King Hall Law Faculty Helps Reform Laws for American Law Institute

By Julia Ann Easley

Where should a complex legal case with several parties be tried? What constitutes a conflict of interest for an agent representing a large corporation? And what responsibilities does a nonprofit have in investing endowments?

Faculty members of the School of Law are helping tackle these and other complex legal questions by participating in law reform projects of the prestigious American Law Institute. The projects form the basis of laws enacted across the country and become standards cited in judges' legal opinions, lawyers' briefs and scholarly articles.

"The American Law Institute is, for law, the equivalent of the great honorary scholarly organizations like the National Academy of Sciences," said Dean Rex Perschbacher. "Election signifies not just standing, but active involvement in legal thought, analysis and reform."

With 10 of its 35 regular faculty members elected as Institute members, the law school is believed to be among those with the highest proportion of faculty with ALI membership, said Kevin Johnson, associate dean for academic affairs and an ALI member since 2003.

Because of their high level of expertise in areas of the law needing revision, professors John Oakley, Joel Dobris and Robert Hillman were invited to serve in leadership and other important roles. And other faculty members have volunteered their service on yet other projects.

Formed in 1923 to clarify and simplify the law, the private body restates and updates tangles of law in a systematic way and develops model statutes for enactment. It has partnered with another organization to develop and monitor the Uniform Commercial Code, a comprehensive code enacted in 49 states and viewed as one of the most important developments in American law.