Rate My Professor Tess Wilkinson-Ryan

Tess Wilkinson-Ryan is the Golkin Family Professor of Law and Psychology and Deputy Dean at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. She holds an A.B. in Psychology from Harvard College magna cum laude in 1999, a J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2005, and a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania in 2008. Wilkinson-Ryan joined Penn Carey Law as George Sharswood Fellow in Law and Psychology from 2008 to 2010, advanced to Assistant Professor of Law from 2010 to 2015, became Professor of Law and Psychology from 2015 to 2023, and has held the Golkin Family Professorship since 2023. She served as Deputy Dean for Academic Affairs from 2017 to 2019.

Her research examines the psychology of legal decision-making, focusing on the role of moral judgment in private contracts and negotiations. Using experimental methods from psychology and behavioral economics, she investigates how moral intuitions shape legal choices related to mortgage borrowing and default, retirement planning, contract precautions, and responses to breach. Notable works include her book Fool Proof: How Fear of Playing the Sucker Shapes Our Selves and the Social Order—and What We Can Do About It (HarperCollins, 2023); articles such as "Breach Is for Suckers" (Vanderbilt Law Review, 2010, with David Hoffman), "The Perverse Consequences of Disclosing Standard Terms" (Cornell Law Review, 2017), "The Knowledge Gap in Workplace Retirement Investing and the Role of Professional Advisors" (Duke Law Journal, 2016, with Jill E. Fisch and Kristin Firth), and "Justifying Bad Deals" (University of Pennsylvania Law Review, 2020). Wilkinson-Ryan has earned the A. Leo Levin Award for Excellence in Teaching an Introductory Course (2012), Harvey Levin Memorial Award for Teaching Excellence (2014), and 2025 Lindback Award. She teaches Contracts, Consumer Law, Law and Psychology, and Ethical Leadership for Lawyers.