Awards

The American Law Institute has several awards, which recognize contributions to the law in the tradition of Judge Friendly; a dedication to the Institute’s work; or academic scholarship that has the potential to influence improvements in the law.  The Henry J. Friendly Medal, John Minor Wisdom Award, and Distinguished Service Award are not awarded annually, but rather presented from time to time to recognize a special contribution to the law or to the Institute. The Early Career Scholars Medal is awarded every other year. 

The Awards Committee identifies and recommends to the Council or Executive Committee qualified candidates for the Henry J. Friendly Medal, John Minor Wisdom Award, and Distinguished Service Award.  Law school deans are asked to submit Early Career Scholar nominations every other year for consideration.

Please expand each award section below to learn more about the award or past recipients.

Early Career Scholars Medal

Every other year, The American Law Institute awards the Early Career Scholars Medal to one or two outstanding early-career law professors whose work is relevant to public policy and has the potential to influence improvements in the law. The purpose of the award is to encourage practical scholarly work and to publicize the work of the honorees by sponsoring conferences on issues related to their work. Honorees are also asked to speak at an Annual Meeting.

Eligibility

ALI seeks candidates who have been full-time law academics and have been teaching in a tenure-track or tenured position for a total of no more than ten years as of the nomination date. All legal fields and all methodologies are eligible.

Nominations

Nominations are now open and can be submitted here. An instruction sheet explaining the submission process is also included here.

For more information, please email EarlyScholars@ALI.org.

This program is made possible through the generous contributions of our members, including the gifts received from our Life Member classes.

2023 Recipients

Leah Litman, University of Michigan Law School
Professor Litman teaches and writes on constitutional law, federal courts, and federal sentencing. Her research examines unidentified and implicit values that structure the legal system, the federal courts, and the legal profession.

Crystal S. Yang, Harvard Law School
Professor Yang's teaching and research interests center around empirical law and economics, particularly in the areas of criminal justice and consumer bankruptcy. 

2021 Recipients

Ashley S. Deeks, University of Virginia School of Law 
Professor Deeks' primary research and teaching interests are in the areas of international law, national security, intelligence and the laws of war. 

Francis X. Shen, University of Minnesota Law School
Professor Shen's scholarship focuses on empirical and interdisciplinary research at the intersection of law and the brain sciences. His additional research areas of focus are criminal law and crime policy, and education law and policy. 

2019 Recipients

Michelle Wilde Anderson, Stanford Law School
Professor Anderson is a scholar of state and local government law, and regional governance. Her work combines legal analysis, empirical research, and a deep understanding of institutions and communities to shed light on phenomena such as geographically-concentrated poverty and municipal fiscal distress.

David Pozen, Columbia Law School
Professor Pozen teaches and writes about constitutional law and information law, among other topics. Much of his constitutional scholarship identifies situations in which public law practices are not working as desired and tries to help legal actors understand them better and respond in more candid and constructive ways. 

2017 Recipients

Colleen V. Chien, Santa Clara University School of Law
Professor Chien's scholarship focuses on domestic and international patent law and policy issues, and she has already played an important role in helping to formulate public policy on intellectual property and innovation, privacy, open government, and civil liberties. 

Daniel Schwarcz, University of Minnesota Law School
Professor Schwarcz's research focuses on insurance law and regulation, spanning issues such as solvency regulation, consumer protection, employer-sponsored health insurance, and insurance coverage litigation.

2015 Recipients

Elizabeth Chamblee Burch, University of Georgia School of Law
Professor Burch's research focuses on class actions and large-scale, non-class aggregation, often drawing from fields beyond law including social psychology, behavioral law, and economics.

Michael Simkovic, Seton Hall Law School
Professor Simkovic's research focuses on the intersection between law and finance, with a particular emphasis on credit markets, financial regulation, and taxation. 

 

Whee

 

2013 Recipients

Adam J. Levitin, Georgetown Law Center
Professor Levitin was recognized for his work on financial regulation and the recent crisis in mortgage foreclosures.
VIDEO: SENATOR ELIZABETH WARREN OFFERS KEYNOTE AT PROFESSOR LEVITIN’S CONFERENCE

Amy B. Monahan, University of Minnesota Law School
Professor Monahan was recognized for scholarship that centers on the intersection of health care reform and public-sector pensions.
VIDEO: PROFESSOR MONAHAN ADDRESSES THE ANNUAL MEETING ON "THE LAW AND POLITICS OF PUBLIC PENSIONS."

2011 Recipients

Oren Bar-Gill, New York University School of Law
Professor Bar-Gill's medal recognizes his insights into consumer psychology, which are the basis for his proposal of specific legal solutions to match specific problems in the markets for cell phones, subprime mortgages, and credit cards.

Jeanne C. Fromer, New York University School of Law
Professor Fromer was honored for her work exploring the claiming systems of patent and copyright law, as well as forum shopping in patent litigation.

Henry J. Friendly Medal

Established in memory of Judge Friendly and endowed by his former law clerks, the Friendly Medal is not awarded on an annual basis but reserved for recipients who are considered especially worthy of receiving it. The Medal recognizes contributions to the law in the tradition of Judge Friendly and the Institute and is not limited to ALI members or those associated with its projects.

Henry J. Friendly was one of the greatest judges of his time. To learn more about Judge Friendly, read the remarks delivered by Judge Pierre N. Leval, a former clerk of Judge Friendly, on the presentation of the Friendly Medal to Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in 2011.

Award Recipients

 

Whee

 

Suggesting Candidates for this Award

Members who wish to propose a candidate are asked to submit to the Awards Committee's attention a letter containing a brief biography and describing the candidate's law-related activities and qualifications for the award in question. Letters should be mailed to The American Law Institute, Attn: Awards Committee, 4025 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19104, or emailed to awardnominations@ali.org.

John Minor Wisdom Award

The Wisdom Award is given from time to time in specific recognition of a member’s contributions to the work of the Institute or a person’s outstanding achievement in the area of civil rights and related fields following the example of Judge Wisdom. ALI Reporters, officers, and Council members are not eligible for consideration because one purpose of the Award is to recognize members who do not have an official role in Institute projects. Former ALI Reporters, former ALI officers, and Council emeriti are eligible for consideration after their official service has concluded.

Award Recipients

  • Thelton E. Henderson — 2024
  • Margaret H. Marshall and Mary M. Schroeder — 2023
  • Neil B. Cohen — 2014 Video of award presentation
  • Guy Miller Struve — 2011 
  • Jack B. Weinstein — 2006
  • Michael Marks Cohen — 2004
  • Donald J. Rapson — 1999
  • M. Bernard Aidinoff — 1995
  • W. Loeber Landau — 1993
 

Whee

Suggesting Candidates for this Award

Members who wish to propose a candidate are asked to submit to the Awards Committee's attention a letter containing a brief biography and describing the candidate's law-related activities and qualifications for the award in question. Letters should be mailed to The American Law Institute, Attn: Awards Committee, 4025 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19104, or emailed to awardnominations@ali.org.

Distinguished Service Award

The Distinguished Service Award is given from time to time to a member who over many years has played a major role in the Institute as an institution, accepting significant burdens as an officer, Council member, committee chair, or project participant and helping keep the Institute on a steady course as the greatest private law-reform organization in the world.

Award Recipients

 

 

Whee

 

Suggesting Candidates for this Award

Members who wish to propose a candidate are asked to submit to the Awards Committee's attention a letter containing a brief biography and describing the candidate's law-related activities and qualifications for the award in question. Letters should be mailed to The American Law Institute, Attn: Awards Committee, 4025 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19104, or emailed to awardnominations@ali.org.

Reporter's Chairs

R. Ammi Cutter Reporter's Chair

Established in honor of R. Ammi Cutter, a former Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts and President of ALI from 1976 to 1980, the Cutter Chair is occupied by an active Reporter of proven effectiveness.

  • Nora Freeman Engstrom, Restatement of the Law Third, Torts: Miscellaneous Provisions, 2022-
  • Andrew Kull, Restatement of the Law Third, Restitution and Unjust Enrichment, 2006-2011
  • William C. Powers Jr. and Michael D. Green, Restatement of the Law Third, Torts: Liability for Physical and Emotional Harm, 2001-2006
  • Ira Mark Ellman, Katharine T. Bartlett, and Grace Ganz Blumberg, Principles of the Law, Family Dissolution: Analysis and Recommendations, 1998-2001
  • James A. Henderson Jr. and Aaron D. Twerski, Restatement of the Law Third, Torts: Products Liability, 1997-1998
  • Neil B. Cohen, Restatement of the Law Third, Suretyship and Guaranty, 1994-1997
  • Melvin A. Eisenberg, Principles of the Law, Corporate Governance: Analysis and Recommendations, 1991-1994

A. James Casner Reporter's Chair

This Chair was established to honor the memory of Harvard Law School Professor A. James Casner, who, as a Reporter and Adviser for various ALI projects for over half a century, made profound contributions to the development of the law of property, the taxation of trusts and estates, and estate planning.

  • Henry E. Smith, Restatement of the Law Fourth, Property, 2022- 
  • Edward C. Halbach Jr., Restatement of the Law Third, Trusts, 1993-2012