Last updated May 2023
Most of my income comes from my salary as a professor at Cornell University, where I am a tenured member of the faculty of the Law School and appointed at Cornell Tech. Under standard principles of academic freedom, which Cornell recognizes, I enjoy freedom “from direction and restraint in scholarship, research, and creative expression” and can “speak and write as a citizen without institutional censorship or discipline.” I have previously held appointments at New York Law School, Georgetown University, and the University of Maryland, with similar protections for academic freedom. Sometimes critics try to threaten me over my research; I am grateful to the deans who have told them to go pound sand.
I typically receive a small fraction of my income (5% or less) as royalties from Semaphore Press on my Internet law casebook. The book is made available both in a printed edition and as a pay-what-you-want PDF download, so no one is ever obligated to pay me for it.
I sometimes receive honoraria for speaking engagements, op-eds, manuscript reviews, tenure letters, and similar services. These are typically a small fraction of my income (5% or less).
My spouse is a professional in a field unrelated to law.
My savings are mostly in broadly diversified stock and bond funds. With the exception of a small number of shares of the Walt Disney Company, which were given to me as a present by my grandfather when I was a child, I do not own or have any other financial interest in individual securities, currencies, commodities, blockchain-based assets, etc.
I am on the Board of Directors of Creative Commons. This is an unpaid position. I have a few additional uncompensated professional appointments and affiliations, which are listed on my CV. Other than these, I have no employment or consulting relationships.
I have sometimes represented clients pro bono for purposes of writing amicus briefs; these are listed on my CV. Other than these, I do not currently represent any clients.
I apply for and sometimes receive grants to support my research. All grants I have been awarded are disclosed on my CV. The most significant sources of funding have been the National Science Foundation and Microsoft. My compensation from Cornell and my continued employment are not dependent on my ability to obtain grants. The funds are used to support students and postdoctoral fellows, and to pay for research-related expenses such as conference hosting, website development, travel, and article submission fees. The funders do not have the authority to determine what or how I publish based on the research.