David E. Van Zandt
Encyclopedia
David E. Van Zandt is President of The New School
. He is the former Dean of Northwestern University School of Law
. He has taught courses in international financial markets, business associations, property, practical issues in business law, and legal realism. He is an expert in business associations, international business transactions, property law, jurisprudence, law and social science, and legal education.
with a degree in sociology
. He completed his Juris Doctor
(J.D.
) at Yale University
, where he served as managing editor for the Yale Law Journal
, and earned his Ph.D.
in sociology
at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
He clerked for Judge Pierre N. Leval
in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
and Justice Harry Blackmun
of the United States Supreme Court from 1982-83. He also was an associate with Davis Polk & Wardwell
in New York.
David E. Van Zandt joined Northwestern University
faculty in 1985 and became Dean in 1995. He is the second longest serving law dean in Northwestern history.
He also serves as treasurer of the American Bar Foundation
, director of AMR Research
, and is a board member of the American Law Deans Association.
The New School
The New School is a university in New York City, located mostly in Greenwich Village. From its founding in 1919 by progressive New York academics, and for most of its history, the university was known as the New School for Social Research. Between 1997 and 2005 it was known as New School University...
. He is the former Dean of Northwestern University School of Law
Northwestern University School of Law
The Northwestern University School of Law is a private American law school in Chicago, Illinois. The law school was founded in 1859 as the Union College of Law of the Old University of Chicago. The first law school established in Chicago, it became jointly controlled by Northwestern University in...
. He has taught courses in international financial markets, business associations, property, practical issues in business law, and legal realism. He is an expert in business associations, international business transactions, property law, jurisprudence, law and social science, and legal education.
Biography
Dean Van Zandt graduated summa cum laude from Princeton UniversityPrinceton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
with a degree in sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
. He completed his Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
(J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
) at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, where he served as managing editor for the Yale Law Journal
Yale Law Journal
The Yale Law Journal is a student-run law review affiliated with the Yale Law School. Published continuously since 1891, it is the most widely known of the eight law reviews published by students at Yale Law School...
, and earned his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
He clerked for Judge Pierre N. Leval
Pierre N. Leval
Pierre Nelson Leval is a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. At the time of his appointment by President Bill Clinton in 1993, he was a United States District Court Judge in the Southern District of New York....
in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York is a federal district court. Appeals from the Southern District of New York are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case...
and Justice Harry Blackmun
Harry Blackmun
Harold Andrew Blackmun was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1970 until 1994. He is best known as the author of Roe v. Wade.- Early years and professional career :...
of the United States Supreme Court from 1982-83. He also was an associate with Davis Polk & Wardwell
Davis Polk & Wardwell
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP is an international law firm. The firm employs more than 800 attorneys worldwide and is headquartered in New York City. The firm represents many of the world's largest companies and leading financial institutions, and is best known for its corporate and litigation...
in New York.
David E. Van Zandt joined Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
faculty in 1985 and became Dean in 1995. He is the second longest serving law dean in Northwestern history.
He also serves as treasurer of the American Bar Foundation
American Bar Foundation
Established in 1952, the ' is an independent, nonprofit national research institute located in Chicago, Illinois committed to objective empirical research on law and legal institutions...
, director of AMR Research
AMR Research
AMR Research, Inc. was an independent research firm, sold to Gartner Research for $64 million in 2009, which focused on the global supply chain and its supporting technologies...
, and is a board member of the American Law Deans Association.
Personal life
David was born and raised in New Jersey by his parents Edgar and Edna Van Zandt along with his three siblings Mary, Shirley, and Tom. A 10th generation American, he was born on the farm that his family had operated for generations. His father and grandfather, Edgar and Percy Van Zandt, were the first to break the farming mold and sold tractors for International Harvester. Having obtained some of the strict, hard-working attitude from his father, David excelled in his youth and was the valedictorian of his high school. In the late 1980s, he married Lisa Huestis, a friend and lawyer. The couple have two children. They moved to Chicago when David was offered a job as a professor at Northwestern Law. After being named the 8th president of the New School, David and his family moved to New York in the beginning of 2011.Selected works
- "The Breadth of Life in the Law" (Cardozo Law Review 1992)
- "An Alternative Theory of Practical Reason in Judicial Decisions" (Tulane Law Review 1991)
- "Commonsense Reasoning, Social Change, and the Law" (Northwestern Law Review 1987, M. Perry & R. Levin eds. Cambridge University Press 1990)
- "Neutralizing the Regulatory Burden: The Use of Equity Securities by Foreign Corporate Acquirers" (Yale Law Journal 1980)