David Kairys (born April 16, 1943, in Baltimore, Maryland)[1] is Professor of Law at Temple University School of Law.[2][3] He is the first James E. Beasley Chair (2001–07).
Kairys is a civil rights lawyer. He authored Philadelphia Freedom, Memoir of a Civil Rights Lawyer and With Liberty and Justice for Some. He is a gun control proponent.[3][4][5]
Kairys earned a B.S. from Cornell University (1965), an LL.B. from Columbia Law School (1968), and an LL.M. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School (1971).[6] He specializes in constitutional law and civil rights law.[2] He was a founding partner and is of counsel to Kairys, Rudovsky, Epstein, Messing & Rau.[7]
Among his awards are the Alliance for Justice honor list for 2008, the Association of American Law Schools 2007 Deborah Rhode Award for extraordinary contribution to public interest by a law professor, the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania's Civil Liberties Award, the Poor Richard Club of Philadelphia Pro Bono Award, the Freil-Scanlan Award (best Temple law faculty scholarship), and the First James E. Beasley Chair (Temple Law School).[8]