PROFESSOR EMERITA LAUREL TERRY ATTENDS THE ALI’S 100TH ANNIVERSARY MEETING
May 2023 — Professor Emerita Laurel S. Terry attended the American Law Institute’s May 2023 Annual Meeting, which was held in Washington, D.C. In addition to reviewing pending Restatement of the Law projects, the meeting celebrated the ALI’s 100th Anniversary.
The May 2023 ALI meeting differed from other ALI Annual Meetings because it had a number of events honoring the organization’s 100th anniversary. In addition to reviewing “Restatement” projects on copyright, torts (including medical monitoring), property, children and the law, conflicts of law, and government ethics, the ALI meeting included a 100th anniversary exhibit and panels on topics that included social media and democracy, the state of democracy in the United States, artificial intelligence and society, the role of technology in dispute resolution and access to justice, and the centennial history of the ALI. ALI Director (and 7th Circuit Judge) Diane Wood presented the distinguished service award to Roberta Ramo, who was the first woman president of the ALI (and was also the first woman president of the ABA). The John Minor Wisdom Award went to Margaret Marshall, former Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, and Mary Schroeder, Chief Judge Emerita of the Ninth Circuit, both of whom have taken leading roles in the ALI. The Henry J. Friendly Medal was presented to Chief Justice John Roberts by Justice Elena Kagan.
Professor Emerita Terry is one of four ALI members from Penn State Dickinson Law. The other members include Dean Danielle Conway, Professor Bill Butler, and Professor Daryl Lim who was a newly-elected member in 2023. The American Law Institute describes itself as “the leading independent organization in the United States producing scholarly work to clarify, modernize, and otherwise improve the law.” It is responsible for producing the influential “Restatements of the Law,” which are relied upon by courts, lawyers, and academics, as well as law students who study Restatement provisions during their 1L and later years. Membership consists of eminent judges, lawyers, and law professors from all areas of the United States and from many foreign countries, selected on the basis of professional achievement and demonstrated interest in improving the law.
Professor Emerita Laurel S. Terry, who held the inaugural H. Laddie Montague, Jr. Chair in Law and was Dickinson Law’s inaugural Associate Dean for Research and New Faculty Development, is a three-time Fulbright recipient who writes and speaks about the impact of globalization on the legal profession, especially with respect to regulatory issues. Her scholarship has identified emerging issues for the legal profession and urged stakeholder engagement, new initiatives, and regulatory reform. In addition to speaking at academic and professional conferences, she has been invited to speak about her scholarship to organizations that include the Conference of Chief Justices, the National Conference of Bar Examiners, the National Organization of Bar Counsel, the National Conference of Bar Presidents, the CCBE, which represents EU’s legal profession and legal regulators, the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, the International Institute of Law Association Chief Executives, the International Bar Association, and the International Conference of Legal Regulators.