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Robert A. Levy | |
|---|---|
 Levy in 2007 | |
| Born | 1941 (age 83–84) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Alma mater | American University George Mason University |
Robert A. Levy (born 1941) is chairman emeritus of thelibertarianCato Institute in Washington, DC. He was co-counsel inDistrict of Columbia v. Heller,[1] theU.S. Supreme Court case establishing aSecond Amendment individual right to gun ownership. Levy also organized and financed theHeller litigation.[2] Before becoming a lawyer, he was the founder and CEO ofCDA Investment Technologies.
Levy was born and grew up in theworking classPetworth neighborhood ofWashington, D.C. His parents ran a small hardware store.[3] He attended college atAmerican University, where he earned aPh.D. in business in 1966.[4] Twenty-five years later, at the age of 50, he attendedGeorge Mason School of Law, where he received his JD in 1994.[5]
After earning his Ph.D. and serving in the U.S. Air Force, Levy resided inSilver Spring, MD and foundedCDA Investment Technologies, an institutional money manager and provider of financial information and software. The company grew to have offices inRockville, MD,New York City,Chicago,San Francisco,Tokyo andLondon. It was particularly well known for its performance measurement rankings and compilations of institutional portfolio holdings. CDA's tabulations triggered a variety of articles inThe New York Times andThe Wall Street Journal.
Levy sold the company in 1986 to Dutch publishing firmElsevier for an undisclosed amount.[6] In 1987 Elsevier sold CDA toThe Thomson Corporation for a profit. Levy stayed on as CEO through both sales, retiring from his position in 1991 to attend law school.
In 1991 Levy enteredGeorge Mason University School of Law, where he graduated as classvaledictorian.[7] He then clerked first for JudgeRoyce C. Lamberth on theUnited States District Court for the District of Columbia and the following year for JudgeDouglas H. Ginsburg on theUnited States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
In 1997 Levy became a senior fellow in constitutional studies at the Cato Institute and an adjunct professor of law atGeorgetown University. He wrote extensively, publishing numerous articles andop-ed pieces inThe New York Times,The Wall Street Journal,USA Today,The Washington Post,National Review,Reason and many other publications. Levy also appeared frequently on television and radio shows, includingNightline,Crossfire,The O'Reilly Factor,Hardball, andThe Today Show.
In 2004, Levy moved toNaples, Florida. He was named to the Cato Institute's board of directors in 2007, and became chairman in 2008, until his retirement in 2022. He also sat for 25 years, on the board of theInstitute for Justice, a libertarian public interest law firm, and on boards of theFoundation for Government Accountability and the Federalist Society.
Levy has been a significant donor to a number of pro-liberty public policy organizations. The Cato Institute's Center for Constitutional Studies is named in his honor, as is the moot court room at the Institute for Justice. Levy also established a Fellowship in Law and Liberty, which encourages talented scholars to pursue a JD degree atAntonin Scalia Law School,George Mason University.[5] The atrium of the law school bears his name.
In 1976, Levy married Diane Stearn, who was his Washington, DC neighbor from birth until age seven. They currently live in Naples, Fl. They have a son, Jonathan, who is an immigration lawyer in Austin, Texas. Jonathan and his wife, Cristina, have two daughters, Leilani and Amaia.
