AEI Legal Center for the Public Interest (LCPI) was formed when the National Legal Center for the Public Interest (NLCPI) was merged into the

conservative think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmental or ...

American Enterprise Institute The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, known simply as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), is a center-right Washington, D.C.–based think tank that researches government, politics, economics, and social welfare. A ...

(AEI) in September 2007. Its stated mission is to "foster knowledge about law and the administration of justice, especially with respect to individual rights, free enterprise, property ownership,

limited government In political philosophy, limited government is the concept of a government limited in power. It is a key concept in the history of liberalism.Amy Gutmann, "How Limited Is Liberal Government" in Liberalism Without Illusions: Essays on Liberal Th ...

, and a fair and efficient judiciary. It has pursued its educational and intellectual missions through a publishing program, conferences, and the annual Gauer Distinguished Lecture in Law and Public Policy."

History

The NLCPI was founded in 1975 with funding by J. Simon Fluor and interests controlled by

Richard Mellon Scaife Richard Mellon Scaife (; July 3, 1932 – July 4, 2014) was an American billionaire, a principal heir to the Mellon banking, oil, and aluminum fortune, and the owner and publisher of the ''Pittsburgh Tribune-Review''. In 2005, Scaife was n ...

. Publications included white papers, legal monographs, judicial and legislative watch reports, and the Public Interest Law Review. NLCPI also sponsored a legal intern program, in which interns performed research and assisted in drafting legal briefs. Its longtime president was Ernest Hueter, who served in that capacity for 25 years, retiring in 2004. Fred Fielding was the most recent chairman of the foundation. Other prominent members included

Theodore Olson Theodore Bevry Olson (born September 11, 1940) is an American lawyer, practicing at the Washington, D.C., office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Olson served as United States Assistant Attorney General of the Office of Legal Counsel (1981–1984) ...

, Judge

Kenneth Starr Kenneth Winston Starr (July 21, 1946 – September 13, 2022) was an American lawyer and judge who authored the Starr Report, which led to the impeachment of Bill Clinton. He headed an investigation of members of the Clinton administration, know ...

, Supreme Court Chief Justice

John Roberts John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served as the 17th chief justice of the United States since 2005. Roberts has authored the majority opinion in several landmark cases, including '' Nat ...

, Robert H. Bork, and

Bruce Fein Bruce Fein (born March 12, 1947) is an American lawyer who specializes in constitutional and international law. Fein has written numerous articles on constitutional issues for ''The Washington Times'', ''Slate.com'', ''The New York Times'', '' ...

. Much of its funding came from corporate and conservative foundations, including the Carthage Foundation, the

Sarah Scaife Foundation The Scaife Foundations refer collectively to three foundations in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The three subdivisions are: the Allegheny Foundation, the Sarah Scaife Foundation, and the Scaife Family Foundation. A fourth foundation, the Carthage Fo ...

, the John M. Olin Foundation, the

Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, commonly known as the Bradley Foundation, is an American charitable foundation based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that primarily supports conservative causes. The foundation provides between $35 million and $4 ...

, the Alcoa Foundation and ExxonMobil. The Center has also been associated with several prominent Democrats, including

Cliff Sloan Clifford Sloan is an attorney and American diplomat who served as Special Envoy for Guantanamo Closure at the United States Department of State. Sloan is currently a Dean's Visiting Scholar at Georgetown University Law Center and retired partner ...

, Walter Dellinger,

Seth Waxman Seth Paul Waxman (born November 28, 1951) is an American lawyer who served as the 41st Solicitor General of the United States from 1997 to 2001. He then returned to private legal practice, and serves as the co-chairman of the appellate and Supr ...

Griffin Bell Griffin Boyette Bell (October 31, 1918 – January 5, 2009) was the 72nd Attorney General of the United States, having served under President Jimmy Carter. Previously, he was a U.S. circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fift ...

, and Robert Strauss. NLPCI publications frequently supported

tort reform Tort reform refers to changes in the civil justice system in common law countries that aim to reduce the ability of plaintiffs to bring tort litigation (particularly actions for negligence) or to reduce damages they can receive. Such changes a ...

, the corporate interest, and were critical of the "impossibilities" of the Americans With Disabilities Act. NLPCI also ran a "Federal judge identification program" that sought "to identify those who believe that the appropriate role of the judiciary is to interpret the law, not make it." According to a 1990 column by

David Margolick David Margolick (born January 3, 1952) is a long-time contributing editor at ''Vanity Fair''. Margolick has held similar positions at ''Newsweek'' and ''Portfolio.com''. Prior to joining ''Vanity Fair'' he was a legal affairs reporter at ''The New ...

, the national legal affairs editor at ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', "This is a group that has taken the famous dictum of Charles E. Wilson one step further. It is no longer only what's good for General Motors that is good for America, but what's good for Dow Chemical, Amway, Shell Oil, 3M and others represented on the legal center's board of directors."

Merger with AEI

In September 2007, the NLC was merged into the

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

to become the AEI Legal Center for the Public Interest, directed by AEI resident fellow

Ted Frank Theodore H. Frank (born December 14, 1968) is an American lawyer, activist, and legal writer, based in Washington, D.C. He is the counsel of record and petitioner in '' Frank v. Gaos'', the first Supreme Court case to deal with the issue of '' c ...

. AEI's existing legal and constitutional studies program, Federalism Project, and Liability Project were subsumed into the AEI Legal Center.

References

External links

AEI Legal Center for the Public Interest
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aei Legal Center For The Public Interest Legal organizations based in the United States Political and economic think tanks in the United States American Enterprise Institute Conservative organizations in the United States John M. Olin Foundation