Robert R. DeKoven
Legal Writing Professor
Biography
Professor Robert R. DeKoven has taught legal research, legal writing, and advocacy to more than 5,000 law students and paralegals during more than four decades of teaching. He has served on the faculties of California Western School of Law, the University of California San Diego, the University of San Diego, San Diego State University, San Diego Miramar College, and San Diego City College.
Professor DeKoven is the author of Challenging Educational Fee Increases, Program Termination and Deterioration, and Misrepresentation of Program Quality: The Legal Rights and Remedies of Students, 19 Cal. W. L. Rev. 467 (1983). His scholarship has been cited in Bernard E. Witkin's Summary of California Law, one of California's leading legal treatises.
He has written more than 800 legal essays and commentaries, including publications appearing in the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Daily Journal, and the National Law Journal, as well as numerous other newspapers and legal publications.
Professor DeKoven helped found the Tom Homann LGBT Law Association, one of California's leading LGBTQ+ bar associations, whose annual awards dinner brings together hundreds of judges, attorneys, and public officials.
Throughout his career, Professor DeKoven has remained committed to making legal education practical, accessible, and innovative. His teaching emphasizes legal research, legal writing, advocacy, and the thoughtful integration of artificial intelligence into legal education while preparing students for the NextGen Bar Examination.
- J.D. California Western School of Law [cum laude]
- B.A. San Diego State University [political science]
- Introduction to Legal Skills,
- Legal Skills I & II,
- Legal Research & Writing: Selected Topics
- Robert R DeKoven, Bias on the Basis of Marriage, San Diego Lawyer, at 42 (Nov.-Dec. 2004).
- Robert R DeKoven, High Court Needs to Overturn Ban on Suspicionless School Searches, Los Angeles Daily Journal, at 6 (Oct. 6, 2004).
- Robert R DeKoven, Legal Briefs: Paper Can’t Fire Columnist for Political Views; Court Gives Freelancers Some Clout, but at the Expense of Their Employers, Press Pass Q, (Apr. 2004).
- Robert R DeKoven, Real Men Knit, Real Women Lead Universities, San Diego Union Tribune, at B8 (Apr. 23, 2004).
- Robert R DeKoven, Courts Debating Whether Revealing Gayness is Highly Offensive, Press Pass Q, (Feb. 2004).
- Robert R DeKoven, School Should Ask Parents Before Police Question Kids, Los Angeles Daily Journal, at 6 (Sept. 10, 2003).