- About
About USC Gould
USC Gould is a top-ranked law school with a 120-year history and reputation for academic excellence. We are located on the beautiful 228-acre USC University Park Campus, just south of downtown Los Angeles.
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Academics
Learn about our interdisciplinary curriculum, experiential learning opportunities and specialized areas.
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Admissions
USC Gould helps prepare you for a stellar legal career. You can pursue a JD degree, one of our numerous graduate and international offerings, or an online degree or certificate.
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Students
Participate in an unparalleled learning experience with diversity of people and thought. Get involved in the law school community and participate in activities that enhance your studies.
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Careers
We work closely with students, graduates and employers to support successful career goals and outcomes. Our overall placement rate is consistently strong, with 94 percent of our JD class employed within 10 months after graduation.
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Faculty
Our faculty is distinguished for its scholarship, as well as for its commitment to teaching. Our 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio creates an intimate and collegial learning environment.
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Scott Altman
USC Gould School of Law
- FACULTY DIRECTORY
- LECTURERS IN LAW DIRECTORY
- EXPERTS DIRECTORY
- FACULTY IN THE NEWS
- SCHOLARSHIP AND PUBLICATIONS
- DISTINCTIONS AND AWARDS
- + CENTERS AND INITIATIVES
- CENTER FOR DISPUTE RESOLUTION
- CENTER FOR LAW AND PHILOSOPHY (CLP)
- CENTER FOR LAW AND SOCIAL SCIENCE (CLASS)
- CENTER FOR LAW, HISTORY AND CULTURE (CLHC)
- CENTER FOR TRANSNATIONAL LAW AND BUSINESS (CTLB)
- INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM INSTITUTE (IRI)
- PACIFIC CENTER FOR HEALTH POLICY AND ETHICS
- SAKS INSTITUTE FOR MENTAL HEALTH LAW, POLICY, AND ETHICS
- + WORKSHOPS AND CONFERENCES

Virginia S. and Fred H. Bice Professor of Law
Email: saltman@law.usc.eduTelephone: (213) 740-2544
Fax: (213) 740-5502
699 Exposition Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90089-0074 USA Room: 452
Last Updated: November 21, 2022
Scott Altman is an expert in jurisprudence, property and family law. In his role as professor at USC Gould School of Law, he teaches Family Law, Property, Jurisprudence and Community Property. He joined the USC Gould faculty in 1988, served as associate dean from 1995 to 2006 and as vice dean from 2007 to 2016.
Altman’s recent research focuses on child custody and divorce issues. He has published articles on judicial candor, commodification, coercion, blackmail, threats to litigate child custody, and equality norms applied to child custody. His publications include “A Theory of Child Support” (International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, 2003); “Divorcing Threats and Offers” (Law & Philosophy, 1996); and “Beyond Candor” (Michigan Law Review, 1990).
Altman earned his BA’s degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and a JD, cum laude, from Harvard Law School, where he served as developments chair for the Harvard Law Review. He was a clerk to Judge Dorothy Nelson of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals from 1987 to 1988, and he joined the USC Law faculty as assistant professor in 1988. He was named the Virginia S. and Fred H. Bice Professor of Law in 1997.
See Altman’s working papers on the Social Science Research Network http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=17336
Articles and Book Chapters
- "Taking Precautions when Shaping a Child's Future," 87 UMKC Law Review 245 (2019). - (SSRN) - (Hein)
- "Reinterpreting the Right to an Open Future: From Autonomy to Authenticity," 37 Law and Philosophy 415 (2018). - (SSRN) - (www)
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"Parental Control Rights," in Philosophical Foundations of Children’s and Family Law, Lucinda Fergusun & Elizabeth Brake, eds, (Oxford University Press, 2018).
- (SSRN) - "The Pursuit of Intimacy and Parental Rights," in The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Law (Andrei Marmor, ed., Routledge, 2012). - (PDF)
- "A Theory of Child Support," 17 Int’l J.L. Pol’y & Fam. 173 (2003). - (Hein)
- "Grateful Victims" (draft)
- "Should Child Custody Rules be Fair?," 35 U. Louisville Journal Family Law 325 (1996). - (Hein)
- "Divorcing Threats and Offers," 15 Law & Phil. 209 (1997).
- "Lurking in the Shadow," 68 Southern California Law Review 493 (1995). - (Hein)
- "A Patchwork Theory of Blackmail," 141 U. Pennsylvania Law Review 1639 (1993). - (Hein)
- "(Com)Modifying Experience," 65 Southern California Law Review 293 (1991). - (Hein)
- "Beyond Candor," 89 Michigan Law Review 296 (1990). - (Hein)
- "Case Comment, Posadas v. Tourism Co.," 100 Harvard Law Review 172 (1987). - (Hein)
- "Note, The Inalienable Rights of Surrogate Mothers," 99 Harvard Law Review 1936 (1986). - (Hein)
FACULTY IN THE NEWS
LLM Guide
June 5, 2023
Re: USC Gould School of Law
Law schools have been adapting to the increase in technological advancements, especially with the increased need for attorneys with the creation of AI. “Attorneys work on the front end, conducting threat assessments to ensure that their clients’ systems and data are protected, and on the back end, to navigate any legal issues that may arise as a result of the attacks," Gruzas said.
RECENT SCHOLARSHIP
Robin Craig
April, 2023
"Fish, Whales, and a Blue Ethics for the Anthropocene: How Do We Think About the Last Wild Food in the Twenty-First Century?," 95:6 Southern California Law Review 1307-1343 (April 2023).
Robin Craig
April, 2023
"California Exceptionalism in the Colorado River: A Brief History and Implications for the Future."
Robin Craig
April, 2023
"Toward a Global Sustainable Development Agenda Built on Resilience" (with Murray W. Scown, Craig R. Allen, Lance Gunderson, David G. Angeler, Jorge H. Garcia, & Ahjond Garmestani), Global Sustainability (online publication April 2023).