The American Law Institute has awarded the Young Scholar's Medal to two outstanding law professors—Adam J. Levitin of Georgetown Law Center, and Amy B. Monahanof the University of Minnesota School of Law. The award is designed to recognize early-career law professors whose work is relevant to the real world and has the potential to influence improvements in the law.
"These two scholars are true standouts, and the work they are doing is already changing the conversation in high-level policy debates," said the chair of the Young Scholars Medal Selection Committee, Justice Goodwin Liu of the California Supreme Court.
"Professor Levitin's work on the recent financial crisis has helped to guide lawmakers in the areas of housing finance and bank regulation," Justice Liu said. "And Professor Monahan's work on public pension reform and employee benefits has contributed significantly to some of the most important debates now playing out at the local, state, and federal levels."
[Amy B. Monahan] ALI Director Lance Liebman said: "These two professors are sure to influence American law for the better in the coming decades." The winning professors will each receive a $5,000 prize, will speak at an upcoming ALI Annual Meeting, and will plan a conference devoted to identifying legal subjects that would benefit from law reform.
Professor Levitin's work focuses on financial regulation and the recent crisis in mortgage foreclosures. He has testified before Congress many times on topics including bankruptcy, bank regulation, consumer finance, and housing finance. Professor Levitin holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School, an M.Phil and an A.M. from Columbia University, and an A.B. from Harvard College.
William Treanor, Dean of Georgetown Law Center, said: "Professor Levitin's work not only has the potential to improve American law, italready has influenced improvements in law in multiple areas across the financial sector."
Professor Monahan's scholarship centers on the intersection of health care reform and public sector pensions. Her teaching and research focuses primarily on the topics of taxation and employee benefits. She has written 17 articles or book chapters since the beginning of her law teaching career. Professor Monahan holds a J.D. from Duke University School of Law and a B.A. in international studies from Johns Hopkins University.
"Amy has rapidly established herself as one of the country's top scholars in health policy and employee benefits law," said David Wippman, the dean of the University of Minnesota Law School. "She's also a terrific teacher and colleague and richly deserves the Young Scholars Medal."