Ward Farnsworth (born 1967) is Professor of Law and holder of the W. Page Keeton Chair at the
University of Texas School of Law
The University of Texas School of Law (Texas Law) is the law school of the University of Texas at Austin. Texas Law is consistently ranked as one of the top law schools in the United States and is highly selective—registering the 8th lowest ac ...
, where he was Dean from 2012-2022. He served as Reporter for the
American Law Institute’s
Restatement of the Law
In American jurisprudence, the ''Restatements of the Law'' are a set of treatises on legal subjects that seek to inform judges and lawyers about general principles of common law. There are now four series of ''Restatements'', all published by the ...
Third, Torts: Liability for Economic Harm, and is the author of books on law, rhetoric, philosophy, and chess.
Education and clerkships
Farnsworth graduated from
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the col ...
, Middletown, Connecticut in 1989 (B.A.) and with high honors from the
University of Chicago Law School
The University of Chicago Law School is the law school of the University of Chicago, a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is consistently ranked among the best and most prestigious law schools in the world, and has many dis ...
in 1994 (J.D.).
Immediately after law school, Farnsworth served as a law clerk for Judge
Richard A. Posner
Richard Allen Posner (; born January 11, 1939) is an American jurist and legal scholar who served as a federal appellate judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit from 1981 to 2017. A senior lecturer at the University of Chicag ...
on the
Seventh Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (in case citations, 7th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts:
* Central District of Illinois
* Northern District of Ill ...
and then clerked for Justice
Anthony M. Kennedy of the
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
. He then worked as a Legal Adviser to the
Iran-United States Claims Tribunal in The Hague.
Academic career
Prior to beginning his tenure as dean at Texas, Farnsworth taught for 15 years at
Boston University School of Law,
Farnsworth New Dean of University of Texas School of Law
Leslie Friday, BU Today and served several years as associate dean for academic affairs. He was appointed Dean of the University of Texas School of Law in May 2012. He has received many teaching awards over the years, including the United Methodist Scholar/Teacher of the Year Award in 2009 from Boston University.
Publications
Farnsworth has written on a wide range of subjects. His legal writing includes articles on economic analysis of law, constitutional law, statutory interpretation, and legal applications of cognitive psychology. He is author of ''Restitution: Civil Liability for Unjust Enrichment'' (Chicago 2014), and ''The Legal Analyst: A Toolkit for Thinking About the Law'' (Chicago 2007), an acclaimed guide to interdisciplinary approaches to legal thought. He is Reporter for the American Law Institute’s Restatement Third, Torts: Liability for Economic Harm. He also is the co-author (with Mark F. Grady) of a casebook on the law of torts, and co-author (with Andrew Kull) of a casebook on the law of restitution, both published by Aspen.
Farnsworth is the author of three books on the English language: ''Classical English Rhetoric'' (Godine 2010), ''Classical English Metaphor'' (Godine 2016), and ''Classical English Style'' (Godine 2020), all of which have received critical acclaim. He is also the author of two books on philosophy, ''The Practicing Stoic'' (Godine 2018) and ''The Socratic Method'' (Godine 2021), and a treatise on chess available online.
See also
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References
External links
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''Farnsworth's Classical English Rhetoric''
– Reviewed by Geoffrey K. Pullum
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"''Classical English Style'' -- Reviewed by Barton Swaim in the Wall St. Journal)"
* ttps://www.wsj.com/articles/the-socratic-method-book-review-let-us-reason-together-11656085510 "''The Socratic Method'' -- Reviewed by Martha Bayles ''Wall Street Journal''"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farnsworth, Ward
Living people
1967 births
Legal educators
Wesleyan University alumni
University of Chicago Law School alumni
Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States
Boston University faculty
University of Texas School of Law faculty
American legal writers
Deans of law schools in the United States