John A. E. Pottow
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John Anthony Edwards PottowJohn Anthony Edwards Pottow—P74675
, State Bar of Michigan.
is the John Philip Dawson Collegiate Professor of Law at 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 ...
, specializing in international commercial law, bankruptcy and
consumer finance Personal finance is the financial management which an individual or a family unit performs to budget, save, and spend monetary resources over time, taking into account various financial risks and future life events. When planning personal fi ...
.John A. E. Pottow
University of Michigan Law School.
In addition to scholarship, Pottow is known for pro bono work and has argued pro bono cases before the United States Supreme Court and several United States Courts of Appeals, winning an award for pro bono service. His public service in international trade law includes service on the United States Delegation to the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (
UNCITRAL The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) ( French: ''Commission des Nations Unies pour le droit commercial international (CNUDCI)'') is a subsidiary body of the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) responsible for helping to f ...
) and the State Department's Advisory Committee on Private International Law.


Early life and education

Pottow was born in Canada.Sheila Pursglov
Professor helps students to tame the 'Wild West' of bankruptcy law
(June 7, 2012). ''Legal News''.
He graduated from
Upper Canada College Upper Canada College (UCC) is an elite, all-boys, private school in Toronto, Ontario, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The college is widely described as the country's most prestigious preparatory school, and has produce ...
in 1989. He received an
A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
'' summa cum laude'' in psychology,
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 ...
,Faculty
''Law Quadrangle Notes'' (summer 2002).
from
Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...
in 1993,Promotion Recommendation: The University of Michigan Law School (approved by the Regents on May 15, 2008)
While at Harvard, Pottow received the John Harvard Annual Scholarship all four years, and was awarded the Gordon Allport Prize in Psychology and the Thomas T. Hoopes, Class of 1919, Prize. Pottow also hosted a jazz program on WHRB-FM, and was a member of the
Hasty Pudding Theatricals The Hasty Pudding Theatricals, known informally simply as The Pudding, is a theatrical student society at Harvard University, known for its burlesque crossdressing musicals. The Hasty Pudding is the oldest theatrical organization in the United S ...
group and crew team and student conductor of the
Harvard University Band The Harvard University Band (HUB) is the official student band of Harvard University. The Harvard Wind Ensemble, the Harvard Summer Pops Band, and the Harvard Jazz Bands also fall under the umbrella organization of HUB. Currently, the band plays f ...
. As a freshman, Pottow attended the last lecture ever delivered by
B. F. Skinner Burrhus Frederic Skinner (March 20, 1904 – August 18, 1990) was an American psychologist, behaviorist, author, inventor, and Social philosophy, social philosopher. He was a professor of psychology at Harvard University from 1958 until his ret ...
. Pottow was interested in psycholinguistics and studied under social psychologist Roger Brown, who encouraged Pottow to pursue the practice of law. He was also a student under professor
Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as a ...
, which later developed into a professional collaboration. From 1993 to 1994, Pottow worked at Eos Partners, LP, a
private equity In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a t ...
hedge fund A hedge fund is a pooled investment fund that trades in relatively liquid assets and is able to make extensive use of more complex trading, portfolio-construction, and risk management techniques in an attempt to improve performance, such as s ...
in New York, as chief financial officer.Mike Murphy and Matt Nolan,
Our Neighbor from the North: A Chat with Professor Pottow, Eh?
," ''Res Gestae'', Vol. 55, No. 16 (Apr. 12, 2005).
John A. E. Pottow - Biography
International Insolvency Institute.
Pottow earned his J.D. ''magna cum laude'' from Harvard Law School, where he was treasurer of the '' Harvard Law Review'', in 1997. At Harvard Law School, Pottow was a National Scholar. Between his first and second years of law school, Pottow was a research assistant to Professor
Arthur R. Miller Arthur Raphael Miller (born June 22, 1934), is a leading scholar in the field of American civil procedure and a University Professor at New York University and Chairman of The NYU Sports & Society Program. Early life and education Miller was b ...
on the supplement to ''Federal Practice and Procedure'', co-authored by Miller,
Charles Alan Wright Charles Alan Wright (September 3, 1927 – July 7, 2000) was an American constitutional lawyer widely considered to be the foremost authority in the United States on constitutional law and federal procedure, and was the coauthor of the 54-volume ...
, and Edward H. Cooper.


Career

Pottow served as a law clerk to Judge
Guido Calabresi Guido Calabresi (born October 18, 1932) is an Italian-born American legal scholar and Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He is a former Dean of Yale Law School, where he has been a pr ...
of the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory comprises the states of Connecticut, New York and Vermont. The court has appellate juri ...
from 1997 to 1998 and to Chief Justice
Beverley McLachlin Beverley Marian McLachlin (born September 7, 1943) is a Canadian jurist and author who served as the 17th chief justice of Canada from 2000 to 2017. She is the longest-serving chief justice in Canadian history and the first woman to hold the p ...
of the Supreme Court of Canada from 1998 to 1999. Pottow entered
private practice Private practice may refer to: *Private sector practice **Practice of law In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiati ...
, first as a litigation associate at Hill & Barlow in Boston from 1999 to 2002, and then as of counsel at
Weil, Gotshal & Manges Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP is an American international law firm with approximately 1,100 attorneys, headquartered in New York City. With a gross annual revenue in excess of $1.8 billion, it is among the world's largest law firms according to ...
in New York from 2002 to 2003. Pottow joined the Michigan Law faculty in 2003 and received
tenure Tenure is a category of academic appointment existing in some countries. A tenured post is an indefinite academic appointment that can be terminated only for cause or under extraordinary circumstances, such as financial exigency or program disco ...
in 2008. At Michigan, Pottow has taught international bankruptcy, bankruptcy,
contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tr ...
s, secured transactions,
law and economics Law and economics, or economic analysis of law, is the application of microeconomic theory to the analysis of law, which emerged primarily from scholars of the Chicago school of economics. Economic concepts are used to explain the effects of law ...
and other business courses, and served as the project director of the National Consumer Bankruptcy Project. Pottow has testified before
congressional committees A congressional committee is a legislative sub-organization in the United States Congress that handles a specific duty (rather than the general duties of Congress). Committee membership enables members to develop specialized knowledge of the ...
several times. In 2009, Pottow, Steven P. Croley, and
Eric Posner Eric Andrew Posner (; born December 5, 1965) is an American lawyer and legal scholar who has served as a counsel for the Department of Justice Antitrust Division since 2022. As a law professor at the University of Chicago Law School, Posner has ...
were commissioned by the Troubled Asset Relief Program Congressional Oversight Panel to provide outside legal opinions on the
Home Affordable Modification Program The Making Home Affordable program of the United States Treasury was launched in 2009 as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program. The main activity under MHA is the Home Affordable Modification Program. Other programs under MHA include: * Princ ...
(HAMP) and TARP. Pottow has written on the " stickiness of
default rule {{inline, date=June 2021 In legal theory, a default rule is a rule of law that can be overridden by a contract, trust, will, or other legally effective agreement. Contract law, for example, can be divided into two kinds of rules: ''default rules'' ...
s," on elder bankruptcy, and on the effects of the
Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA) () is a legislative act that made several significant changes to the United States Bankruptcy Code. Referred to colloquially as the "New Bankruptcy Law", the Act of Co ...
of 2005, which significantly revised the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. He has critiqued the nondischargeability of
student loan debt Student debt is a form of debt that is owed by an attending, formerly withdrawn, or graduated student to a lending institution, or to a financial institution. The amount that is loaned, often referred to as a ''student loan'' or the debts may be ...
in
personal bankruptcy Personal bankruptcy law allows, in certain jurisdictions, an individual to be declared bankrupt. Virtually every country with a modern legal system features some form of debt relief for individuals. Personal bankruptcy is distinguished from corporat ...
proceedings. Pottow has also written extensively on international business law issues. He was elected to the International Insolvency Institute in 2010 and won the Institute's first annual prize for international insolvency research. Pottow co-authors a leading bankruptcy textbook, ''The Law of Debtors and Creditors'' (8th edition,
Wolters Kluwer Wolters Kluwer N.V. () is a Dutch information services company. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands (Global) and Philadelphia, United States (corporate). Wolters Kluwer in its current form was founded in 1987 with a m ...
2021), along with
Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as a ...
, Jay Lawrence Westbrook, and
Katie Porter Katherine Moore Porter (born January 3, 1974) is an American politician, law professor, and lawyer who is the U.S. representative from California's 45th congressional district since 2019. She is the first Democrat to be elected to represent the ...
. His pro bono litigation includes the successful representation of the respondent in ''Executive Benefits Insurance Agency, Inc. v. Arkison'' before the Supreme Court of the United States. Pottow has provided commentary on legal issues in a variety of forums including ''
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 ...
'', ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...
'', and
NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
. He has been an
expert witness An expert witness, particularly in common law countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States, is a person whose opinion by virtue of education, training, certification, skills or experience, is accepted by the judge as ...
in several commercial law cases. He is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute and is a member of the ''
American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review The ''American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review'' is a biannual law journal published by St. John's University School of Law and the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI). A free digital edition of the ''Law Review'' is distributed to all Americ ...
'' advisory board. He won the 2005 L. Hart Wright Award for Excellence in Teaching at Michigan in 2005. Pottow was a
visiting professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...
at Harvard in fall 2008. Pottow was
admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...
in
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
(in 1999) and Michigan (in 2011). He is also a licensed barrister and solicitor in
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
. Pottow is an occasional contributor to ''Credit Slips'', a scholarly blog on credit, finance, and bankruptcy. Pottow is an elected member of American Law Institute,
American College of Bankruptcy The American College of Bankruptcy is a professional organization for bankruptcy judges, lawyers, international fellows, and accountants An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency ...
, and International Insolvency Institute.


Personal life

Pottow is married to Reshma Jagsi, a
radiation oncologist A radiation oncologist is a specialist physician who uses ionizing radiation (such as megavoltage X-rays or radionuclides) in the treatment of cancer. Radiation oncology is one of the three primary specialties, the other two being surgical and ...
and professor at the
University of Michigan Medical School Michigan Medicine (University of Michigan Health System or UMHS before 2017) is the wholly owned academic medical center of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan Medicine includes the Univers ...
; they have two children. Pottow holds
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
,
Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
, and
European Union citizenship European Union citizenship is afforded to all citizens of member states of the European Union (EU). It was formally created with the adoption of the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, at the same time as the creation of the EU. EU citizenship is additio ...
. Pottow is a political
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...
.Elizabeth Warren & LTV Steel
''Credit Slips'' (Oct. 4, 2012 9:34 PM);

', Credit Slips (Nov. 11, 2012, 4:08 PM).
He speaks American Sign Language and French.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pottow, John Anthony Edwards Living people Upper Canada College alumni Harvard Law School alumni Canadian expatriate academics in the United States University of Michigan Law School faculty American legal scholars Bankruptcy American Episcopalians Hasty Pudding alumni Harvard College alumni Year of birth missing (living people)