Berkeley Law professors are prolific, insightful scholars with broad and significant influence felt well beyond the school’s walls through their research, legal advocacy, policymaking and commentary.
New Research
Report Monitors U.S. Global Deportation Network
The U.S. has built “deliberate” and “systematic” new procedures for deporting immigrants to 35 foreign nations, often putting the immigrants in danger while sidestepping U.S. law, according to a recent report by the Berkeley Law Human Rights Center Investigations Lab. The system has evolved rapidly since the start of 2025, the report says, with the Trump administration striking previously unknown agreements to pay countries tens of millions of dollars to accept refugees and migrants who have been living in the U.S. Other countries have been threatened with the loss of aid if they refuse.Praise for Merges’ Patent Scholarship
“Lost Profits And Reasonable Royalties: Two Distinct Remedies for Two Separate Harms,” a Berkeley Technology Law Journal article by Professor Robert P. Merges, was chosen as one of the best intellectual property papers of 2025 and will be included in the next edition of the Intellectual Property Law Review, published annually by Thomson Reuters.A Close Call on Birthright Citizenship
In California Law Review Online, Professor Amanda L. Tyler analyzes the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Trump v. Barbara decision, which affirmed birthright citizenship by a single vote, warning that the dissenting opinions left the door open for future attacks on the principle enshrined in the 14th Amendment.Understanding the ‘OnlyFans Economy’
Copyright and patent law rest on a bargain: Because creation is difficult and expensive, the law grants creators a temporary monopoly to spur them to produce. In a new essay in the Virginia Law Review, Berkeley Center for Law & Technology Life Sciences Law & Policy Center Director Vincent Joralemon ’24 uses OnlyFans to explore how generative AI is turning that bargain on its head. When source content is essentially free to create, he argues, the value of authenticated material featuring a real human being is rising.Davis Elected to American Law Institute
Professor Seth Davis was recently elected to the American Law Institute, joining 27 of his current or retired Berkeley Law colleagues who are members of the prestigious group. Three alumni — Stanford Law School Professor Easha Anand ’14, University of Denver Sturm College of Law Professor Sam Kamin J.D. ’96, Ph.D. ’00, and Girard Sharp partner Sarah London ’09 — were also among the 49 new members.
