Dean Starr is admitted to practice in California, Virginia, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Supreme Court. In the 1970's, he clerked for The Honorable David W. Dyer of the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, and for Chief Justice Warren E. Burger.

While in private practice, he was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. In addition to working in the private sector, he has served as Counselor to U.S. Attorney General William French Smith, Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit, Solicitor General of the United States, and Independent Counsel on the Whitewater matter. As Solicitor General, he argued twenty-five cases before the Supreme Court.

Dean Starr is a member of numerous professional organizations and boards, including the American Law Institute, the Supreme Court Historical Society, and the American Inns of Court. An enthusiastic writer and scholar, he has authored many law review articles. His best-selling book, First Among Equals: The Supreme Court in American Life was published in 2002.

Dean Starr's areas of expertise are constitutional law, federal courts, federal jurisdiction, and antitrust. He teaches Current Constitutional Issues and Civil Procedure.