Daniel Abebe

Daniel Y. Abebe
Occupation(s)	Attorney, academic, law professor
Years active	2008–present
Known for	Dean of Columbia Law School

Daniel Y. Abebe is a distinguished American attorney and academic, currently serving as the 16th dean of Columbia Law School. He began his tenure on August 1, 2024, holding the positions of Dean and Lucy G. Moses Professor of Law. His scholarly work primarily explores the convergence of U.S. constitutional foreign affairs law with public international law. Prior to this appointment, Abebe was the Harold J. and Marion F. Green Professor of Law, Deputy Dean at the University of Chicago Law School, and also held the role of Vice Provost at the University of Chicago.

Education

In 1997, Abebe graduated summa cum laude from Maryville University of St. Louis. He subsequently obtained his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2000, followed by an M.A. in 2006 and a Ph.D. in political science in 2013 from the University of Chicago.

Career

After completing a clerkship with Judge Damon J. Keith on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Abebe practiced law at Cravath, Swaine & Moore. He joined the faculty at the University of Chicago Law School in 2008 and maintained an affiliation with its political science department.

On June 17, 2024, Abebe was named Dean of Columbia Law School and Lucy G. Moses Professor of Law, effective from August 1, 2024, marking him as the first Black individual to hold the deanship at Columbia Law.

He holds elected membership in the American Law Institute and participates on the boards of both the Higher Learning Commission and the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. Additionally, he has previously chaired boards at Chapin Hall and the University of Chicago Charter School and served on the Board of Governors for Argonne National Laboratory.