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Mark D. West (born July 26, 1968) is an American
legal scholar
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
,
social scientist
Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of socie ...
, and academic leader serving as the
Nippon Life
, also known as or is the largest Japanese life insurance company by revenue. The company was founded in 1889 as the ''Nippon Life Assurance Co., Inc.'' In structure it is a mutual company. It first paid policyholder dividends in 1898.
Over ...
Professor of Law at the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
since 2003
["Mark D. West, University of Michigan Law School" michigan.law.umich.edu.] and the
David A. Breach Dean of Law from 2013 to 2023. He is the 17th dean of the
University of Michigan Law School
The University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Comparative Law (MCL ...
.
West, known as a "prolific and brilliant legal scholar,"
[Ramseyer, J. Mark. "Lovesick Japan: Sex, Marriage, Romance, Law (review)," 66(2) Monumenta Nipponica 381 (January 2011).] is widely published on the subjects of Japanese law, the Japanese legal system, and comparative law, and has long been regarded as an American authority in these areas.
Education and early career
West earned a B.A. from
Rhodes College
Rhodes College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Memphis, Tennessee. Historically affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA), it is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Sout ...
in International Studies and a J.D. from
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, where he studied with
Walter Gellhorn. He clerked for
Eugene Nickerson
Eugene Hoffman Nickerson (August 2, 1918 – January 1, 2002) was the Democratic county executive of Nassau County, New York, from 1962 until 1970. Nickerson was the only Democrat to be elected county executive in Nassau County until 2001. Late ...
of the
and practiced transactional law in New York City and Tokyo with the multinational law firm
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. Between practice and academia, he was awarded an Abe Fellowship by the
Social Science Research Council
The Social Science Research Council (SSRC) is a US-based, independent, international nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing research in the social sciences and related disciplines. Established in Manhattan in 1923, it today maintains a he ...
at the
University of Tokyo
, abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project b ...
Faculty of Law, where he studied with
Hideki Kanda.
[Abe Fellowship Program, 1996 Abe Fellows.] West was named assistant professor at the University of Michigan Law School in 1998, and was appointed Nippon Life Professor of Law in 2003. He has presented, conducted research, and taught at several Japanese institutions, most frequently at
Kyoto University (2000, 2001–2002, 2003, 2005), where he was a
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
The is an Independent Administrative Institution in Japan, established for the purpose of contributing to the advancement of science in all fields of the natural and social sciences and the humanities.JSPSweb page
History
The Japan Society for ...
Visiting Scholar and a
Fulbright Research Scholar.
Early administrative service
In 1998, West founded the University of Michigan Law School's Japanese Legal Studies Program. From 2003 to 2008, West served simultaneously as Director of the University of Michigan Law School's Center for International and Corporate Law and the University of Michigan's multidisciplinary Center for Japanese Studies (CJS), the oldest such center in the country. His five-year term as CJS's 16th director is the longest consecutive term of service since the center's founding in 1947. From 2008 to 2013, he served as Michigan Law's Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.
Deanship
West was appointed Dean of the Law School effective September 1, 2013. Among his achievements as dean, he significantly expanded and diversified the faculty, including the hiring of a record 21 new faculty members in 2022. Working with students, employers, and alumni, he established a summer funding guarantee for all first-year students that was the most expansive in the country at the time of its creation. He created and launched several new initiatives, including the Law and Mobility Program; the Master of Advanced Corporation Law degree; the Veterans’ Clinic; the Workers’ Rights Clinic; and the Problem Solving Initiative, an interdisciplinary, university-wide platform for developing solutions to difficult challenges facing business and society. West led the school's successful fundraising efforts in the Victors for Michigan campaign, with donors giving over $200 million to the school. He led a significant expansion of the school's diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, including the creation of an alumni-majority advisory board on Race and Racism, the establishment of a named deanship devoted to racial justice issues, the launching of the school's first diversity, equity, and inclusion strategic plan, and the addition of faculty whose research examines race-related legal issues and teach race-related courses.
In 2022, joining several other law schools, West announced the decision that "it no longer makes sense for Michigan Law to participate in the U.S. News & World Report law school rankings process."
Research
West's research is broadly multidisciplinary and focuses on Japanese law and the Japanese legal system.
West's early work focused on corporate governance and law and economics. Prior to joining the University of Michigan, his research examined the role of law and norms in such areas as the shareholder
derivative suit A shareholder derivative suit is a lawsuit brought by a shareholder on behalf of a corporation against a third party. Often, the third party is an insider of the corporation, such as an executive officer or director. Shareholder derivative suits are ...
, the
Japan Sumo Association
The is the body that operates and controls professional sumo wrestling (called ''Ōzumō'', 大相撲) in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). '' Rikishi'' (active ...
, and
Sokaiya corporate racketeers. This work helped form a basis for his first book, ''Economic Organizations and Corporate Governance in Japan: The Impact of Formal and Informal Rules'' (with Curtis J. Milhaupt), which Anderson say "marks a new era in the field of comparative Japanese law and cements the two authors as the doyens of this ‘Next Generation’."
West then turned his scholarly attention to the role of law in the everyday lives of Japanese citizens. His book ''Law in Everyday Japan: Sex, Sumo, Suicide, and Statutes'' was widely and positively reviewed across multiple disciplines. The
Harvard Law Review calls it "colorful and methodologically unique," while legal scholar Haley calls it "insightful." Among anthropologists, Ryang calls it "invigorating;" Magnarella labels it "extreme well researched" and "highly recommended," and Brumann says "this is without a doubt a creative, informative, and conscientiously argued book from which anthropologists and other students of Japan will have much to learn." Among historians, Kingston called it "superb" and "delightfully engaging," and Allison described it as "skillful, astute, and fascinating." Relying on what political scientist Le Blanc calls "eclectic" methods, West "’loses’ cell phones, interviews love-hotel employees, talks with survivors of failed suicide attempts, examines records in police and local government archives, and, when data permits, even conducts simple quantitative analyses," creating a "marvelously sane reminder of the value of being painstaking and rigorous and the silliness of hewing too closely to any methodological or theoretical dogma." One chapter of the book, based largely on a
Law and Society Review article in which West analyzes the laws and norms regarding returning lost property in Japan, continues to receive significant attention many years later in the popular press, including
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, the
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, the ''
Los Angeles Times
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'', the ''
Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'', and
''Slate''.
Following the success of ''Law in Everyday Japan'', West turned his attention to the comparative study of scandal, which was also broadly read across disciplines. Among legal scholars, Upham calls ''Secrets, Sex, and Spectacle: The Rules of Scandal in Japan and the United States'' "deliciously entertaining" and says that West is "encyclopedic in his knowledge of popular culture in both countries," while Lee calls the book a "must-read for comparativists and all students and scholars of contemporary East Asian law and society," and Liebman says "we should delight in the details of scandal and seediness. It would be hard for readers of this book to do anything else." Sociologist Adut writes that the book "stands out by its lively style, lucidity, and erudition."
West's later work focuses on the ways in which judicial opinions discuss and shape social phenomena. Based on what ''Foreign Affairs'' calls an "unconventional prism"—a close reading of thousands of Japanese judicial opinions—West's research is concerned with both the explicit and implicit messages that the law, often through judges, sends about topics such as love, sex, and marriage (''Lovesick Japan: Love, Sex, Marriage Law'') and alcohol and drunkenness (''Drunk Japan: Law and Alcohol in Japanese Society''). Among legal scholars,
Ramseyer says of the former that "West reads his court opinions with care and intelligence (with, frankly, ''extraordinary'' care and intelligence),"
and Nottage calls the book a "rich and ambitious work." Anthropologist Alexy calls it "a fascinating book that offers a necessary perspective"; sociologist Shinohara calls it "a fascinating and innovative study";;; ''Maclean’s'' says it is "an arresting glimpse into Japan’s secret heart"; and in its review, ''The Economist'' notes that "teasing out the mysteries of Japanese society by way of its statutes is the specialty of Mark West."
Select awards and honors
*1989 –
Phi Beta Kappa
The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...
*1992–1993 – Notes and Comments Editor,
Columbia Law Review
The ''Columbia Law Review'' is a law review edited and published by students at Columbia Law School. The journal publishes scholarly articles, essays, and student notes.
It was established in 1901 by Joseph E. Corrigan and John M. Woolsey, who se ...
*1997–1998 –
Social Science Research Council
The Social Science Research Council (SSRC) is a US-based, independent, international nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing research in the social sciences and related disciplines. Established in Manhattan in 1923, it today maintains a he ...
Abe Fellowship (University of Tokyo)
*2001– 2002 –
Japan Foundation Grant
*2001–2002 –
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
The is an Independent Administrative Institution in Japan, established for the purpose of contributing to the advancement of science in all fields of the natural and social sciences and the humanities.JSPSweb page
History
The Japan Society for ...
Research Grant (Kyoto University)
*2001–2002 –
Fulbright Research Scholar (Kyoto University)
*2004 – Hessel Yntema Prize,
American Society of Comparative Law (for "most outstanding" article by an under-40 scholar )
*2013–present – Member,
American Law Institute
Bibliography
Selected books:
• ''Economic Organizations and Corporate Governance in Japan: The Impact of Formal and Informal Rules'',
Curtis J. Milhaupt, co-author. Oxford: Oxford University Press (2004) ISBN 9780199272112.
• ''Law in Everyday Japan: Sex, Sumo, Suicide, and Statutes''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press (2005) ISBN 9780226894034.
• ''Secrets, Sex and Spectacle: The Rules of Scandal in Japan and the United States''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press (2006) ISBN 9780226894089.
• ''The Japanese Legal System: Cases, Codes, and Commentary''.
Curtis J. Milhaupt &
J. Mark Ramseyer, co-authors. New York: Foundation Press (2006; 2d edition 2012). ISBN 9781609300296.
• ''Lovesick Japan: Sex, Marriage, Romance, Law.'' Ithaca: Cornell University Press (2011) ISBN 9780801449475.
• ''Drunk Japan: Law and Alcohol in Japanese Society,'' Oxford: Oxford University Press (2020) ISBN 9780190070847.
Selected articles:
• West, Mark D. (2000). Private Ordering at the World's First Futures Exchange, 98 ''Michigan Law Review'' 2574 (2000)
• Milhaupt, Curtis, and West, Mark D. (2000). The Dark Side of Private Ordering: An Institutional and Empirical Analysis of Organized Crime, 67 ''University of Chicago Law Review'' 41.
• Pistor, Katharina; Keinan, Yoram; Kleinheisterkamp, Jan; and West, Mark D. (2003). Innovation in Corporate Law, 31 ''Journal of Comparative Economics'' 676.
• West, Mark D. (2003). Losers: Recovering Lost Property in Japan and the United States, 37:2 ''Law & Society Review'' 369.
References
External links
Faculty Biographyfrom the University of Michigan Law School page
PublicationsMark D. West Social Science Research Network
The Social Science Research Network (SSRN) is a repository for preprints devoted to the rapid dissemination of scholarly research in the social sciences, humanities, life sciences, and health sciences, among others. Elsevier bought SSRN from S ...
profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:West, Mark D.
Living people
American legal scholars
Columbia Law School alumni
Deans of University of Michigan Law School
1968 births
Rhodes College alumni
Nippon Life
University of Michigan Law School faculty
Fulbright alumni