John Rogers elected to the Royal Society
May 20, 2025
Northwestern University Provost Kathleen Hagerty announced today that Professor Zachary D. Clopton has been appointed interim dean of Northwestern Pritzker School of Law for two years, effective July 22, 2025. Clopton is a widely respected scholar and teacher, and brings deep institutional knowledge, national recognition in civil litigation and a collaborative leadership style to the role.
“Zach is a thoughtful and distinguished legal scholar who has earned the respect of colleagues across disciplines,” said Provost Hagerty. “He is deeply committed to the intellectual vitality and public mission of Northwestern Pritzker Law.”
Clopton, who joined the Northwestern Pritzker Law faculty in 2019, is currently a professor of law and serves as associate dean for Research and Intellectual Life. As dean, Clopton will also be appointed to the Daniel Hale Williams Professorship.
“I’m honored to help steward this remarkable institution,” said Clopton. “Northwestern Pritzker Law is home to brilliant faculty, passionate students, devoted staff and an inspiring alumni network. I look forward to working together to build on our strengths and meet the challenges ahead.”
Clopton’s legal scholarship spans civil procedure, federal courts and transnational litigation. Since 2024, Clopton has placed articles in the Yale Law Journal, Stanford Law Review, University of Chicago Law Review, Virginia Law Review, Duke Law Journal, Cornell Law Review, and Northwestern University Law Review. In 2023, Chief Justice John Roberts appointed Clopton to the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules, a testament to his national impact on the procedural rules that govern federal courts.
Clopton has spearheaded amicus briefs to the Supreme Court and other federal courts in cases related to federal jurisdiction and the restitution of Nazi-looted art. He also has collaborated on significant litigation with clinical faculty on topics ranging from civil rights to environmental law to international human rights.
“Zach is well-positioned to carry the leadership of the Law School forward,” Hagerty added. “I am confident he will lead the Law School with integrity and purpose.”
Clopton holds degrees from Yale, Harvard and Cambridge, where he studied international relations as a Gates Cambridge Scholar. He clerked for Judge Diane P. Wood on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and worked as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Chicago and as an associate in the national security group at WilmerHale in Washington, D.C. He also served as a law professor at Cornell and as a Public Law Fellow at the University of Chicago. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute and the Reporter for the Seventh Circuit Pattern Jury Instructions Committee.
Clopton succeeds Hari M. Osofsky, who has served as dean since 2021. Osofsky recently announced she was stepping down to lead initiatives on behalf of the University.
