All extraordinary scholars and teachers

B.A., with honors, Swarthmore College
J.D., magna cum laude, New York University

Professor Bennett joins SMU Dedman School of Law from the University of Missouri where he was an Associate Professor of Law and Wall Family Fellow and enjoyed a joint appointment at the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy.

His research focuses on how complex civil litigation strains the relationship between state and federal courts and impacts the separation of powers.

The U.S. Supreme Court has cited Professor Bennett’s scholarship. His work appears, or is forthcoming, in the NYU Law Review, Cornell Law Review, Minnesota Law Review, Notre Dame Law Review, Missouri Law Review, and the Kentucky Law Journal.

B.A., summa cum laude, Yale College
J.D., Yale Law School

Professor Leatherbury is one of the most highly regarded First Amendment experts in the country, as well as a gifted litigator. Professor Leatherbury regularly represents traditional and digital publishers and broadcasters in all aspects of media litigation throughout his career.

Among many other honors, he was named a senior statesperson in First Amendment Law by Chambers USA and a fellow in the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers. Some of his awards include the Dallas Bar Foundation Justinian Award and a Presidential Citation from the State Bar of Texas for his commitment to helping its diversity and inclusion efforts.

B.A., with honors, Southwestern University
J.D., cum laude, SMU Dedman School of Law

Professor Pierce is the inaugural Director of the SMU Master of Legal Studies Program for non-lawyers, which will launch in fall 2025.

Professor Pierce comes to SMU with fifteen years of federal and state criminal prosecution experience primarily in human trafficking and organized crime, as well as civil private practice. Her teaching and expertise include criminal law, federal litigation, civil rights, civil procedure, and trial advocacy.

LL.B., magna cum laude, Tel Aviv University
LL.M., Harvard Law School
S.J.D., Harvard Law School

Professor Shisha is an award-winning IP scholar. He comes to SMU Dedman Law from Harvard Law School. He teaches and writes in the field of intellectual property law, focusing on copyright law and the intersection of law and technology.

Professor Shisha's recent article on copyright remedies has been selected as one of “the most important and timely articles on computer, technology, and the law” of 2022 by the Rutgers Computer and Technology Law Journal. His article on copyright formalities has been judged one of the best intellectual property articles of 2023 and selected for inclusion in West/Thomson’s annual Intellectual Property Law Review.

His scholarship appears, or is forthcoming, in the Southern California Law Review, Boston College Law Review, Harvard Journal of Law & Technology, and BYU Law Review, among other publications.

Law Degree, cum laude, University of Pavia
LL.M., University of Cambridge
Ph.D., University of Pavia

Professor Tosato is a leading private law scholar with internationally recognized expertise in the intersection between commercial law and new technologies. At present, Professor Tosato is engaged in several international legislative reform projects dealing with the impact of blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies on commercial law.

Professor Tosato’s research is published in leading law journals, receiving international awards, and is cited by courts in several jurisdictions. In Europe, his articles have appeared in the Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, European Law Journal, and Lloyd’s Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly. In the United States, his articles have been published in the Pennsylvania Law Review, Alabama Law Review, Arizona State Law Journal, Boston University Law Review, Fordham Law Review, Hastings Law Journal, Indiana Law Journal, and Law & Contemporary Problems.

B.A., University of Kansas

M.A., University of Kansas

J.D., Stanford Law School

Books

AMERICAN LAW: AN INTRODUCTION, 4th ed. (Oxford University Press, forthcoming 2026) (with Lawrence Friedman)

LABOR RELATIONS LAW: CASES AND MATERIALS, 14th ed. (Carolina Academic Press 2021) (with Charles B. Craver and Marion G. Crain)

LABOR RELATIONS LAW: SELECTED FEDERAL STATUTES AND SAMPLE BARGAINING AGREEMENT, 14th ed. (Carolina Academic Press 2021) (with Charles B. Craver and Marion G. Crain)

RECONSTRUCTING THE CORPORATION: FROM SHAREHOLDER PRIMACY TO SHARED GOVERNANCE (Cambridge University Press 2020) (with Matthew Bodie)

Articles

The Problem of Purpose in Corporate Law, Houston Law Review (forthcoming 2025) (with Matthew Bodie)

A Democratic Participation Model for Corporate Governance, Minnesota Law Review (forthcoming 2025) (with Matthew Bodie)

Corporate Governance for Platform Workers, Chicago-Kent Law Review (forthcoming 2024) (with Matthew Bodie)

Power, Primacy, and the Corporate Law Pivot, 24 University of Pennsylvania Journal of Business Law 885 (2022) (with Matthew Bodie) (symposium article)

Codetermination in Theory and Practice, 73 Florida Law Review 321 (2021) (with Matthew Bodie)

The Corporation Reborn: From Shareholder Primacy to Shared Governance, 61 Boston College Law Review 2419 (2020) (with Matthew Bodie)

B.A., Yale University

M.Phil., Oxford University

D.Phil., Oxford University

J.D., University of Michigan Law School

Book

NATIONAL SECURITY LAW AND THE CONSTITUTION, (2017) (with Geoffrey Corn & Jimmy Gurulé), 2d ed. (Aspen 2021) (with Geoffrey Corn, Jimmy Gurulé & Gary Corn), 3d ed. (Aspen, forthcoming 2025) (with Geoffrey Corn, Jimmy Gurulé, Gary Corn, & Amy Gaudion)

Articles

The Origins of Russian Membership in the Council of Europe and the Seeds of Russia's Expulsion, 14 Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law 1 (2024)

Russia, Ukraine, and the Challenge of Wartime Accountability, 56 Texas Tech Law Review 1 (2024) (keynote address to Texas Tech Law Review 2023 Criminal Law Symposium)

Russia in the Council of Europe: A Difficult Relationship, 9 Russian Politics 1 (2024) (guest co-editor of special issue)

The Irony of British Human Rights Exceptionalism, 1948-1998, 71 American Journal of Comparative Law 657 (2023)

The 'Anti-Deference' Device: Article 18 of the European Convention on Human Rights, 31 Journal of Transnational Law & Policy 117 (2021-2022)

Advocacy

TrialWatch Fairness Report, Russia v. Nariman Dzhelyal, Clooney Foundation for Justice, May 31, 2024 (TrialWatch Expert) (Instagram) (X)

Brief of Jeffrey Kahn as Amicus Curiae in Relation to the Complaints [of 21 individuals] for violation of Constitutional Rights and Freedoms by Parts 1 & 2 of Article 20.3.3 Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses, Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, June 8, 2023.

A.B., magna cum laude, Harvard University

J.D., magna cum laude, University of Minnesota Law School

Articles

Time and Retribution, 90 Missouri Law Review __ (forthcoming 2024)

Ghost-Hunting in AI and the Law, 99 Tulane Law Review __ (forthcoming 2024)

The Death of the Evolving Standards of Decency, 51 Florida State University Law Review __ (forthcoming 2024)

Criminal Justice Secrets, 59 American Criminal Law Review 1541 (2022)

Framing Individualized Sentencing for Politics and the Constitution, 58 American Criminal Law Review 1747 (2021) (invited symposium contribution)

Secret Algorithms, IP Rights, and the Public Interest, 21 Nevada Law Journal 61 (2020)

Escaping the Fingerprint Crisis: A Blueprint for Essential Research, 2020 University of Illinois Law Review 763 (2020)

Secret Conviction Programs, 77 Washington & Lee Law Review 269 (2020)

B.A., University of Pennsylvania

J.D., University of Virginia School of Law

Books

CONTEMPORARY FAMILY LAW, 6th ed. (West Academic 2023) (with Douglas E. Abrams, Naomi R. Cahn, Linda C. McClain, Catherine J. Ross, and Kaiponanea T. Matsumura)

FAMILY LAW SIMULATIONS: BRIDGE TO PRACTICE, (West Academic 2021) (with Jamie R. Abrams)

Articles & Essay

Racial Myopia in [Family] Law, 132 Yale Law Journal Forum 1086 (2023) (invited essay response)

A Critical Race Theory Approach to Children's Rights, 71 American University Law Review 1855 (2022)

The Ties that Bind: What Pauli Murray Teaches Us About Race, Family, Slavery and Inequality, 55 Family Law Quarterly 293 (2022)

The Perfect Storm: Coronavirus and the Elder Catch, 96 Tulane Law Review 59 (2021)