Featured Articles from Inside the ALI
The American Law Institute appropriately describes itself as “the leading independent organization in the United States producing scholarly work to clarify, modernize, and otherwise improve the law.” From time to time, it is important for the ALI, as for all organizations, to spend time and energy clarifying its own mission. Over the past year, we have devoted significant effort to this important endeavor.
At its January meeting, the Council approved the launch of the final three components of the Restatement Third of Torts. The projects tentatively are titled: Remedies; Defamation and Privacy; and Concluding Provisions. With these projects, the ALI aims to complete an effort that began nearly three decades ago, when we started work on the Restatement of the Law Third, Torts: Products Liability. And when these projects are completed, the ALI will have produced a body of work that entirely supersedes the Restatement Second of Torts.
In an effort to show that the ALI’s influence is not confined to the states, in my last letter I focused on the impact of our work on the development of federal common law, both in the Supreme Court and the U.S. Courts of Appeals. In this letter, I look more specifically at the use of ALI materials by the Supreme Court during the 2013 to 2015 Terms.
More from Inside the ALI
U.S. Supreme Court Cites Model Penal Code
In Borden v. United States, No. 19-5410 (June 10, 2021), the U.S. Supreme Court held that a criminal offense that requires only a mens rea of recklessness does not constitute a “violent felony” for purposes of an enhanced sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U.S.C. § 924(e).
Completing an ALI Project: Lessons from Reporters
Have you ever wondered what exactly goes into completing an ALI project? There’s nobody better to talk about the ALI process than four veteran Reporters whose projects may be completed at the 2021 Annual Meeting.
The Continuing Support of Our Founding Donor
The preparations underway for our 100th anniversary give us a welcome opportunity to take stock of the many contributors who have enabled our extraordinary successes over the past century.
The Story of The American Law Institute
Interested in learning more about The American Law Institute’s rich history? Visit ALI’s online timeline, where you can read about all of the Institute’s publications, Presidents, and Directors.
January 2021 Council Meeting Updates
At its meeting on January 21 and 22, 2021, the ALI Council reviewed and discussed Council Drafts and approved drafts and portions of drafts as listed below.
The American Law Institute and the U.S. Supreme Court, Revisited
In my Winter 2016 Director’s Letter, I looked at the U.S. Supreme Court’s use of ALI materials during the 2013 to 2015 Terms, as part of an effort to examine how the ALI’s influence extends beyond the state courts and affects the development of federal law. Now that four years have passed since my last analysis of the Supreme Court’s use of ALI materials and several new Justices have joined the Court, revisiting this topic seems worthwhile.
Legal Infrastructure and the Forgotten Story of the Restatements
This essay is about the importance and value of building shared “legal infrastructure,” which is a term coined by the eminent economist and law professor Gillian Hadfield in her book, “Rules for a Flat World (2017).”
October 2020 Council Meeting Updates
At its meetings on October 13 and October 22-23, 2020, the Council reviewed and discussed Council Drafts of seven projects and approved drafts and portions of drafts.
Restatements: Views of a Founding Father
On June 30, 1923, William Draper Lewis addressed a gathering of the Maryland State Bar Association at Atlantic City, New Jersey. His speech was entitled, “The Work of The American Law Institute.”
ALI’s Contributions in a Time of Crisis
This year has been an extraordinarily difficult one. We are ensnarled in a pandemic that has caused a staggeringly large number of deaths and deep suffering and has laid bare appalling inequities, particularly ones based on race. The brutal killing of George Floyd on May 25 in Minneapolis has shaken our country to the core.
Coping With COVID: How the Courts are Preserving Access to Justice
The American Law Institute has partnered with the Bolch Judicial Institute of Duke Law School to produce the podcast and video series “Coping with COVID.” The first episode in the series is now available on the ALI podcast Reasonably Speaking, or may be watched as a video hosted by the Bolch Institute.
Restatement to the Rescue: 20-Year-Old Treatise May Help Ease Work-at-Home Privilege Problems
In a time of crisis, thoughtful lawyers look for ways to apply pre-existing authority to evolving situations. Since so many lawyers and clients are now communicating with each other from their homes, the COVID-19 pandemic presents such a time with respect to the protection of attorney-client privilege.