Faculty Spotlight: Professor Aaron Schwabach
Professor Aaron Schwabach is one of the newest faculty members at California Western School of Law (CWSL). Originally from Chicago, Professor Schwabach has always had an insatiable curiosity. With his J.D. from Berkeley Law and a PhD in Law from the University of Westminster, he has followed his curiosity into far corners of the legal world—from the intersections of war and environmental law to the intellectual property rights of fan fiction writers to the laws of the Harry Potter world. His expertise and passion for teaching have made him a sought-after speaker and taken him across the country and around the globe. Now in his 30th year in the academy, Professor Schwabach says he is grateful to be back in San Diego, the city he calls home, and at California Western, “the school where I’ve always wanted to teach.”
Professor Schwabach teaches Professional Responsibility and will direct CWSL’s STEPPS program. His three guiding principles in teaching professional responsibility are to ensure students are equipped to pass the MPRE; that they are prepared for a PR essay on the Bar exam (he notes that a PR essay question has appeared on 27 of the last 28 exams); and that he never sees one of his former students on the attorney discipline list. He says he also makes sure that the course is entertaining— “I give students a lot of examples of the things lawyers do to get themselves in trouble.” Students have often come to him years later to say they never forgot about “kitten guy,” a divorce lawyer in Maryland who was disbarred for deeds that are not fit for print.
After 30 years, Professor Schwabach’s enthusiasm about the law is undimmed, and he continues to write prolifically on a wide range of topics. In the last three years alone, he has published articles in top-tier journals on international regulation of deep-sea mining, the biological origins of property, and how environmental law can inform intellectual property law. For the last ten plus years, Professor Schwabach has written extensively about questions of copyright in fan fiction, including a landmark book, which he wrote as a tribute to his sister, who was an avid fan fiction writer. Having also written a handbook on intellectual property and a reference book on the internet and the law, Professor Schwabach says he looks forward to seeing CWSL’s Law, Justice, and Technology Initiative continue to develop.
Despite his expertise on so many topics, Professor Schwabach says that he has gotten the most attention for the articles he has written about the laws of the Harry Potter world. An avid reader of the series, Professor Schwabach realized early on that law was mentioned in nearly every chapter. Written “purely for fun,” his articles dissect the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy and the dozens of regulations that are mentioned throughout the series, asking “How does it actually work? And the answer is not very well. There are all sorts of due process issues.” Professor Schwabach happily points out that in the fifth book, Harry Potter is allowed to bring his wand into the courtroom—“they send a defendant armed to his own trial—what could go wrong with that?” To his surprise, these articles have earned him invitations to speak across the United States, and in the United Kingdom, China, and Poland.
As far as he has gone in his career, Professor Schwabach says he has always had his eyes on California Western, so he is here to stay. “It’s a great school—great students, great faculty, great staff. I’ve always felt that I should be here. So, it feels like the universe is on the right course.”
We look forward to seeing all that Professor Schwabach will contribute to the CWSL community in the years to come.
Off Campus with Professor Schwabach
What are you reading?
I just reread Pride and Prejudice and Middlemarch. I also teach property, and both of these books are actually built around arcane devices in English property law. It’s fun to think of Pride and Prejudice as an extended property hypo. I find it fascinating how literature is informed by law, and how law is literature itself.
What are you watching?
I absolutely love and recommend that everybody watch Extraordinary Attorney Woo. It’s a Korean TV series about a young lawyer who is on the autism spectrum and working at a high-end firm. There are many reasons to recommend it, but one is that every episode has a scene in a courtroom, so you get a window into the real practice of law.
I also tell all of my Professional Responsibility students to watch My Cousin Vinny. It’s the rare courtroom movie that gets it right—there are several ethics questions raised and properly addressed. It’s one of the only movies I know of that introduces pro hac vice into the plot!
What are you enjoying most being back in San Diego?
Being around family and friends. The weather, the ocean. Shops, restaurants. Swimming, boogie boarding. Everything.