Law professor given prestigious award

 George Mason Law Professor Joshua D. Wright will received the Paul M. Bator Award  at the Federalist Society’s 2014 Annual Student Symposium, hosted by the University Of Florida Levin College Of Law.

The Bator Award, established in 1989 in memory of University of Chicago professor Paul Bator and presented annually to a law professor under age 40, recognizes Wright’s scholarship and commentary in Antitrust and Law & Economics.


“I am deeply honored to receive the Federalist Society’s 2014 Paul M. Bator Award and humbled to be added to a list of past winners that includes so many prolific and influential scholars” said Wright. “The Federalist Society has since its inception stood for the principles of rigorous analysis, open debate, and full engagement in the marketplace for ideas.  These principles are cherished and celebrated at George Mason University School of Law and I could not be prouder to be associated with both of these institutions.”

Wright currently serves as a member of the Federal Trade Commission, on leave from George Mason University School Of Law. He also holds a courtesy appointment in Mason’s Department of Economics. Wright was a visiting professor at the University of Texas School Of Law and a visiting fellow at the Searle Center at the Northwestern University School of Law during the 2008-09 academic year. Wright received both a J.D. and a Ph.D. in economics from UCLA and a B.A. in economics (with highest departmental honors) at the University of California, San Diego.

Wright’s publications have appeared in leading academic journals, including the Journal of Law and Economics and Journal of Competition Law and Economics, and he has published more than 60 articles and book chapters. Wright has also testified at the joint Department of Justice/ Federal Trade Commission Hearings on Section 2 of the Sherman Act, the Federal Trade Commission’s FTC at 100 Conference, and the DOJ/ FTC Hearings on the 2010 Horizontal Merger Guidelines.

Dean of the George Mason School of Law, Daniel Polsby, praised Wright for his “mastery of empirical and theoretical approaches to his subject, his deep learning, lightly worn but relentlessly deployed, and for his commitment to his students. He is one of the thought leaders in his generation — and his students love him.”