The American Law Institute: A Centennial History
In celebration of ALI’s first 100 years, a volume of essays titled ‘The American Law Institute: A Centennial History’ has been produced exploring ALI’s founding, examining some of ALI’s most influential projects, and contemplating adoption and criticism of ALI's work. The book is available through Oxford University Press.
At the 2023 Annual Meeting, editors Andrew S. Gold and Robert W. Gordon were joined by chapter authors Richard R.W. Brooks, Deborah A. DeMott, and G. Edward White for a discussion of select topics in the book. The panel looked back on what the Institute has accomplished in its first century. A video of the discussion is available here.
Table of Contents
Part I: Founding and Development of The American Law Institute
Chapter 1: The American Law Institute at 100: A Three-Decade Personal Reflection, Roberta Ramo
Chapter 2: The Need for Restatement of the Common Law: A Long Look Back, David Seipp
Chapter 3: The Work of The American Law Institute in Historical Context, Kenneth S. Abraham & G. Edward White
Chapter 4: Restating the Law in the Shadow of Codes: The ALI in Its Formative Era, Deborah A. DeMott
Part II: Restatements
Chapter 5: Canon and Fireworks: Reliance in the Restatements of Contracts and Reliance on Them, Richard R.W. Brooks
Chapter 6: Conflict of Laws in the ALI's First Century, Symeon C. Symeonides
Chapter 7: The Restatements of Trusts - Revisited, Naomi Cahn, Deborah Gordon, Allison Tait
Chapter 8: Torts in the American Law Institute, John C. P. Goldberg
Chapter 9: The Restatement of Property: The Curse of Incompleteness, Thomas W. Merrill
Chapter 10: The International Law Profile of the ALI, George A. Bermann
Chapter 11: Constructing a Legal Field: The Restatement of the Law Governing Lawyers, W. Bradley Wendel
Chapter 12: A Short History of the Restatement of Restitution and Unjust Enrichment, Emily Sherwin
Part III: Codes
Chapter 13: The Uniform Commercial Code and the Ongoing Quest for an Efficient and Fair Commercial Law, Robert E. Scott
Chapter 14: From Restatement to Model Penal Code: The Progress and Perils of Criminal Law Reform, Kimberly Kessler Ferzan
Part IV: Principles
Chapter 15: Special Interests at the Gate: The ALI Corporate Governance Project, 1978-1992, William W. Bratton
Chapter 16: The ALI Principles of the Law of Family Dissolution: Addressing Family Inequality Through Functional Regulation, Linda C. McClain & Douglas NeJaime
Chapter 17: Aggregationists at the Barricades: Assessing the Impact of the Principles of the Law of Aggregate Litigation, Linda S. Mullenix
Part V:
Chapter 18: Restatements and Realists, Robert W. Gordon
Chapter 19: The Restatements as Law, Frederick Schauer
Chapter 20: Restatements and the Common Law, Andrew S. Gold and Henry E. Smith