Ward Farnsworth is Professor of Law and holder of the W. Page Keeton Chair at the University of Texas at Austin. He served as Dean of the School of Law from 2012-22. He formerly was Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Law at the Boston University Law School. He has served as a law clerk to Anthony M. Kennedy of the United States Supreme Court and to Richard A. Posner of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and worked as a Legal Adviser to the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal in the Hague. He received his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School, and his B.A. from Wesleyan University.

Farnsworth is the author of books on law, philosophy, rhetoric, and chess. He also has published scholarly articles on the economic analysis of law, constitutional law, statutory interpretation, jurisprudence, and cognitive psychology. He served as Reporter for the American Law Institute’s Restatement Third, Torts: Liability for Economic Harm.