Professor David Freeman Engstrom

David Freeman Engstrom is a far-ranging scholar of the design and implementation of litigation and regulatory regimes whose expertise runs to civil procedure, administrative law, constitutional law, law and technology, and empirical legal studies. 

Professor Engstrom’s current work focuses on access to justice in the millions of low-dollar but highly consequential cases, including debt collection, eviction, foreclosure, and child support actions, that shape the lives of Americans each year. He currently serves as the Reporter for the American Law Institute’s Principles of the Law, High-Volume Civil Adjudication, which will offer courts guidance on the urgent challenges these cases raise. At Stanford, Engstrom also co-directs the Deborah L. Rhode Center on the Legal Profession, the premier academic center working to shape the future of legal services and access to the legal system.

Another focus is law and technology. Engstrom’s projects span court use of technology in multidistrict litigations (MDLs), lawyer use of “legal tech” tools to serve clients, and a growing menu of technologies designed to assist those without lawyers. Engstrom has published numerous articles on these issues and is the editor of Legal Tech and the Future of Civil Justice (Cambridge University Press 2023). He also co-founded the Filing Fairness Project, an ambitious collaboration with six states and technology providers to simplify filing systems and eliminate access barriers. Professor Engstrom’s tech expertise also extends to the legal and policy implications of growing government use of AI—a trend that is poised to transform everything from policing, to regulatory enforcement, to the distribution of public benefits. During 2018-2020, Engstrom co-led a project at the Administrative Conference of the United States, Government by Algorithm: Artificial Intelligence in Federal Administrative Agencies. 

Beyond teaching and research, Professor Engstrom holds or has held many key administrative posts. In addition to his current role as Co-Director of the Rhode Center, Engstrom previously served as Stanford Law’s Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives and has chaired multiple committees, including faculty appointments.  He has served as counsel or consultant to a wide range of entities, including law firms, major corporations, government agencies, universities, and a leading litigation finance company. He regularly authors amicus and litigation briefs in key cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, state supreme courts, and other tribunals. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute, a public member of the Administrative Conference of the United States, and a fellow of the American Bar Foundation. 

Before joining Stanford’s faculty, Engstrom litigated at what is now Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick in Washington, D.C., where he represented clients before the U.S. Supreme Court and many other courts and agencies. He also clerked for Judge Diane P. Wood of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and was a John M. Olin Fellow at Yale Law School. Earlier in his career, he worked on education, early childhood, and civil rights issues at Yale University’s Edward Zigler Center and the Hewlett Foundation. Before that, he taught high school and coached football in the Mississippi Delta. He holds a J.D. from Stanford Law School, an M.Sc. from Oxford University, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Yale University.