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About Franklin A. Gevurtz

Distinguished Professor of Law Frank Gevurtz is — in the words of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit — a "leading commentator" on corporate law. Courts, lawyers, students and scholars in the United States and abroad look to his treatise, Corporation Law, for authoritative guidance. Professor Gevurtz has written numerous law review articles addressing topics in corporate and securities laws, the laws of other business organizations, the antitrust laws, and the application of U.S. laws to overseas activities. These articles have clarified but also challenged long-standing corporate law doctrines, explored often-unrecognized practical implications of various business organization laws, and proposed innovative solutions to legal problems. They often reflect Professor Gevurtz' use of interdisciplinary approaches by undertaking historical research, empirical studies, and comparative law analysis.
Professor Gevurtz' works have been cited hundreds of times, including by the Supreme Courts of Delaware, Georgia, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Wisconsin and Wyoming, and by United States Courts of Appeals for the First, Ninth and D.C. Circuits. His proudest moment came, however, when his mother was able to tell her friends that it was her son whose work on the origins of the corporate board of directors was quoted by a columnist writing in The New Yorker.
Professor Gevurtz' work shows an equally strong commitment to teaching future lawyers. His casebook, Business Planning (now in its fifth edition) has guided students at McGeorge and scores of other law schools from coast to coast through an elaborate problem set in which they aid clients in forming, financing, restructuring and selling a company, thereby bringing experiential legal education to students interested in being business attorneys. Professor Gevurtz also developed and serves as series editor for the revolutionary 23-volume Global Issues book series, which are designed to respond to the growing impact of globalization on legal practice by facilitating the introduction of international and comparative law issues in core law school courses.
Professor Gevurtz frequently speaks on panels of leading legal educators exploring the need to globalize the law school curriculum. The law schools at University of California, Berkeley, and Davis, as well as Catholic University Portugal in Lisbon, repeatedly request Professor Gevurtz to teach as a visiting professor. In 2006, the University of the Pacific conferred its Distinguished Faculty Award on Professor Gevurtz in recognition of his excellence in teaching and scholarship.
Prior to joining the McGeorge faculty in 1982, Professor Gevurtz practiced with the prestigious law firm of O'Melveny and Myers in Los Angeles. He received his Bachelor of Science degree (in physics) from the University of California, Los Angeles, and his Juris Doctor from the University of California, Berkeley.

Positions

1982 - Present Distinguished Professor of Law, University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law
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2019 Visiting Professor of Law, University of California, Davis
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2008 - 2017 Visiting Professor of Law, Universidade Catolica Portuguesa
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2013 Visiting Professor of Law, University of California, Davis
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2007 - 2009 Visiting Professor of Law, University of California, Davis
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2008 Visiting Professor of Law, University of California Law San Francisco
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2001 Visiting Professor of Law, University of California, Davis
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1995 - 1998 Visiting Professor of Law, University of California Law San Francisco
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1993 - 1994 Visiting Professor of Law, University of California, Davis
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Curriculum Vitae



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Professional Service and Affiliations

2012 - Present Associate Member, International Academy of Comparative Law
2003 - Present Editorial Board, AMERICAN JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE LAW
2012 - 2020 Secretary, American Society of Comparative Law
2004 - 2013 Director, Pacific McGeorge Global Center for Business & Development,
2011 - 2011 Member, Planning Committee for the Association of American Law Schools
2008 - 2010 Member, Executive Committee, Business Associations Section, Association of American Law Schools
2007 - 2008 Member, American Society of International Law, Legal Education Advisory Committee
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Honors and Awards

  • University of the Pacific Distinguished Faculty Award for 2006
  • Faculty Member of the Year (for the Evening Division) for 2006-7

Courses

  • Torts
  • Federal Securities Regulation
  • Business Planning
  • Business Associations
  • U.S. Antitrust & International Competition Law

Education

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1977 J.D., Order of the Coif, University of California Law San Francisco
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1974 B.S., Magna Cum Laude, Physics, University of California, Los Angeles
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Books and Book Chapters (12)

Articles (50)