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Soia Mentschikoff (April 5, 1915 – June 18, 1984) was a
Russian American Russian Americans ( rus, русские американцы, r=russkiye amerikantsy, p= ˈruskʲɪje ɐmʲɪrʲɪˈkant͡sɨ) are Americans of full or partial Russian ancestry. The term can apply to recent Russian immigrants to the United Stat ...
lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicit ...
, law professor, legal scholar and law school dean, best known for her work in the development and drafting of the
Uniform Commercial Code The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), first published in 1952, is one of a number of Uniform Acts that have been established as law with the goal of harmonizing the laws of sales and other commercial transactions across the United States through U ...
. She served as dean of
University of Miami School of Law The University of Miami School of Law (Miami Law or UM Law) is the law school of the University of Miami, a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. Founded in 1926, the University of Miami School of Law is the oldest law school ...
. She was also the first woman to teach at
Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each c ...
.


Early life

Mentschikoff was born April 5, 1915, in the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...
to American parents. Her parents returned to the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
prior to the
Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...
. At age 15, she began her
undergraduate education Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...
at
Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admin ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, where she majored in
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...
and
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...
. After graduating from Hunter College, she enrolled at
Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...
, where she completed her J.D. in 1937.


Career


Wall Street attorney

After graduating from
law school A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...
, Mentschikoff worked at several
Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for ...
law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to ...
s, specializing in both
commercial law Commercial law, also known as mercantile law or trade law, is the body of law that applies to the rights, relations, and conduct of persons and business engaged in commerce, merchandising, trade, and sales. It is often considered to be a branc ...
and
labor law Labour laws (also known as labor laws or employment laws) are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee ...
, particularly in
arbitration Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) that resolves disputes outside the judiciary courts. The dispute will be decided by one or more persons (the 'arbitrators', 'arbiters' or 'arbitral tribunal'), which renders the ...
and
mediation Mediation is a structured, interactive process where an impartial third party neutral assists disputing parties in resolving conflict through the use of specialized communication and negotiation techniques. All participants in mediation are ...
. She was one of the first women to become a partner at a large
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
firm, having served as a partner at Spence, Windels, Walser, Hotchkiss & Angell, which was later renamed "Spence, Hotchkiss, Parker & Duryee.


Uniform Commercial Code

While Mentschikoff was still a student at Columbia, she met
Karl Llewellyn Karl Nickerson Llewellyn (May 22, 1893 – February 13, 1962) was a prominent American jurisprudential scholar associated with the school of legal realism. ''The Journal of Legal Studies'' has identified Llewellyn as one of the twenty most cited A ...
, a professor there at the time. In 1942, when Llewellyn was appointed by the
American Law Institute The American Law Institute (ALI) is a research and advocacy group of judges, lawyers, and legal scholars established in 1923 to promote the clarification and simplification of United States common law and its adaptation to changing social needs ...
to be the chief reporter in drafting the
Uniform Commercial Code The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), first published in 1952, is one of a number of Uniform Acts that have been established as law with the goal of harmonizing the laws of sales and other commercial transactions across the United States through U ...
, Mentschikoff was named his assistant. She worked as Llewellyn's research assistant until 1949, when she was named associate chief reporter. In 1954, she became a consultant to the permanent editorial board for the UCC.


Harvard and University of Chicago

Mentschikoff married Llewellyn in 1946. In 1947, she accepted a teaching position at
Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each c ...
, becoming the first woman to ever teach there. In 1951, both were offered teaching positions at the
University of Chicago Law School The University of Chicago Law School is the law school of the University of Chicago, a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is consistently ranked among the best and most prestigious law schools in the world, and has many dis ...
. Due to the school's anti-
nepotism Nepotism is an advantage, privilege, or position that is granted to relatives and friends in an occupation or field. These fields may include but are not limited to, business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, fitness, religion, an ...
rule, Llewellyn was named a "professor," while Mentschikoff was given the title "professorial lecturer." Mentschikoff held this position until Llewellyn's death in 1962, at which point she was made a
full professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professo ...
. While at the University of Chicago, Mentschikoff became involved in the development of
international commercial law International Commercial Law is a body of legal rules, conventions, treaties, domestic legislation and commercial customs or usages, that governs international commercial or business transactions. A transaction will qualify to be international if e ...
. In 1964, she represented the United States at a diplomatic conference in
The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
, where she pushed for a uniform law governing international sales and arbitration.


University of Miami

In 1967, Mentschikoff began teaching one semester each year at
University of Miami School of Law The University of Miami School of Law (Miami Law or UM Law) is the law school of the University of Miami, a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. Founded in 1926, the University of Miami School of Law is the oldest law school ...
. She was elected a Fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
in 1972. She finally left the University of Chicago for good in 1974, when she was named
dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...
of University of Miami School of Law, a position she would hold until her retirement in 1982. During her tenure as dean, she worked to limit enrollment, improve the
law library A law library is a special library used by law students, lawyers, judges and their law clerks, historians and other scholars of legal history in order to research the law. Law libraries are also used by people who draft or advocate for new la ...
, and hire quality faculty. She also co-wrote a textbook with Irwin Stotzky which is still used by students enrolled in Legal Elements.


Death

Mentschikoff died in
Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables, officially City of Coral Gables, is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city is located southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248. Coral Gables is known globally as home to the ...
, on June 18, 1984. In her honor, the University of Miami Law School published a series of essays regarding her career and contributions in its ''Inter-American Law Review''.In Memoriam: Soia Mentschikoff
University of Miami Inter-American Law Review. University of Miami Law School Institutional Repository. April 1, 1984. Retrieved July 12, 2016


References


External links


Guide to Soia Mentschikoff's papers
from the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
library
Biography of Soia Mentschikoff
from the
University of Miami School of Law The University of Miami School of Law (Miami Law or UM Law) is the law school of the University of Miami, a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. Founded in 1926, the University of Miami School of Law is the oldest law school ...

Picture of Mentschikoff from the Columbia University Law LibraryGuide to the Soia Mentschikoff Papers 1913-1987
at the *
University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mentschikoff, Soia 1915 births 1984 deaths American academic administrators American legal scholars Columbia Law School alumni Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Harvard Law School faculty Hunter College alumni Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Deans of law schools in the United States People from Coral Gables, Florida Russian academic administrators University of Chicago Law School faculty University of Miami faculty Women academic administrators Women legal scholars 20th-century American women lawyers 20th-century American lawyers American women academics 20th-century American academics