Stephen L. Carter

Stephen L. Carter
at the 2015 National Book Festival
Born	(1954-10-26) October 26, 1954 (age 62)
Alma mater	Stanford University, Yale Law School
Occupation	Author, lawyer
Known for	Novels and social commentary
Parent(s)	Lisle Carter, Jr
Relatives	Eunice Carter (grandmother)

Stephen L. Carter (born October 26, 1954) is an American law professor at Yale University, legal- and social-policy writer, columnist, and best-selling novelist.

Carter graduated from Ithaca High School in 1972, and his essay "The Best Black" is based in part on his experiences there. At Ithaca High School, he was the editor-in-chief of The Tattler and pushed hard for student representation on the local school board.

Carter earned his BA in history from Stanford University in 1976. At Stanford he served as managing editor for The Stanford Daily. Carter received a JD from Yale Law School in 1979. At Yale, he won the prize for best oralist in the Thurmond Arnold Moot Court Competition and served as a note editor on the Yale Law Journal.

Carter has received eight honorary degrees, from schools including Bates College, Colgate University, Hamilton College, and the University of Notre Dame.

Following graduation from Yale, Carter served as a law clerk for Judge Spottswood W. Robinson III of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and, subsequently, for US Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.

Carter is currently the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law at Yale Law School, where he has taught since 1982. At Yale he teaches courses on contracts, evidence, professional responsibility, ethics in literature, intellectual property, and the law and ethics of war.