Alex Erwin

Professor John A. (Alex) Erwin is an Associate Professor of Law at University of Florida Levin College of Law.

Combining his legal training with his background as a wildlife biologist, Professor Erwin’s research is situated at the intersection of environmental law, genetics, and conservation biology. As a scientist, he has experience doing field work, wet lab genetics, and bioinformatics. He has worked with a variety of species, from freshwater mussels to jaguars. Professor Erwin’s legal scholarship covers topics such as federal endangered species law, genetic engineering for conservation, and state management of predators. His publication record spans both peer-reviewed scientific journals and more traditional law reviews, including Cornell Law Review, Utah Law Review, Ecology Law Currents, and the Environmental Law Reporter.

Professor Erwin’s scholarship has been nationally recognized. He was selected as the 2023 Stegner Center Young Scholar of the Year in Environmental Law at the S. J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah. His article, Building Better Species, was selected for presentation at the Harvard | Stanford | Yale Junior Faculty Forum, the Northwestern, Penn, and Stanford Junior Faculty Forum for Law and STEM, and the Sabin Colloquium for Innovative Environmental Law Scholarship at Columbia Law School. Building Better Species was also the winner of the Call for Papers Award at SEALS 2023. Additionally, Professor Erwin’s article, Hybridizing Law, was recognized with an Honorable Mention in the 2018 Environmental Law and Policy Annual Review (ELPAR) as one of the top environmental policy-relevant articles from 2016-2017. His scientific work has also been awarded, with an article on red shiner sex determination winning the 2023 Publication Award from the American Fisheries Society.

Professor Erwin received his J.D. (2018) from the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona. He graduated magna cum laude with a certificate in Environmental Law, Science, and Policy and was inducted into the Order of the Coif. During law school, he was the Articles Editor of the Arizona Journal of Environmental Law and Policy and held the Sol Resnick Water Resources Fellowship, Agnese Nelms Haury Social Justice Law Fellowship, and the Carson Scholars Institute of the Environment Fellowship. He also earned his B.S. in Biology and Biochemistry at Washington and Lee University (2013), and a Ph.D. from the Graduate Interdisciplinary Department in Genetics (2020) at the University of Arizona.

Prior to joining the University of Florida, Professor Erwin was an Assistant Professor of Law at Florida International University College of Law, where he was named the 2024 Megan A. Fairlie Professor of the Year. He was also previously a Visiting Assistant Professor in Environmental Law at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University and a Teaching Fellow and Professor of Practice at the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona.