Lisa M. Fairfax, the Alexander Hamilton Professor of Business Law and Director of the GW Corporate Law and Governance Initiative, is one of 36 new members elected to the American Law Institute (ALI).
As a new ALI member, Professor Fairfax joins several other GW Law faculty including Karen B. Brown, Thomas Buergenthal, Steve Charnovitz, Bradford R. Clark, Robert J. Cottrol, Charles B. Craver, Roger A. Fairfax, Jr., Emily Hammond, Laird Kirkpatrick, Cynthia Lee, Blake D. Morant, Thomas D. Morgan, Alan B. Morrison, Sean D. Murphy, Jeffrey Rosen, Stephen A. Saltzburg, Thomas J. Schoenbaum, Daniel J. Solove, John A. Spanogle, Jr., and Edward T. Swaine.
ALI President David F. Levi said in a press release, “During this difficult period our members have adapted and overcome professional and personal challenges so that they could continue to contribute to the important work of the Institute. Although we welcome this class remotely, they are no less integral to the success of the ALI’s Restatements, Principles, and Model Codes, and we are so grateful to have the benefit of their superb talent, experience, and judgment.”
GW Law has a rich and diverse curriculum in business law and a world-renowned faculty with strong ties to the financial community in both Washington, DC, and New York. Professor Fairfax’s appointment to ALI further illustrates the law school’s strength in this area and will benefit GW Law students as they learn from her about the latest developments in the corporate and securities law field.
“I am honored and humbled by the appointment to the ALI,” said Professor Fairfax. “I very much look forward not only to working with the nation’s leading experts, but also to deeply engaging in the vital projects that reflect the work of the ALI.”
Professor Fairfax teaches courses in the business area including Corporations, various Securities Law seminars, and Contracts. Her scholarly interests include corporate governance matters, fiduciary obligations, board-shareholder engagement, corporate purpose, board diversity, shareholder activism, affinity fraud, and securities fraud. She is the author of the textbook Business Organizations: An Integrated Approach, published by Foundation Press, and the book Shareholder Democracy: A Primer on Shareholder Activism and Participation. She also has written several book chapters on board independence and many law review articles, including The Securities Law Implications of Financial Illiteracy, 104 Va. L. Rev. 1065 (2018), named one of the 10 best corporate and securities law articles of 2019.
Professor Fairfax is a former member of the Investor Advisory Committee of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the National Adjudicatory Council of the Financial Industry Regulation Authority (FINRA), and the NASDAQ Market Regulation Committee of FINRA. She is a current member of the Advisory Group for the ALI Restatement of Law, Corporate Governance. Professor Fairfax is also chair of the board of Georgetown Day School, an independent K-12 school in Washington, DC, and serves on the Board of Advisors of the SEC Historical Society as well as the board of DirectWomen, which promotes board diversity by identifying and supporting qualified women attorneys to serve as board candidates.