Somashekar has his Ph.D. in Economics from The Institute for Social and Economics Change (2010). Started his teaching career at St. Joseph's College, Bangalore, in 1998 and was a visiting faculty in NLSIU between October 2001 and January 2002. He joined NLSIU as a regular faculty in March 2002.

His areas of interest and research include Law and Economics, Industrial Organisation, Business Strategy, Public Policy Analysis and the World Trade Organisation.

He was an Erasmus Mundus Fellow in the Institute for Law and Economics at the University of Hamburg, Germany in 2006. In 2008 he was an advisor to the Ministry of Commerce and Industries, Government of Karnataka, to help formulate the industrial policy.

He is a member of the advisory board for the European Doctorate in Law and Economics (EDLE).

In 2009 he was selected for the US International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) to study US Trade Policy.

He has published ar ticles on Mutual Fund and Insurance Regulation.

Currently he is the Chief Warden at the Halls of Residence.

Professor Somashekar co-taught with SMU Dedman School of Law Professor Joseph Norton Comparative Law II: International Trade Law & The Developing World in Fall 2011. He is teaching International Law and Development in Spring 2012.