Robert Chesney

Robert (Bobby) Chesney is the Dean of the University of Texas School of Law, where he also holds the James A. Baker III Chair in the Rule of Law and World Affairs.

He is known internationally for his scholarship relating both to cybersecurity and national security. He founded and continues to guide the Integrated Cybersecurity Studies program at UT, and is the author of a popular eCasebook on the legal and policy aspects of that topic. His scholarship on issues such as military detention, the use of lethal force, freedom of speech, covert action, and military cyber activities has been published in an array of leading law reviews.

He is a co-founder of Lawfare, the nation’s leading online source for analysis of national security legal issues, and he co-hosts the popular show The National Security Law Podcast with Steve Vladeck. He has been a member of an array of federal government advisory bodies, including the Cybersecurity Advisory Committee, the Advanced Technology Board, the Detention Policy Task Force, and the Intelligence Science Board. He has testified before Congress on many occasions.

Dean Chesney attended Harvard Law School and Texas Christian University, graduating both magna cum laude.  He clerked on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and practiced law in the litigation department of David Polk & Wardwell. Before joining UT in 2008, he was a member of the faculty of Wake Forest University School of Law, where he won multiple teaching awards. He is from San Antonio. For tacos in Austin, he recommends Veracruz All-Natural, of course.