Brian T. Fitzpatrick

Brian T. Fitzpatrick
Fitzpatrick in 2018
Born (1975-05-09) May 9, 1975 (age 51)
OccupationLaw professor
Academic background
EducationUniversity of Notre Dame (BS)
Harvard University (JD)
Academic work
DisciplineLaw
Sub-discipline
Class Action
Textualism
Originalism
InstitutionsVanderbilt University Law School

Brian Timothy Fitzpatrick (born May 9, 1975) is an American legal scholar. Fitzpatrick is known for his unorthodox advocacy of class action lawsuits from a conservative point of view, and is the author of a book on the subject, The Conservative Case for Class Actions (University of Chicago Press, 2019).

Education

Fitzpatrick graduated second in his class from the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor of Science, summa cum laude, in chemical engineering in 1997. He then attended Harvard Law School, where he became an editor of the Harvard Law Review and the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, and graduated with a Juris Doctor (J.D.), magna cum laude, in 2000. As a law student, he was awarded the Fay Diploma for having the highest combined grade point average in the class.

Career

Fitzpatrick joined Vanderbilt University Law School in 2007 after spending time as a John M. Olin Fellow at the New York University School of Law. He has clerked for Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Associate Justice Antonin Scalia of the Supreme Court of the United States. Between his time as a clerk and professor, Fitzpatrick worked as an associate in Sidley Austin's Washington, D.C. office and as Special Counsel for Supreme Court Nominations to Senator John Cornyn. He teaches several courses at Vanderbilt, including Federal Courts, Civil Procedure, Complex Litigation, and a seminar on textualism and originalism.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Patrice, Joe (August 30, 2017), "Heresy! Conservative Law Professor Thinks Class Actions Are A Pretty Good Idea", Above the Law
  2. ↑ Frankel, Alison (August 20, 2017), "Law prof (and ex-Scalia clerk): Evidence shows class actions deter corporate misconduct", Reuters
  3. ↑ Lean, Raychel (January 29, 2020), "Law Professor Has Bone to Pick With Class-Action Lawyers, Judges", Law.com Daily Business Review
  4. ↑ Lehotsky, Stephen P.; Urick, Jonathan (November 26, 2019), "'The Conservative Case for Class Actions' Doesn't Pass the Smell Test", National Review; Lee, Kenneth K. (December 2, 2019), "A Counterintuitive and Compelling Case for Class-Action Lawsuits", National Review; Frank, Ted (December 30, 2019), "The Oxymoron of 'the Conservative Case for Class Actions'", National Review
  5. ↑ "152nd Commencement Exercises" (PDF). University of Notre Dame. May 1997. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 11, 2015.
  6. ↑ https://cdn.vanderbilt.edu/vu-web/people-manager/files/people-2029-2023FitzpatrickBrianCVJune20-20231002093508.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  7. ↑ "Commencement 2000". Harvard Law Today. September 28, 2000. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Biography". Vanderbilt Law School. Retrieved March 13, 2025.