David B. Thronson
Professor of Law
Law College Building
648 N. Shaw Lane Rm 449
East Lansing, MI 48824-1300
517-432-6916
david.thronson@law.msu.edu
Degrees
J.D. 1994, cum laude, Harvard Law School; M.A. 1990, Columbia University, Teachers College; B.S. 1985, University of Kansas; B.G.S. 1985, University of Kansas
Curriculum Vitae (PDF)
Bar Admissions
Massachusetts; Michigan; New York; U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, District of New Jersey; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Sixth Circuit and Ninth Circuit; U.S. Supreme Court
Courses
Constitutional Law I, Immigration Law Clinic I, Immigration Law Clinic II
Biography
David Thronson joined MSU College of Law in 2010 as a professor of law and co-founder of the Immigration Law Clinic. His research and writing seeks to develop frameworks and critical perspectives for analyzing the intersection of family and immigration, with a particular focus on children.
After graduating from the University of Kansas with degrees in mathematics and education, Thronson taught in Nepal as a Peace Corps volunteer. Upon his return, he settled in New York City, where he completed a master's degree at Teachers College, Columbia University, and served several years as a teacher and assistant principal in the New York City public schools.
Thronson earned his J.D. degree from Harvard Law School, where he served as co-editor-in-chief of the Harvard Human Rights Journal. After clerking for the Honorable A. Wallace Tashima in California, Thronson returned to New York City as a Skadden Fellow at The Door's Legal Services Center, providing direct legal services to at-risk young people, primarily in the areas of immigration, housing, and family law. He subsequently served as the Gibbons Fellow in Public Interest and Constitutional Law at the law firm of Gibbons, Del Deo, Dolan, Griffinger & Vecchione, where he litigated cases on a wide range of issues, including the scope of federal habeas jurisdiction to review immigration matters, the application of the Convention Against Torture, the constitutional adequacy of educational opportunities provided to urban children in New Jersey, and discrimination in New Jersey State Police hiring practices.
From 1999 to 2002, Thronson taught in the Lawyering Program of New York University School of Law. He also has served as an adjunct professor at Seton Hall University School of Law and Hofstra University School of Law, where he taught immigration law, public international law, and international human rights.
Thronson then moved to the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, where he ultimately became a professor of law and associate dean for clinical studies. He taught immigration law and civil procedure at UNLV, founded an Immigration Clinic, and established the Nevada Immigrant Resource Project. In 2003, Thronson was named "UNLV Professor of the Year."
Thronson serves on numerous boards of directors, including that of the National Youth Leadership Council. In 2006, he received the "Friend of Working Families Award" from the Nevada State AFL-CIO in recognition for his community work. In 2008, the Nevada Supreme Court appointed him to its Access to Justice Commission and as a trustee of the Nevada Law Foundation administering Nevada's Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts (IOLTA) funds. Also in 2008, Thronson was appointed to Nevada's Governor's Commission for National and Community Service.