Restatement Symposium

On Friday, January 25, 2013, the American Law Institute (ALI), the Brooklyn Law Review, and Brooklyn Law School are co-sponsoring a Symposium entitled “Restatement Of…” to begin a discussion about how to continue the "venerable brand" of ALI's Restatements of the Law titles. The event will be held from 9:00 am.to 5:00 pm at Brooklyn Law School’s Subotnick Center, 250 Joralemon Street, Brooklyn, NY and will be free of charge. Online Registration is required by Wednesday, January 23, 2013 at this link. Restatements of the Law have been clarifying, summarizing, describing, and improving the law and exerting influence on United States courts for nearly a century. Since 2001, the American Law Institute (ALI) has broadened its work and has rewritten many of its original Restatements, added new ones, and moved beyond restatements of the common law in its "Principles of the Law" series.

Continuing this modernization of a venerable brand, the "Restatement Of ..." symposium asks: What other areas of the law might be restated? Leading scholars from diverse fields will come together at this symposium to delve deeper into the restatement frontier in their respective areas of expertise. Discussion topics will include new projects that the ALI could undertake, concerns about restating specific areas of the law, restatements currently in progress, doctrines that will resist restatement, and old restatements that have disappeared.

The day will be divided into four discussion groups, each led by a professor who has served as a Reporter on an ALI project. Presenters will address a wide range of issues, including "Should There Be a Restatement of Statutory Interpretation?" and "Religion and the Restatements." It is expected that the 20 panelists will discuss gay rights, administrative law, safety, child sex abuse, federal tax law, and health-care law to name just a few topics. The full agenda, which includes welcoming remarks by BLS Dean Nick Allard, Introductory Remarks by the event's organizer BLS Professor Anita Bernstein, Discussants BLS Professors Aaron Twerski and Neil B. Cohen, and Panelist BLS Professor Lawrence Solan, can be viewed here. Professors from 17 law schools will discuss articles they are writing for Volume 79 of the Brooklyn Law Review which will be devoted to the Restatements. It is scheduled for publication in early 2014.