Brett Gilbert Scharffs (born March 22, 1963) is an American legal scholar who is the Rex E. Lee Chair and Professor of Law at J. Reuben Clark Law School, part of

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

(BYU). He is also the Director of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies.

Life and career

Scharffs is a son of professor Gilbert W. Scharffs. He received a B.S.,

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

, and a

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

and then went to

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

as a Rhodes Scholar. He then received his J.D. degree from the

Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

, where he was a senior editor of the ''

Yale Law Journal ''The Yale Law Journal'' (YLJ) is a student-run law review affiliated with the Yale Law School. Published continuously since 1891, it is the most widely known of the eight law reviews published by students at Yale Law School. The journal is one ...

''. Scharffs was then a law clerk for Judge David B. Sentelle of the

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (in case citations, D.C. Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. It has the smallest geographical jurisdiction of any of the U.S. courts of appeals, ...

. Prior to joining the BYU faculty Scharffs taught at

George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest law school in Washington, D. ...

. Scharffs has largely focused on international law and religious law issues. He has written more than 100 articles and book chapters and made over 300 scholarly presentations in 30 countries. He has also co-authored works with colleague, professor Cole Durham. He has also served as chair of the law and religion section of the

Association of American Law Schools The Association of American Law Schools (AALS), formed in 1900, is a non-profit organization of 175 law schools in the United States. An additional 19 schools pay a fee to receive services but are not members. AALS incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non- ...

Sources

BYU Law School faculty profile of Scharffslisting of BYU Law School facultylist of articles by ScharffsAspen Publishers bio of Scharffs

References

1963 births Georgetown University alumni American Rhodes Scholars Yale Law School alumni George Washington University faculty Brigham Young University faculty Living people {{US-legal-academic-bio-stub