Reflection on Collective Thought
I consider a Restatement in general to be an exercise in harnessing collective wisdom, not the wisdom of a Reporter. It’s an attempt to gather the collective wisdom of the courts in this country on various difficult questions, and the collective wisdom of the bench, the bar, and the legal academy in making sense out of what the courts have said.
How the ALI Empowered Fiduciaries to Have Better Investment Strategies
In 1992, ALI completed the Restatement (Third) of Trusts: Prudent Investor Rule, which made several key changes to the law of trusts contained in the Restatement (Second), each under the rubric of a new “prudent investor rule.”
Restatements and the Federal Common Law
I will focus on a different, less discussed front: federal common law. The ALI’s influence on this front is more recent.
Legislative Recommendations (excerpt of the Revised Style Manual approved by the ALI Council in January 2015)
Model or uniform codes or statutes and other statutory proposals are addressed mainly to legislatures, with a view toward legislative enactment. a. Nature of Model Codes. Unlike its Restatements, the Institute’s legislative recommendations are written with a view...
Restatements and Federal Statutes
Questions have been raised in recent meetings of our Advisers and Members Consultative Groups, particularly in connection with our newly launched Restatement of Copyright, about what role our Restatements can play in areas in which there is a comprehensive federal statute.
Principles (excerpt of the Revised Style Manual approved by the ALI Council in January 2015)
Principles are primarily addressed to legislatures, administrative agencies, or private actors. They can, however, be addressed to courts when an area is so new that there is little established law. Principles may suggest best practices for these institutions. a. The...
Restatements (excerpt of the Revised Style Manual approved by the ALI Council in January 2015)
1. Restatements are primarily addressed to courts. They aim at clear formulations of common law and its statutory elements or variations and reflect the law as it presently stands or might appropriately be stated by a court. a. Nature of a Restatement.Webster’s Third...
The American Law Institute and the U.S. Supreme Court
In an effort to show that the ALI’s influence is not confined to the states, in my last letter I focused on the impact of our work on the development of federal common law, both in the Supreme Court and the U.S. Courts of Appeals. In this letter, I look more specifically at the use of ALI materials by the Supreme Court during the 2013 to 2015 Terms.
Clarifying the Nature of the ALI’s Work
The American Law Institute appropriately describes itself as “the leading independent organization in the United States producing scholarly work to clarify, modernize, and otherwise improve the law.” From time to time, it is important for the ALI, as for all...
The American Law Institute and The Bluebook
Linking these two iconic institutions in American law might seem strange at first glance. As we all know, the ALI is the most prominent law reform organization in the United States. Its charter states that it was established “to promote the clarification and simplification of the law.” The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation is the bane of every law review editor’s existence and the most important force in promoting consistency in legal citations.