William Michael Treanor (born November 16, 1957) is an American attorney and legal scholar. He served as the Dean of Georgetown University Law Center[1] from 2010 to 2025, is the former dean of Fordham University School of Law, and is an expert on constitutional law, having been cited three times in Supreme Court opinions. He holds the title of Agnes Williams Sesquicentennial Professor of Constitutional Law and Constitutional History and Dean Emeritus and continues to teach as a professor at Georgetown Law. Treanor held several high-profile government positions and is an advocate of civil service. His teaching and work evidence Treanor's commitment to his philosophy of a complete legal education: "Intellectual excellence, the craft of lawyering, and dedication to public service."[2]
On October 15, 1994, Treanor married Allison Derivaux Ames, who was then director of strategic planning for corporate publicity and special events at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York City. He has two children, Liam and Katherine.[5]
Dean of Fordham Law School and Georgetown Law
Treanor's biggest commitment remains to legal scholarship. "William Treanor represents a new generation of scholars and teachers at Fordham's School of Law," said the Rev. Joseph A. O'Hare, S.J., president of Fordham University at the time of Treanor's appointment.[6] When he first arrived to teach at Fordham in 1991, he evidenced his broad command of legal subjects in courses such as property, land use, intellectual property, constitutional law, criminal law, and legal history.[citation needed] In 1998, he went on leave from the university to serve as deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, before returning in 2002.[citation needed]
"As dean of the law school, you're required to do both broad-level thinking and strategic planning," said Treanor in regard to challenges as a law school dean.[7] On July 17, 2006, Treanor announced to students and faculty that the school surpassed the $20 million mark for new gifts and pledges. This was in stark contrast to the levels reached in 2004 ($4.2 million) and 2005 ($6.9 million). The funds will help establish six new chairs and start the Feerick Center for Social Justice and Dispute Resolution, named in honor of Treanor's predecessor, John Feerick.[8]
Plans for a new skyscraper were unveiled to accommodate increasing enrollment numbers, and the school ranks fifth in the country in placing its graduates at top-shelf law firms.[9] But Treanor is not just concerned with growth and reputation. Like the law deans of Harvard (which built a state-of-the-art law student gym, limited class size to 80 students, and mandated individualized written feedback for every student in every course throughout the semester), and Yale (which abandoned the traditional law school grading system, does not rank its students, and has only one semester of required classes), Treanor has attempted to address the students' quality of life.[10] In a 2006 interview, Treanor reported instituting free cupcakes and ice cream to alleviate the intensity of law school finals. Gifts to students, though, are in the offing: At the end of the 2006 academic year, Treanor worked for the purveyance of free flip-flops with Fordham's imprint on the bottom. "I feel obliged to make the Fordham experience for our students as special as possible," said Treanor.[3] Fordham maintains a strict grading curve policy, class rankings, and a year-long 1L curriculum.[citation needed]
On June 29, 2010, it was announced that Dean Treanor would become the new executive vice president and Dean of Georgetown University Law Center, beginning August 16, 2010.[11]
Under Treanor's leadership, Georgetown Law expanded the number of certified experiential offerings from 450 to more than 2000 seats and boosted its clinical faculty. Georgetown’s clinical legal program is regularly ranked #1 in U.S. News and World Report. Recognizing the need for lawyers to expand their skill set in a competitive market, he helped launch the Georgetown Business Law Scholars Program and the Institute for Technology Law and Policy.[12]
He launched the RISE program, which helps students from historically underrepresented groups build community and succeed in law school, and the Early Outreach Initiative, which sends Georgetown Law students and the Dean of Admissions to underserved high schools to encourage students to pursue careers in the law.[13]
During Treanor's tenure, Georgetown Law established a new program of post-graduate fellowships, which offer intensive training and opportunities for graduates to start public service careers. In 2015, in conjunction with the law firms DLA Piper and Arent Fox, Georgetown Law launched the D.C. Affordable Law Firm,[14] an innovative "low-bono" model serving lower-income residents who cannot afford a lawyer but do not qualify for free legal aid. In 2016, the Law Center joined with Georgetown's Medical Center and School of Medicine to create a medical-legal partnership—the Georgetown University Health Justice Alliance[15]—dedicated to improved health and greater justice for those living in poverty
In 2012, Treanor was named a "champion" by the National Law Journal,[16] one of the 25 "most influential in legal education" by the National Jurist[17] and a recipient of the Dave Nee Foundation's David S. Stoner Uncommon Counselor Award.[18]
In 2020, he was elected into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences for law and education.[19] That same year, he was selected for the inaugural Honorable Robert A. Katzmann Award for Academic Excellence by the Burton Awards.[20] In 2025, the World Jurist Association presented Treanor with the Medal of Honor for Academic Merit in recognition of his professional career and personal commitment to the defense and strengthening of the rule of law.[21]
On June 6, 2006, he debated prominent classical liberal/libertarian law professor and published author Richard Epstein on the topic "Did Progressives Rewrite the Constitution?"
Response to Ed Martin Letter
On February 17, 2025, then Interim U.S. Attorney General for the District of Columbia Ed Martin wrote a letter to Treanor saying that he would not hire any Georgetown Law graduates if the school continued to “teach and utilize DEI.”[23]
In a letter dated March 6, 2025,[24] Treanor responded, “Your letter informs me that your office will deny our students and graduates government employment opportunities until you, as Interim United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, approve of our curriculum. Given the First Amendment’s protection of a university’s freedom to determine its own curriculum and how to deliver it, the constitutional violation behind this threat is clear, as is the attack on the University’s mission as a Jesuit and Catholic institution….We look forward to your confirming that any Georgetown-affiliated candidates for employment with your office will receive full and fair consideration.” Treanor's response was widely reported on as a part of a series of attacks by the Trump administration on the First Amendment rights of civil institutions.[25]
Quotes
"With Walsh or Starr, the president and his supporters could more easily argue that a prosecutor was overzealous or irresponsible, because there had been a three-judge panel that appointed him. With Fitzgerald, you have a prosecutor who was appointed by the deputy attorney general [at the direction of the attorney general]. The administration almost has to stand behind him because this is someone they selected themselves. It is harder to criticize someone you yourself put into play."[26]
"Few areas of constitutional law have produced as much heated debate as the war powers area, heat produced in no small part by the passionate belief that this is a subject of incalculable consequence. But, stunningly and ironically, there is little connection between the issues that scholars debate and the constitutional issues involving war that government officials and political leaders confront."[27]
"The original understanding of the Takings Clause was, very simply, that the federal government had to compensate the property owner when it physically took property --such as when it took land to build a fort. The clause did not require compensation for regulations under any circumstances."[28]
"Despite the public prominence of the property rights argument, there is actually nothing novel or particularly controversial about the conclusion that the Takings Clause was limited to physical seizures. With some notable exceptions, prominent legal scholars of all shades of political opinion—including such leading conservatives as former judge Robert Bork and former Solicitor General Charles Fried--support the conclusion that the property rights argument has no plausible foundation in the original understanding of the Takings Clause."[29]
"[Fordham Law School is] pleased to rank in the top five [in placing graduates at the most successful firms]. We focus our education on practicing the law as well as knowing the law, so firms have come to realize that our graduates are prepared to work effectively right from the start. And our location in Manhattan within walking distance of many of the country's elite firms assures that there are exceptional opportunities available for students."[30]
"This is a time of change for legal practice. The change in the economy precipitated changes that would have come inevitably…It does cause us to rethink how we prepare lawyers."[31]
"Georgetown is a law school with incredible strength, so both in the first year and longer term, what I see as my mission is to build on those strengths. We'll be focusing on experiential learning, externships and increasing opportunities in those areas. We're going to be focusing on the academic depth and intellect strengths of the law school and continue to build on that with new hires. I consider myself incredibly privileged to be here at this moment."[32]
"At no moment in the past fifty years has there been a greater consensus that the American criminal legal system is broken."[33]
Selected articles
"The Case of the Dishonest Scriviner: Gouverneur Morris and the Creation of the Federalist Constitution", 120 Michigan Law Review 1 (2021)
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