David Cobin

Professor
Email: dcobin@gw.hamline.edu
Phone: 651 523-2143

B.A., Northwestern University
J.D., Boston College Law School
LL.M., Harvard Law School

"By studying the laws of different cultures, an attorney learns that law reflects not only social mores, but also the religious and ethical issues of a society and its people. That understanding gives an attorney the perspective needed to truly represent individuals fairly and equitably."

Professor Cobin brought a broad legal background to his work at Hamline. He was in private practice in California, director of the Mental Patient Law Project in Berkeley, and a teaching fellow at Harvard Law School. He served on the Minnesota Supreme Court Study Commission on the Mentally Disabled and the Courts.

He provides the opportunity for students to be exposed to different legal styles. Professor Cobin teaches Civil Procedure and Constitutional Law. His areas of specialization include his seminars in Jewish law and American slavery and the law. He has written for several encyclopedias including the American National Biography, the Historical Encyclopedia of World Slavery and the Macmillan Encyclopedia of World Slavery.

Cobin has studied Jewish law in Jerusalem and was former director of the Lawyering Skills program. He served as membership secretary of the International Jewish Law Association and Chair of the Association of American Law Schools section on Jewish Law. Cobin also directs the Hamline-Hebrew University summer program on Law, Religion, and Ethics held in Jerusalem. While in law school, he was elected to the academic honor society Order of the Coif. He is working on a case book on American Slavery and the Law, and Four Rabbis and Their Views About Slavery.

Publications