UM Law Professor Elected to American Law Institute

By Christina Steube

University of Mississippi

Farish Percy, a University of Mississippi professor of law, is one of 24 newly elected members across the nation to the American Law Institute.

The American Law Institute, or ALI, is a national independent organization that works to produce scholarship to improve upon and clarify the law. According to ALI’s website, the work of its members has become influential in courts, legislatures, legal scholarship and education.

“I am extremely honored to join the distinguished lawyers, judges and law professors who are members of the ALI and who share the ALI’s mission to clarify and simplify the law so as to improve the administration of justice,” Percy said.

Percy joined the university’s law faculty in 2001 after practicing law for eight years in tort litigation, commercial litigation and appellate practice. During that time, she tried cases in state and federal courts in Mississippi and argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the Mississippi Supreme Court.

“Professor Percy’s election to ALI is a great honor and a testament of her fantastic work,” said Susan Duncan, dean of the School of Law. “Her journal articles are cited by courts and scholars alike, making her a wonderful addition to ALI.”

Percy teaches torts, civil procedure, insurance and evidence. Her research and scholarship focuses primarily on removal of cases from state to federal courts. She said she is most looking forward to participating in projects within the scope of her expertise. 

She has joined the ALI Members Consultative Groups that are working on the Restatement of Torts: Defamation and Privacy and the Restatement of Torts: Remedies projects.

“I will be able to review and comment on drafts of the proposed restatements and interact with the foremost experts in the field,” she said. “The restatements are valuable resources not only for judges but also for practitioners. In addition, many courts have adopted sections of restatements as controlling law.”

To become a member of ALI, an individual first must be nominated by a member familiar with the nominee’s work and then supported by two additional members. A new member is ultimately selected by demonstrating excellence and outstanding professional achievement in their area of legal expertise.

Besides Percy, Tucker Carrington, the Ole Miss law school’s associate dean for clinical programs and director of the Innocence Project, is an ALI member.

“Our restatements, principles and model codes continue to guide American lawyers, courts and legislatures, and that is due in great part to the continuing dedication of our membership,” ALI President David F. Levi said. 

“As ALI nears its 100th anniversary, I am pleased to welcome this group of lawyers, judges and scholars and look forward to the insight their expertise will bring to our work, both now and into our second century.”

For more information about ALI, visit https://www.ali.org. To learn more about the UM School of Law, visit https://law.olemiss.edu/.