Rubenfeld is a summa cum laude graduate of Princeton University (A.B., 1980) and a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School (J.D., 1986). He also studied theater in the Drama Division of the Juilliard School between 1980-1982. Rubenfeld clerked for Judge Joseph T. Sneed on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1986-1987. After his clerkship, he worked as an associate attorney at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York. He joined the Yale Law School faculty in 1990 and was appointed to a full professorship in 1994. Rubenfeld has also taught as a visiting professor at both the Stanford Law School and the Duke University School of Law.

Recently, Rubenfeld made his debut into the world of fiction. His first novel, The Interpretation of Murder, was published by Henry Holt & Co. in September, 2006, became a number one bestseller in the United Kingdom, and has sold over a million copies world-wide. Rubenfeld is married to Yale Law School professor Amy Chua, author of the book World on Fire.