He received his Doctor of Law (JD) degree from Columbia University School of Law, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and an Articles Editor on the Columbia Business Law Review. He received his Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree, Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude, from Bucknell University, with a major in Economics and minor in Biology. As a legal practitioner prior to academia, he was rated AV-Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell, and admitted to practice in New York State, as well as in the U.S. District Courts for the Southern, Eastern and Northern Districts of New York, the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.