310: What It’s Like To Be A Law Professor & Award-Winning Author w/ Adam Winkler, UCLA Law School [Main T4C episode]

Adam Winkler is an author, editor and a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles who specializes in the Supreme Court, constitutional law and gun policy. Winkler’s most recent published book We the Corporations: How American Businesses Won Their Civil Rights (2018) received the Scribes Book Award and was a finalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction, National Book Critics Circle Award, the California Book Award, and the American Bar Association Silver Gavel Award. Before he joined the UCLA law staff in 2002, Winkler served as a law clerk for Judge David Thompson in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and defended Michael Jackson in his trial for sexual assault. Winkler has a Bachelor’s Degree in foreign service from Georgetown University, as well as a masters degree in Law from New York University School of Law and a masters degree in political science from UCLA. Winkler’s political expertise has led him to be featured in nationally recognized newspapers including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post. His 2011 book Gunfight: the Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms in America was featured as a question in the popular game show, Jeopardy!. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT IN THIS EPISODE: The three key components to being a law professor and which one is Adam’s favorite How Adam developed his teaching style What are some of Adam’s insecurities and how he has overcome them Why it’s ok to experience ‘imposter syndrome’ and how to move on from it Why Adam fell in love with Constitutional Law and his modern interpretation of it in today’s political climate What Adam’s latest book is about why it matters if corporations have the same legal rights as individuals What are signs that the legal profession might not be for you Why humility and hard work matter How to make the most of college through connections and involvement