Paul Ohm is a Professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. In his research, service, and teaching, Professor Ohm builds bridges between computer science and law, utilizing his training and experience as a lawyer, policymaker, computer programmer, and network systems admininstrator. His research focuses on information privacy, computer crime law, surveillance, technology and the law, and artificial intelligence and the law. Professor Ohm has published landmark articles about the failure of anonymization, the Fourth Amendment and new technology, and broadband privacy. His work has defined fields of scholarly inquiry and influenced policymakers around the world.
Interested in turning scholarly insights into meaningful change, Professor Ohm serves as a faculty director for the Institute for Technology Law and Policy; the Center on Privacy and Technology at Georgetown Law; and the Georgetown University Tech & Society Initiative. He has testified before committees of both houses of Congress and advised numerous government agencies including the Federal Trade Commission, Federal Communications Commission, and several state Attorneys General. He serves on the boards of directors for two of the most impactful and innovative nonprofits in technology policy: Upturn and The Markup.
Professor Ohm has been recognized as an innovative and popular teacher. Believing that the 21st century practice of law requires a deep facility with modern technology, Professor Ohm teaches intensive, hands-on courses that introduce law students to Python programming, the Linux operating system, cloud computing, and more. Hundreds of Georgetown Law students without any prior programming experience have learned to write programs in Python from Professor Ohm as part of their JD training. Hoping to spread this curriculum to other schools, Professors Ohm has shared his course materials with numerous colleagues at other institutions who now offer similar courses.
