American Law Institute

The American Law Institute (ALI) is a legal organization composed of judges, lawyers, and legal scholars, with membership limited to 3,000 elected members. It was established in 1923 with the stated purpose of promoting the clarification and simplification of United States common law and its adaptation to changing social needs. Additional stated goals included securing the better administration of justice and encouraging scholarly and scientific legal work.

The committee that issued the report recommending the Institute's formation included Elihu Root, George W. Wickersham, William Draper Lewis, Joseph Henry Beale, Benjamin N. Cardozo, Arthur Corbin, Ernst Freund, Learned Hand, Roscoe Pound, Harlan F. Stone, John Henry Wigmore, and Samuel Williston.

ALI produces publications known as Restatements of the Law, which summarize generally accepted principles of common law as developed through state court decisions. Many courts and legislatures consult ALI's publications as authoritative reference material on a range of legal questions. Some legal scholars and jurists, including the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, as well as some conservative commentators, have raised concerns that ALI's work constitutes judicial lawmaking rather than a neutral restatement of existing law.

The ALI drafts, approves, and publishes Restatements of the Law, Principles of the Law, model acts, and other proposals for law reform. The ALI is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

At any given time, ALI is engaged in up to 20 active projects examining areas of law. Some projects have attracted significant media attention, particularly the ongoing revision of the Model Penal Code's sexual assault provisions.