Willamette University

About Willamette University

Peter V. Letsou

Peter V. Letsou

Peter V. Letsou became dean of Willamette University College of Law in June 2011. He also holds the Roderick and Carol Wendt Chair in Business Law and directs the school’s Program in Law and Business.

Letsou, who previously was associate dean, joined the faculty in 2002. Prior to his tenure at Willamette, he served as professor of law and director of the Center for Corporate Law at the University of  Cincinnati College of Law. He began his teaching career at the George Mason University School of Law in 1990, earning tenure there in 1996. Letsou also has been a visiting professor at the University of Connecticut  School of Law and the Emory University School of Law.

Letsou graduated from the University of Chicago Law School with highest honors and was elected to the Order of the Coif. He was a comment editor of the University of Chicago Law Review and an Olin Foundation Fellow in Law and Economics. Upon graduation, Letsou served as a law clerk to the Honorable Walter R. Mansfield, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Division of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit for the Purpose of Appointing Independent Counsels. He also served as associate counsel for the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Secret Military Assistance to Iran and the Nicaraguan Opposition.

Letsou graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Physics in 1983. He is a former associate with Cravath, Swaine & Moore and also with Christy & Viener.