Economics from Cornell University. Before coming to Georgetown Law, he clerked for Judge Richard M. Berman of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, practiced corporate and securities law at Cahill Gordon & Reindel in New York and was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Cornell Law School. His academic recognitions include receiving a 2010 National Science Foundation grant for the study “An Empirical Investigation into the Nature of Risk Preferences” and being named a Williams Research Professor at Georgetown Law in 2019.

“I am delighted that President Groves has selected Professor Joshua Teitelbaum as interim dean. Josh is a gifted academic leader, a brilliant scholar and a wonderful teacher, and he cares deeply about the Georgetown Law community and about supporting our students,” said Treanor, who plans to remain on the Law Center faculty and will return to the classroom in the 2026-27 academic year after taking sabbatical leave. “Georgetown Law will be in the best of hands!” added Treanor.

In a recent profile, Teitelbaum said of his preference to partner with colleagues, both within Georgetown and across academia, when developing research projects: “I firmly believe that collaborative efforts produce something that really couldn’t be produced otherwise. And with the right collaborators, it also can be fun.”

As interim dean, Teitelbaum said that he intends to work with faculty, staff, students, alumni and colleagues across Georgetown through the process of selecting the next dean. “I want to ensure that Georgetown Law maintains its academic excellence and remains fiscally sound. The Law Center is part of a great university and the cornerstone of Georgetown’s new Capitol Campus,” he said. “I am dedicated to working with President Groves and the University leadership to navigate the current headwinds facing universities and to advance Georgetown’s mission, values and strategic ambition.”