Finalists Named in Law School Dean Search

A search committee recommended on Oct. 28 an unranked list of finalists for the position of dean of University of Wisconsin Law School to Chancellor David Ward.

The finalists are:

• Kenneth B. Davis Jr., interim dean of the Law School and professor of law
• Robert H. Jerry II, professor of law at The University of Memphis and former dean of the University of Kansas Law School
• Eric Lane, professor of law at Hofstra University School of Law in Hempstead, N.Y.

Law Professor Thomas M. Palay chaired the 16-member search-and-screen committee that conducted a nationwide search to replace Daniel Bernstine, who stepped down as dean of the Law School to become president of Portland State University.

“The committee produced what we believe are three excellent candidates for the chancellor to consider,” Palay says. “Any one of them would serve the Law School, the university and the state with equal skill and intelligence.”

Ward will decide which finalist to recommend to the UW System Board of Regents for confirmation. The dean of the Law School oversees approximately 50 faculty, 900 students and an annual budget exceeding $10 million.

As academic associate dean in the Law School, Davis was named interim dean of the school effective Aug. 1 by Ward following Bernstine’s departure. Davis teaches in the areas of securities regulations and business organizations. He joined the Law School faculty in 1978, after working for the firm of Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C. for three years. Before working in private practice, Davis clerked for one year for Chief Judge Richard H. Chambers of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco.

Davis has published several articles in leading law journals on various aspects of corporate and securities law. He is involved in revising part of the Uniform Commercial Code and served as co-drafter for the recent revision of the Wisconsin Business Corporation Law.

In recognition of his teaching ability, Davis has received both the university’s and the Law School’s Distinguished Teacher Awards, and he was named to the James E. and Ruth B. Doyle-Bascom Professorship in the Law School on July 1. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan in 1969 and his law degree from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1974.

Jerry has taught since 1994 at the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at The University of Memphis, where he holds the Herbert Herff Chair of Excellence in Law. He teaches in the areas of insurance law, contracts, health insurance law and regulation.

Before joining the Memphis faculty, Jerry served as dean of the University of Kansas Law School from 1989-1994. He joined the Kansas faculty in 1981 after working for the firm of Barnes, Hickam, Pantzer & Boyd in Indianapolis for three years. From 1977 to 1978, he clerked for Judge George E. MacKinnon of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Published works by Jerry include three books on insurance law and several book chapters and articles. His work at Kansas garnered several university awards for publishing and service. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Indiana State University in 1974 and his law degree from the University of Michigan in 1977.

Lane has taught at Hofstra University School of Law since 1976, and has served as the Eric J. Schmertz Distinguished Professor of Public Law and Public Service since 1993. He teaches in the areas of legislative process, administrative law, lawmaking institutions and insurance.

Lane has published several articles in law journals and has co-written two books on the legislative process with Judge Abner J. Mikva. Lane’s public service includes serving as counsel and executive director of the New York City Charter Revision Commission from 1987 to 1989, chair of the Mayor’s Task Force on Charter Implementation in 1990, and counsel and executive director of the New York State Temporary Commission on Constitutional Revision from 1993 to 1995. He has also served as a consultant on a number of cases involving both the defense of and challenges to governmental decision-making. Before joining the Hofstra faculty, Lane was a partner in the firm of Reisch Klar & Lane from 1972-1975.

He earned his bachelor’s degree from Brown University in 1965; a master’s in English and American Literature from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1966; his law degree from Fordham University in 1970; and his master’s of law from New York University School of Law in 1979.