Bruce Klaw, JD
Biography at a Glance
Bruce Klaw is the chair of the Department of Business Ethics and Legal Studies. He holds a JD from Harvard Law School and a BA from Binghamton University (State University of New York) in Philosophy, Politics and Law. He has been a member of the Daniels faculty since 2013.
Klaw’s research lies at the crossroads of law, ethics and public policy. His primary area of scholarship examines issues of corruption, white-collar crime and corporate malfeasance. He also researches the relationship between government and business, pedagogical best practices, and the ethics and governance of algorithmic decision-making and artificial intelligence.
Klaw’s work is published in numerous top journals, including the Harvard Journal on Legislation, the Journal of Business Ethics, the Berkeley Journal of International Law, the William and Mary Business Law Review, and the Journal of Legal Studies Education. He was the 2016 recipient of the Hoeber Memorial Award for Excellence in Research from the Academy of Legal Studies in Business.
A passionate and devoted teacher whose enthusiasm has been called “contagious,” Klaw teaches both graduate and undergraduate students at the Daniels College of Business. He aims to bring the very best out of his students and help them develop the knowledge, skills and analytical abilities they will need to succeed in business and life. His courses are among the most popular at the Daniels College of Business. Klaw has been awarded DU’s “Top Professor of the Quarter” by one undergraduate student organization and the C. Thomas Howard Innovative Teacher Award by his peers at Daniels, and has been a faculty nominee for the Daniels Award for Excellence. Recent alumni have also recognized him as a faculty member leaving “a meaningful positive impact.”
Klaw is a regular contributor to the work of the Institute for Enterprise Ethics, speaking often on topics including insider trading, corporate ethical scandals, governmental enforcement policies and the ethics of artificial intelligence in business.
He also is the co-founder and faculty coordinator for the Legal Accelerator for Student Entrepreneurs, which connects Daniels’ enterprising undergraduate and graduate students with the professional legal advice they need to turn their start-up dreams into reality.
Prior to joining Daniels, Klaw taught American and international law at Keimyung University and Kyungpook Law School in South Korea.
Klaw also had a robust career as an attorney in private practice prior to entering academe. He was an associate in the White Collar Criminal Defense and International Dispute Resolution groups of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP based in New York. He was also an attorney in the Trial Section of Stoel Rives LLP in Portland, Oregon, where he represented and advised individuals, companies and foundations on litigation and risk management matters. He has worked on matters before the International Court of Justice, the United States Supreme Court, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, and various state, federal and foreign regulatory bodies. He also had early career internship opportunities with the United States Attorney’s Office (S.D.N.Y. – Criminal Division), Judge Sang-Hyun Song of the International Criminal Court, and senior academics in the areas of political science and criminal law.
An avid traveler, Professor Klaw has visited more than 65 countries on 5 continents. He enjoys spending time with his wife, two children and two English bulldogs.
EDUCATION
- JD, Harvard Law School
- BA, Philosophy, Politics and Law, State University of New York at Binghamton
RECENT AWARDS & HONORS
- C. Thomas Howard Innovative Teacher Award, Daniels College of Business
- Hoeber Memorial Award for Excellence in Research, Academy of Legal Studies in Business
- Public Impact Fellow, University of Denver
- Fulbright Core U.S. Scholar Award (offered, but declined)