Starr Joins Chapman for Law Seminar

Kenneth W. Starr, the former independent counsel who became a political lightning rod during his investigation of then-President Clinton, has begun work as a visiting professor at the Chapman University School of Law.

Starr is the Orange school’s first “distinguished visiting professor.” He will teach a semester-long course in advanced constitutional law every other Friday to about two dozen students.

“Teaching is a delight,” Starr, 57, said. “And Chapman is a very exciting institution.”

A noted litigator, Starr is a partner at Kirkland & Ellis, one of the nation’s largest law firms, and works out of its Washington office. He was a judge on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the 1980s and served as the U.S. solicitor general from 1989 to 1993.

“It makes a world of difference when any law teacher can relate legal theory to students through real-life experiences,” said Parham Williams, dean of Chapman’s law school.

He said he approached Starr with the visiting professorship when Starr gave the law school’s commencement speech last year. “He is a great natural teacher and enjoys it tremendously,” Williams said. Starr also teaches at New York University and George Mason University.

Starr became a household name in 1994 when he was appointed independent counsel to investigate President and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Whitewater real estate deal. Starr’s successor would conclude that there was insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges against the Clintons over Whitewater.

The Whitewater probe led to others, including one into Clinton’s actions in the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal that led to the first presidential impeachment since 1868. In all, the investigations cost taxpayers more than $50 million, making it the most expensive independent counsel probe.

Starr was seen as a hero to many conservatives. Liberals charged that he was politically motivated. “I certainly don’t teach it as part of the course,” Starr said of his independent counsel experience. “I enjoy focusing on the era now.”

Williams said he considered the controversy that once swirled around Starr before he approached him with the teaching post.

“The basic philosophy at the school is that we represent all thought across the spectrum ... rather than leaning one way or another,” he said. “I don’t know yet who we’ll bring in next year [as visiting professor], but it could be someone who’s left of center

Even as a visiting professor spending one day every two weeks on campus, Starr’s legal star power will likely be a boon to Chapman’s ability to attract top students, Williams said. “I wouldn’t diminish the importance of that at all” to the school’s marketing efforts, he said. “But the real benefit is what the students will receive.”