G. Marcus Cole is the Joseph A. Matson Dean and Professor of Law at Notre Dame Law School.

He was appointed by University President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., and began his term on July 1, 2019. He is the 11th dean in the history of Notre Dame Law School.

Dean Cole is a leading scholar of the empirical law and economics of commerce and finance. He was a faculty member at Stanford Law School from 1997 until he came to Notre Dame. At Stanford, he held two endowed chairs and taught courses in the areas of bankruptcy, banking, contracts, and venture capital. In addition, he served for five years as associate dean for curriculum and academic affairs.

His research has explored questions such as why corporate bankruptcies are increasingly filed in Delaware and what drives the financial structure of firms backed by venture capital. His recent research has involved the ways in which the world’s poor are using technology to solve their own problems, often in the face of government restrictions hindering such solutions.

Before joining the Stanford faculty, he was an associate with the Chicago law firm of Mayer Brown. He clerked for Judge Morris Sheppard Arnold of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Dean Cole’s extensive legal and scholarly background includes serving as a national fellow at the Hoover Institution, a fellow at the University of Amsterdam Center for Law and Economics, and a visiting professor at several institutions around the world, including the University of Amsterdam, the University of Vienna, Leiden University, Bucerius Law School in Hamburg, Germany, Northwestern University, Korea University, and Peking University School of Transnational Law in Shenzhen, China.

He has served on the editorial board of the Cato Supreme Court Review, the academic advisory board of BARBRI, the advisory board of the Independent Institute’s Center on Culture and Civil Society, and as a member of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s Bankruptcy Judicial Advisory Committee. He has served on the boards of several civic and charitable organizations, including those of the Central Pacific Region of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith and Businesses United in Investing, Lending and Development (BUILD). He is the former president of the board of directors of Rocketship Education — a national, nonprofit charter school network operating California’s most successful charter schools for low-income children. He has also served on the board of trustees of Bellarmine College Preparatory, the oldest Jesuit secondary school on the West Coast.

Dean Cole earned his bachelor’s degree in applied economics from Cornell University and his juris doctor from Northwestern University, where he served as editor-in-chief of the Northwestern Journal of International Law and Business.

Publications

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Notre Dame Law School Religious Liberty Initiative, Marcus Cole, Stephanie Barclay, Mona Polacca, Aly Cox, Paolo Carozza, John Meiser, Zahraa Nasser, Olivia Rogers, and Rick Garnett

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Walk the Walk Week 2022 Candlelight Prayer Service, Marcus Cole; Pete McCormick, C.S.C.; and John Jenkins, C.S.C.

Discussions

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2022 Black History Month Panel Discussion, Marcus Cole, Alvin McKenna, Judge Ann Clair Williams, Paris Mayfield, and Max Gaston

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A Conversation With Justice Alan Page, Marcus Cole; John Jenkins, C.S.C.; Justice Alan Page; and Kaya Lawrence

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All God's Children: Ministry to the LGBT Community in the Age of Francis, Marcus Cole; Joe Copora, C.S.C.; and Bob Loughery, C.S.C.

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"A Powerful Force for Good": Our Responsibility in Catholic Higher Education, Marcus Cole, Thomas Hibbs, Sarah Mustillo, and Anna Bonta Moreland

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Be Someone’s Miracle Today - A Conversation with Marcus Cole, Marcus Cole

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Best of Live Chats: Marcus Cole - What Makes a Notre Dame Lawyer Different, Marcus Cole and Lou Nanni

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Breaking Down Systemic Barriers Around African American Entrepreneurship, Marcus Cole, Bryan Ritchie, Philip Gaskin, and Andrew Welters

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Favorite Spot on Campus - A Conversation with Marcus Cole, Marcus Cole

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FC21 – What Should it Mean for a Catholic University to be 'Anti-Racist'?, Marcus Cole and Robert K. Vischer

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Fireside Chat with Dean Cole and Notre Dame Law Student Rachel Schneider, Marcus Cole and Rachel Schneider

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First Generation Professionals: An Evening with Dean Cole, Marcus Cole and Phenia Hovsepyan

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His Mom & Dad - A Conversation with Marcus Cole, Marcus Cole

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His Siblings - A Conversation with Marcus Cole, Marcus Cole

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Hope for ND Law - A Conversation with Marcus Cole, Marcus Cole

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How His First Job Shaped Him - A Conversation with Marcus Cole, Marcus Cole

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How Notre Dame Happened - A Conversation with Marcus Cole, Marcus Cole

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Law Clerk then Jr. Associate - A Conversation with Marcus Cole, Marcus Cole

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Live Chat with G. Marcus Cole, Marcus Cole and Lou Nanni

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Live Chat with Marcus Cole, Marcus Cole and Lou Nanni

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Meeting His Wife - A Conversation with Marcus Cole, Marcus Cole

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My Domer Brother and Me - A Conversation with Marcus Cole, Marcus Cole

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ND Lawyers of New York City: ‘Off the Court’ with Muffet McGraw and Coquese Washington ’97 J.D., Marcus Cole

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#NLawProud: G. Marcus Cole (JD ’93), Marcus Cole

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Power of Modern Prayer - A Conversation with Marcus Cole, Marcus Cole

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Preparing for Law School - A Conversation with Marcus Cole, Marcus Cole

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Racism Is a Life Issue Panel Discussion, Marcus Cole, Katrina Jackson, Ernest Morrell, Gloria Purvis, Jacqueline Rivers, Benjamin Watson, and Carter Snead

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Sacred Places of Notre Dame: Kresge Law Library Main Reading Room, Marcus Cole

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Son’s Reaction to Taking Notre Dame Job - A Conversation with Marcus Cole, Marcus Cole

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Stanford Law - A Conversation with Marcus Cole, Marcus Cole

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St. Thomas More - A Conversation with Marcus Cole, Marcus Cole

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Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh: 2023 Notre Dame Law Review Federal Courts Symposium, Marcus Cole and Brett Kavanaugh

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The Hair - A Conversation with Marcus Cole, Marcus Cole

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The Love For Notre Dame - A Conversation with Marcus Cole, Marcus Cole

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The World Doesn't Understand - A Conversation with Marcus Cole, Marcus Cole

Interviews

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Marcus Cole - Notre Dame Day 2019, Marcus Cole and Colleen Wilcox

Opening Remarks

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2022 Religious Liberty Summit: Opening Remarks by Dean Cole, Marcus Cole

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2023 Notre Dame Religious Liberty Summit: Dean G. Marcus Cole’s welcome remarks, Marcus Cole

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Notre Dame Law School Sesquicentennial Reception, Marcus Cole; Nancy Gargula; William Beauchamp, C.S.C.; and Gerard Olinger, C.S.C.