W&M Property Rights Project Launches New Journal

Fundamental Importance of Property Rights
Fundamental Importance of Property Rights The new journal is edited by Professor Lynda Butler. The Journal's Board of Advisors includes Professor Butler, Christi A. Cassel of Waldo & Lyle, P.C., Norfolk, Va., James W. Ely, Jr., of Vanderbilt University, and Joseph T. Waldo of Waldo & Lyle, P.C., Norfolk, Va.

The William & Mary Property Rights Project announced today the publication of the inaugural volume of the Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference Journal. Volume 1 features 17 articles that explore the similarities and differences of the property systems in the U.S., China, and other countries. The articles were written by leading scholars and practitioners from the U.S. and China. The journal is published by the William & Mary Law School Property Rights Project and is available by subscription for $15 per volume.

Law School Dean Davison M. Douglas said: "This marks the beginning of an exciting, new publication that promises to make an important contribution to the study of the fundamental importance of property rights."

Lynda L. Butler, Chancellor Professor of Law and Director of the William & Mary Property Rights Project, serves as the journal's editor. She noted that all the authors participated in the Project's 2011 conference at Tsinghua University in Beijing. "Our goal for the 2011 conference in China was to promote understanding of the property rights systems of different countries and to shed light on the common attributes of property systems in complex societies," she said.  "This inaugural volume is an effort to extend the discussion to a wider international audience."

Articles provide a comparative analysis of legal protection of property rights and also explore topics such as the role of property in promoting social and economic policy, the impact of culture on property systems, and the relationship between property rights and the environment. Four articles reflect on Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's property rights decisions, in recognition of her receipt of the 2011 Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Prize.

Volume 1 features articles by American scholars and practitioners such as:
Alan T. Ackerman of Ackerman Ackerman & Dynkowski, Bloomfield Hills, Mich.;
James S. Burling of the Pacific Legal Foundation;
Lan Cao of William & Mary Law School;
Robert C. Ellickson of Yale Law School;
James W. Ely, Jr., of Vanderbilt University;
Richard A. Epstein of New York University School of Law;
Lee Anne Fennell of the University of Chicago Law School;
Mark F. (Thor) Hearne II, Steven Haskins and Meghan S. Largent of Arent Fox, LLP;
Frank I. Michelman of  Harvard University;
Carol M. Rose of the University of Arizona Rogers College of Law (professor emerita, Yale Law School);
Patricia E. Salkin of the Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center (and formerly of Albany Law School) and Daniel Gross of Albany Law School.

The perspectives of distinguished Chinese scholars and practitioners also are represented in the volume.  They include:
Lu Zhongmei of the Hubei University of Economics;
Zhou Ke and Xu Ya of the Renmin University of China School of Law;
Libin Zhang of Siemens (Asia & Australia);
Yun-chien Chang of Institutum Iurisprudentiae, Academia Sinica;
Shitong Qiao (J.S.D. Candidate) of Yale Law School;
Wenjun Wang and Shuxin Zhu of Dalian Maritime University.

The journal's Board of Advisors includes Professor Butler, Christi A. Cassel of Waldo & Lyle, P.C., Norfolk, Va., James W. Ely, Jr., of Vanderbilt University, and Joseph T. Waldo of Waldo & Lyle, P.C., Norfolk, Va.

Jan G. Abbott and Heather N. DiAngelis of the William & Mary Journal Center served as assistant editors.

Editor's Note: For more information about subscribing to the journal, contact Jan Abbott at the Journal Center at [[w|jgabbo]].  The journal also will be available on-line later this fall on the Project's website.