H. Jefferson Powell
Frederic Cleaveland Professor of Law and Divinity
Jeff Powell has been a member of the Duke faculty since 1987. He teaches contracts and constitutional law and history in the Law School. In 1999 the Duke Bar Association presented Powell with the Excellence in Small Section Teaching Award, and in 2001/2, he was the University Scholar/Teacher of the year.
Professor Powell has served in both the federal and state governments, as a deputy assistant attorney general and as principal deputy solicitor general in the U.S. Department of Justice, and as special counsel to the attorney general of North Carolina; he has briefed and argued cases in both federal and state courts, including the Supreme Court of the United States.
Powell's recent scholarly work has focused on the constitutional law governing foreign policy, the role of history and politics in constitutional decision-making, and the moral choices involved in being a lawyer.
A graduate of St. Davids College of the University of Wales and of Yale Law School, Professor Powell also has a PhD in Christian theological ethics and holds a joint appointment in the Divinity School.