William Treanor

During Treanor's tenure, Georgetown Law established a new program of post-graduate fellowships, which offer intensive training and opportunities for graduates to start public service careers. In 2015, in conjunction with the law firms DLA Piper and Arent Fox, Georgetown Law launched the D.C. Affordable Law Firm, an innovative "low-bono" model serving lower-income residents who cannot afford a lawyer but do not qualify for free legal aid. In 2016, the Law Center joined with Georgetown's Medical Center and School of Medicine to create a medical-legal partnership—the Georgetown University Health Justice Alliance—dedicated to improved health and greater justice for those living in poverty

In 2012, Treanor was named a "champion" by the National Law Journal, one of the 25 "most influential in legal education" by the National Jurist and a recipient of the Dave Nee Foundation's David S. Stoner Uncommon Counselor Award.

On June 29, 2010, it was announced that Dean Treanor would become the new executive vice president and Dean of Georgetown University Law Center, beginning August 16, 2010.

"As dean of the law school, you're required to do both broad-level thinking and strategic planning," said Treanor in regard to challenges as a law dean. On July 17, 2006, Treanor announced to students and faculty that the school surpassed the $20 million mark for new gifts and pledges. This was in stark contrast to the levels reached in 2004 ($4.2 million) and 2005 ($6.9 million). The funds will help establish six new chairs and start the Feerick Center for Social Justice and Dispute Resolution, named in honor of Treanor's predecessor, John Feerick.

Plans for a new skyscraper were unveiled to accommodate increasing enrollment numbers, and the school ranks fifth in the country in placing its graduates at top-shelf law firms. But Treanor is not just concerned with growth and reputation. Like the law deans of Harvard (which built a state-of-the-art law student gym, limited class size to 80 students, and mandated individualized written feedback for every student in every course throughout the semester), and Yale (which abandoned the traditional law school grading system, does not rank its students, and has only one semester of required classes), Treanor has attempted to address the students' quality of life. In a 2006 interview, Treanor reported instituting free cupcakes and ice cream to alleviate the intensity of law school finals. Gifts to students, though, are in the offing: At the end of the 2006 academic year, Treanor worked for the purveyance of free flip-flops with Fordham's imprint on the bottom. "I feel obliged to make the Fordham experience for our students as special as possible," said Treanor. Fordham maintains a strict grading curve policy, class rankings, and a year-long 1L curriculum.

On June 6, 2006, he debated prominent classical liberal/libertarian law professor and published author Richard Epstein on the topic "Did Progressives Rewrite the Constitution?"

Since Treanor's arrival, Georgetown Law has expanded the number of certified experiential offerings from 450 to more than 2000 seats and created four new clinics. Recognizing the need for lawyers to expand their skill set in a competitive market, he helped launch the Georgetown Law Business Skills Program and the Institute for Technology Law and Policy.

On October 15, 1994, Treanor married Allison Derivaux Ames, who was then director of strategic planning for corporate publicity and special events at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York City. He now has two children, Liam and Katherine.

Treanor's biggest commitment remains to legal scholarship. "William Treanor represents a new generation of scholars and teachers at Fordham's School of Law," said the Rev. Joseph A. O'Hare, S.J., president of Fordham University at the time of Treanor's appointment. When he first arrived to teach at Fordham in 1991, he evidenced his broad command of legal subjects in courses such as property, land use, intellectual property, constitutional law, criminal law, and legal history. In 1998, he went on leave from the university to serve as deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, before he returned to assume his current position in 2002.

Treanor graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Yale College in 1979, where he was an active member of the Yale Political Union. He obtained an M.A. in history from Harvard University in 1982. He then entered Harvard Law School, but transferred to Yale Law School because he felt they focused more on public service. He was Article and Book Review Editor of the Yale Law Journal and graduated with a J.D. in 1985.

William Michael Treanor (born November 16, 1957) is an attorney and legal scholar. He is the dean of Georgetown University Law Center, the former dean of Fordham University School of Law, and an expert on constitutional law, having twice been cited in Supreme Court opinions. He continues to teach as a professor. Treanor held several high-profile government positions and he is an advocate of civil service. His teaching and work evidence Treanor's commitment to his philosophy of a complete legal education: "Intellectual excellence, the craft of lawyering, and dedication to public service."