Jeesoo Nam
USC Gould School of Law

Jeesoo Nam’s research covers the intersection between philosophy and a variety of issues in tax law, criminal law, and statutory interpretation.

Nam applies the framework of responsibility and desert to important questions of tax policy, such as the taxation of capital income, the progressivity of tax rates, and the availability of deductions for losses and expenses. In criminal law, Nam analyzes the conditions under which those who committed crimes should nevertheless be exempt from punishment, focusing on the topics of excuse and fair notice. Nam’s research in statutory interpretation concerns various issues raised by the linguistic phenomenon of vagueness. His research also considers how these three doctrinal areas interact with one another, for example, the application of the rule of lenity (a criminal canon of statutory interpretation) to the tax law.

Before joining USC, Nam served as visiting assistant professor of tax law at New York University. Nam received a JD from Yale Law School and a bachelor's with highest distinction, Phi Beta Kappa, from Duke University, where he majored in philosophy and economics. Nam has received the Felix S. Cohen Prize in legal philosophy. Nam practiced law as a tax associate in Los Angeles at Latham & Watkins.
 

FACULTY IN THE NEWS

Kenosha News
January 24, 2022
Re: Franita Tolson

Franita Tolson was interviewed about Republicans' success in blocking voter rights legislation. "A lot of states have voter I.D. laws, but it's important to distinguish between types of voter I.D. laws to the extent that a state has a restrictive one," she said. "But what we saw in the wake of the Shelby County decision was states enacted more restrictive voter IDs, voter I.D. laws because they don't have to preclear with the federal government."

RECENT SCHOLARSHIP

D. Daniel Sokol
November, 2021

D. Daniel Sokol posted an Op-ed to the National Post titled “Competition law reforms not needed to meet the challenges of Big Tech,” November 17, 2021.

Robin Craig
November, 2021

"Environmental Law, Disrupted by COVID-19" (with Rebecca Bratspies, Vanessa Casado Perez, Lissa Griffin, Keith Hirokawa, Sarah Krakoff, Katrina Kuh, Jessica Owley, Melissa Powers, Shannon Roesler, Jonathan Rosenbloom, J.B. Ruhl, Erin Ryan, & David Takacs). In Environmental Law, Disrupted, edited by K. Hirokawa & J. Owley. Washington, D.C.: Environmental Law Institute, 2021.

Robert K. Rasmussen
November, 2021

“COVID-19 Debt and Bankruptcy Infrastructure,” Yale Law Journal Forum 131 (2021): 337.