Michael Heller (law professor)
Encyclopedia
Michael A. Heller is the Lawrence A. Wien Professor of Real Estate Law at Columbia Law School
and is one of America's leading authorities on property. Heller coined the term “tragedy of the anticommons
” while working as a law professor at Michigan Law School
in a 1998 Harvard Law Review
article entitled "The Tragedy of the Anticommons: Property in the Transition from Marx to Markets.”
Heller is a graduate of the Quaker Sidwell Friends School
in Washington, DC, Harvard College
, and Stanford Law School
. He worked as a summer associate at the Washington, DC white shoe law firm of Arnold & Porter
LLP.
From 1994-2002, Heller taught at the University of Michigan Law School. He joined the Columbia Law School faculty in 2002.
Heller has focused on private property laws and international property dilemmas, publishing such articles as "The Liberal Commons" (with Hanoch Dagan), in the Yale Law Journal
in 2001, and "A Property Theory Perspective on Russian Enterprise Reform," in Assessing The Rule of Law in Transition Economies, also in 2001. His Tragedy of the Anticommons has sparked a debate among intellectual property
theorists that continues to be discussed today. In 2008, Heller's book, The Gridlock Economy: How Too Much Ownership Wrecks Markets, Stops Innovation, and Costs Lives was published.
Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School, founded in 1858, is one of the oldest and most prestigious law schools in the United States. A member of the Ivy League, Columbia Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Columbia University in New York City. It offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in...
and is one of America's leading authorities on property. Heller coined the term “tragedy of the anticommons
Tragedy of the anticommons
The tragedy of the anticommons is a neologism coined by Michael Heller to describe a coordination breakdown where the existence of numerous rightsholders frustrates achieving a socially desirable outcome. The term mirrors the older term tragedy of the commons used to describe coordination...
” while working as a law professor at Michigan Law School
University of Michigan Law School
The University of Michigan Law School is the law school of the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. Founded in 1859, the school has an enrollment of about 1,200 students, most of whom are seeking Juris Doctor or Master of Laws degrees, although the school also offers a Doctor of Juridical...
in a 1998 Harvard Law Review
Harvard Law Review
The Harvard Law Review is a journal of legal scholarship published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School.-Overview:According to the 2008 Journal Citation Reports, the Review is the most cited law review and has the second-highest impact factor in the category "law" after the...
article entitled "The Tragedy of the Anticommons: Property in the Transition from Marx to Markets.”
Heller is a graduate of the Quaker Sidwell Friends School
Sidwell Friends School
Sidwell Friends School is a Quaker private school located in Bethesda, Maryland and Washington, D.C., offering pre-kindergarten through secondary school classes. Founded in 1883 by Thomas Sidwell, its motto is "Eluceat omnibus lux" , alluding to the Quaker concept of inner light...
in Washington, DC, Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
, and Stanford Law School
Stanford Law School
Stanford Law School is a graduate school at Stanford University located in the area known as the Silicon Valley, near Palo Alto, California in the United States. The Law School was established in 1893 when former President Benjamin Harrison joined the faculty as the first professor of law...
. He worked as a summer associate at the Washington, DC white shoe law firm of Arnold & Porter
Arnold & Porter
Arnold & Porter LLP is a nine-office international law firm based in Washington, D.C. Arnold & Porter is well known for its trial, corporate, and antitrust work, and for its pro bono commitments and support for liberal causes.-History:...
LLP.
From 1994-2002, Heller taught at the University of Michigan Law School. He joined the Columbia Law School faculty in 2002.
Heller has focused on private property laws and international property dilemmas, publishing such articles as "The Liberal Commons" (with Hanoch Dagan), in 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...
in 2001, and "A Property Theory Perspective on Russian Enterprise Reform," in Assessing The Rule of Law in Transition Economies, also in 2001. His Tragedy of the Anticommons has sparked a debate among intellectual property
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
theorists that continues to be discussed today. In 2008, Heller's book, The Gridlock Economy: How Too Much Ownership Wrecks Markets, Stops Innovation, and Costs Lives was published.
External links
- Michael Heller, AtGoogleTalks, August 19, 2008