Paul J. Larkin

Senior Legal Research Fellow at the Heritage Foundation

Paul J. Larkin is the John, Barbara, and Victoria Rumpel Senior Legal Research Fellow in the Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation. His research focuses on criminal justice, drug, and regulatory policy. He joined Heritage in 2011 following a distinguished career in public service, private practice, and corporate law.

From 1984 to 1993, Larkin served at the U.S. Department of Justice as an Assistant to the Solicitor General, arguing 27 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, and as an attorney in the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Racketeering Section. He later served as Counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee, leading the Crime Unit for Chairman Orrin Hatch, and held senior roles at the Environmental Protection Agency, including Acting Director of the Criminal Investigation Division. His government service earned him the Secretary of Defense Medal for Meritorious Civilian Service.

In the private sector, Larkin practiced law at two prominent Washington, D.C. firms and served as Assistant General Counsel for Verizon Communications. He earned his J.D. from Stanford Law School, where he contributed to the Stanford Law Review, and clerked for Judge Robert H. Bork on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He holds a B.A. in philosophy, summa cum laude, from Washington and Lee University, and a master’s degree in public policy from George Washington University