An honors graduate of the University of Chicago School of Law where he served as Topics and Comments Editor of the University of Chicago Law Review, Professor Carlson began his legal career clerking for Judge Alvin B. Rubin of the Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Thereafter, he entered private practice with the Washington, DC law firm of Patton, Boggs & Blow. He also served as Adjunct Professor of Law at the Catholic University of America School of Law.

Professor Carlson joined the faculty of the College of Law in 1983. His teaching and scholarship focus on international trade and commercial law, international environmental law, and the law of global climate change. He is the author of several law review articles and is a co-author of International Environmental Law and World Order: A Problem-Oriented Coursebook and co-editor of International Law and World Order: Basic Documents (Transnational Publishers, 5 vols., 1994--).

Professor Carlson frequently lectures abroad, and in Fall 2006 he served as the Fullbright/FLAD Distinguished Chair in International Commercial Trade and Business Law at Portuguese Catholic University in Lisbon.  He is a member of the Bars of Iowa and the District of Columbia.