1997 Life Member Class Gift

The American Law Institute was founded in 1923 on the initiative
of William Draper Lewis, Dean of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, following a study by a group of prominent American judges, lawyers, and teachers who sought to address the uncertain and complex nature of early 20th century American law. The Committee's recommendation that a lawyers' organization be formed to improve the law and its administration led to the creation of the Institute. ALI’s incorporators included Chief Justice and former President William Howard Taft, future Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes, and former Secretary of State Elihu Root. The founders’ mission of clarifying and improving the law still guides the Institute today as it approaches a second century of law reform.

Remembered for his significant influence on the development of 20th-century American law, Justice Cardozo crafted many landmark decisions during his 18 years on the New York Court of Appeals and later as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. An early leader of The American Law Institute, he served on its Council for 24 years and was its first Vice President, serving from 1923 until his elevation to the Supreme Court in 1932.

A renowned jurist on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and later the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Learned Hand has been quoted more often than any other lower-court judge by legal scholars and by the United States Supreme Court. An early leader of The American Law Institute, Judge Hand served as a 38-year member of its Council and as its Vice President from 1935 to 1947. He also guided the Institute as an Adviser or committee member on numerous projects and helped shape the ALI's future course as Chair of the 1946-1947 Committee on the Future of the Institute.

Widely considered the foremost authority in the United States on constitutional law and federal procedure, Professor Wright, a member of the faculty of the University of Texas Law School for
45 years, was the author or coauthor of major treatises on the
federal courts and on federal practice and procedure. President of The American Law Institute from 1993 until his death in 2000, he was elected a member of the Institute at the age of 30 and served on its Council for 31 years.

A preeminent scholar in constitutional law, criminal law, and
federal courts at Columbia University School of Law, Professor Wechsler served as Director of The American Law Institute from 1963 to 1984, bringing many Institute projects to completion during his 21-year tenure. He is widely known for his work as the Chief Reporter for the ALI's highly influential Model Penal Code.

Best known for her work in the development and drafting of the Uniform Commercial Code, Dean Mentschikoff was the first
woman to be made a partner at a major Wall Street firm, the first woman to teach at Harvard Law School and at the University
of Chicago School of Law, the first female president of the
American Association of Law Schools, and the first woman to serve as dean at the University of Miami School of Law. When she was appointed Associate Chief Reporter for the Uniform Commercial Code, she became the first woman to serve as a project Reporter for the American Law Institute.