Wallach was born in Superior, Arizona, the son of Albert Wallach, a millworker at the Magma Copper Company, and Sara Wallach, a local artist who helped run the town library and Little Theater group. Wallach was decorated for his service in the United States Army during the Vietnam War, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Arizona in 1973, followed by a Juris Doctor at the University of California Berkeley in 1976. Wallach joined the firm of Lionel Sawyer & Collins in Las Vegas, Nevada, as an associate, in 1976. He received a Bachelor of Laws with honors in International Law from the University of Cambridge in 1981. He became a partner at Lionel Sawyer & Collins in 1982, remaining in that position until 1995. He was able to take a leave from the firm to continue providing service to the U.S. military. He attended the The JAG School at the University of Virginia and served in the United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps in the International Affairs Division of the Office of TJAG at The Pentagon during the Gulf War, where he assisted in advising on the law of war and investigating war crimes allegedly committed by Iraqi leaders. He has taken JAG Officer's Basic and Advanced Courses.
Law of war
As an adjunct law professor Wallach specialises in the law of war. From 1989 to 1995 he served as Judge Advocate General in the Nevada Army National Guard, with the rank of major. His responsibilities included giving annual lectures to Military Police regarding their legal obligations on treatment of prisoners. During the Gulf War he served at the Pentagon in the International Affairs Division of the Office of The Judge Advocate of the Army, where he assisted in advising on the law of war and investigating war crimes allegedly committed by Iraqi leaders. From 1997 to 2011 he was an adjunct professor in Law of War at both New York Law School and Brooklyn Law School. From 2001 to 2012 he was a visiting professor in Law of War at the University of Münster. Since 2012 he has been an adjunct professor at the George Washington University Law School and currently teaches a course called "The Law Governing Fully Autonomous Fighting Vehicles." Wallach is a member of the International Law of War Association, which is a "loose confederation of military lawyers, academics, and government officials including members of the judiciary, who are interested in the advancement of a legal regime to ameliorate suffering and for the regulation of the use of armed force in armed conflicts". He is also a member of the American Law Institute and the Council on Foreign Relations.
Federal judicial service
On June 27, 1995, President Clinton nominated Wallach to serve as a United States Judge of the United States Court of International Trade, to the seat vacated by Judge Edward D. Re. He was confirmed by the Senate on August 11, 1995, and received his commission on August 14, 1995, serving on that court until his elevation to the Federal Circuit. President Obama nominated him on July 28, 2011 to serve on the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. His nomination was reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on October 6, 2011, by voice vote. On November 8, 2011, his nomination was confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 99–0. He received his commission on November 18, 2011.
Publications
Wallach has had articles published both in mainstream media and legal journals, and has been widely cited in the media. Some of these include:
Outline of the law of war.
Waterboarding Used to Be a Crime.
Afghanistan, Quirin, and Uchiyama: Does the Sauce Suit the Gander?
