Ronnie R. Gipson Jr.

Visiting Associate Professor of Law

Ronnie R. Gipson Jr. is a Visiting Associate Professor of Law at Penn State Dickinson Law. He earned his J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law, and he holds a B.A. from Texas A & M University in Modern Languages (French). During law school, Professor Gipson externed for Federal Magistrate Judge Maria-Elena James in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. He also served on leadership committees of numerous student organizations as well as the prestigious University of San Francisco Maritime Law Journal. After graduation, he represented clients of insurance companies with marine claims, with commercial general liability claims; and then in complex and class action claims. Prior to entering academia, Professor Gipson spent the latter part of active practice in his own firm representing aviation clients in private transactions, regulatory enforcement actions before the National Transportation Safety Board, and civil litigation actions arising from aviation accidents.

Professor Gipson’s scholarship and expertise meets at the intersection of international law and aviation law. In the area of aviation, his scholarship explores modern developments in global and domestic aviation regulations and their broader impact on safety and individual rights. Professor Gipson engages in service to the broader aviation community in his role as Chair of the Legal Advisory Council for the Experimental Aviation Association, a non-profit organization, that advocates to protect and expand the rights and privileges of the aviation community on the national level by guiding and influencing aviation policy and legislation in Washington D.C. His scholarship in aviation law was cited by the U.S. House of Representatives during its subsequent investigation of the 737MAX crashes in 2019 and 2020. In the area of international law, his scholarship explores the utilization of regional trade groups to equalize bargaining power among nations and the resulting impact into other areas affecting statehood. Professor Gipson’s recent scholarly works include a book on Tennessee tort law; articles on non-commercial use of aircraft to support women’s healthcare in a post-Dobbs world; illegal aircraft charter; the peaceful resolution of the Taiwan statehood issue with China; and the cessation of the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar that resulted after the coup in 2021.

Select Publications by Professor Gipson

“The Interjurisdictional Abortion Wars Have Arrived,” University of North Texas at Dallas Law Review On the Cusp (Forthcoming)

“Taiwan’s Democracy, Security, and Peace Can be Secured by Purchasing the State’s Independence from China,” 32 Mich. St. Int’l. L. Rev. 253 (2024).