Frank Goodman studied philosophy, politics, and economics as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, receiving a master’s degree, with First Class Honors, in 1956. He earned his law degree from Harvard in 1959.
After clerking for Judge William H. Hastie in the Third Circuit, Goodman practiced entertainment law in Beverly Hills, California from 1960-1962, then worked as a government lawyer, first in the Federal Power Commission (now FERC) and later as an assistant to the Solicitor General of the United States (1962-65). In 1965 he joined the law faculty of the University of California at Berkeley and taught there until 1972. Returning to Washington, he served as Research Director of the Administrative Conference of the United States before coming to Penn Law in 1973.
Goodman teaches mainly in the fields of constitutional law and federal courts. He has also taught a variety of other courses, ranging from legal philosophy and administrative law to environmental, sports, and welfare law.