Widening the dimensions of legal scholarship will add luster to the School of Law

Paul LeBel is in his second year as dean of the UND School of Law.  A nationally recognized expert on tort law, he previously taught at law schools in Florida, Virginia, Alabama, and Illinois.  One of the strongest assets of the UND School of Law, he notes, is its widespread support and reputation throughout the region.

For decades, faculty members in the School of Law have produced legal scholarship that matters to attorneys and lawmakers.  Now, the School is working to become just as strong in its scholarship with a more academic orientation.  It can be a challenge to do both, says Dean Paul LeBel, one of UND’s newest deans, but he feels the School is up to the task.

His own expertise is in the area of tort law.  Since moving to North Dakota last year from the Florida State University College of Law, LeBel has devoted much time to interacting with the state’s lawyers, judges and other stakeholders as the School, founded in 1899, moves briskly ahead in its second century.

Lawyers in the state, the lion’s share of whom earned their degrees at UND, have great pride and a sense of ownership in the School, he said.  Much of the faculty’s scholarship, in fact, has been geared to meeting the needs of the state, “behind the scenes,” so to speak, serving policy makers and rule-making bodies such as the state Judicial Standards Committee, the Committee on Gender Fairness, and local rules committees of federal courts.  In addition to the official reports of such committees, the results of the work of faculty members can be published in law review and practitioner journals and through academic presses. 

The School’s goal, LeBel says, is to provide ample support for continuing this productivity of the faculty, with its varied mix of scholarly work that appeals to multiple audiences.

Currently, some of the strongest legal scholarship in the School is research in American Indian law, with numerous articles and two books by faculty.  Professors at the University are experts in tribal gaming law and policy, in tribal government, tribal economic development, and tribal environmental law.  Beyond its appeal to legal scholars, the work is important to tribal leaders and can affect federal regulations. 

The success of the Northern Plains Indian Law Center, LeBel says, is tied in large part to funding from the federal and state government.  In the future, he hopes that UND will be able to attract support from industry and government for similar centers that benefit the public and the School. 

One day, he believes, the University of North Dakota could become as well known for its expertise in other areas as it is in American Indian law.  Likely areas of development include natural resources, a topic that’s important to this region, as well as emphases in agricultural and rural law. 

Strategic collaborations and partnerships will be key to achieving those goals, as they have been at the Indian Law Center, in which a UND political science faculty member, Stephen Light, is co-director of one of the Center components.  LeBel believes that the Law School could build valuable partnerships with other strong programs at UND, including business, medicine, and aerospace.

Research and scholarship is also connected to its success in another strategic realm: increasing private giving.

Alumni and friends of the Law School he has met so far have convinced him that a more sustained approach to fundraising has the potential of yielding substantial new resources to supplement the core revenues derived from tuition, state appropriations, and federal contracts. 

“The energy and enthusiasm of a highly talented faculty are here,” he said.  “With adequate support, the School of Law can continue to be a very positive force for the legal profession and the public of our state and beyond.”