Robert H. Sitkoff (born 1974) is the Austin Wakeman Scott Professor of Law and the John L. Gray Professor of Law at

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

, where he specializes in trusts and estates.The Harvard Crimson :: News :: Sitkoff To Join HLS Faculty
/ref> He previously served as professor of law at

New York University School of Law The New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it was the first law school established in New York City and is the oldest survivin ...

and

Northwestern University School of Law The Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law (formerly known as Northwestern University School of Law from 1891 to 2015) is the law school of Northwestern University, a Private university, private research university. The law school is l ...

. Sitkoff's scholarly work focuses on trusts and estates, a field of law with relatively few prominent scholars. He is co-author of ''Wills, Trusts, and Estates'', the leading trusts and estates casebook in the United States; has published in leading academic journals such as 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 ...

'', ''

Columbia Law Review The ''Columbia Law Review'' is a law review edited and published by students at Columbia Law School. The journal publishes scholarly articles, essays, and student notes. It was established in 1901 by Joseph E. Corrigan and John M. Woolsey, who s ...

'', and the '' Journal of Law and Economics''; has appeared as a commentator on

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; and has had his work on the effects of the abolition of the

rule against perpetuities The rule against perpetuities is a legal rule in common law that prevents people from using legal instruments (usually a deed or a will) to exert control over the ownership of private property for a time long beyond the lives of people living at ...

featured in ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

''.HLS: News: Robert H. Sitkoff joins HLS faculty
/ref>

Education and Clerkship

Sitkoff received a B.A. from

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

in 1996, and a J.D. from

University of Chicago Law School The University of Chicago Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Chicago, a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It employs more than 180 full-time and part-time facul ...

with high honors in 1999. He was a law clerk for Judge

Richard Posner Richard Allen Posner (; born January 11, 1939) is an American legal scholar and retired United States circuit judge who served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit from 1981 to 2017. A senior lecturer at the University of Chicag ...

on the

United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (in case citations, 7th Cir.) is the U.S. United States federal court, federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the United States district court, courts in the following United Stat ...

from 1999 to 2000.

Career

In 2000, Sitkoff became a professor at Northwestern University School of Law. In 2006, he moved to New York University, and the next year joined the Harvard faculty. At the time, Harvard Law School dean

Elena Kagan Elena Kagan ( ; born April 28, 1960) is an American lawyer who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was Elena Kagan Supreme Court nomination ...

said that he was "doing the most exciting and important academic work in trust and estates that anyone has seen in years." He is known for his work in economic and empirical analysis of trusts, estates, and fiduciary administration.

Law Reform Work

Sitkoff was elected to the

American Law Institute The American Law Institute (ALI) is a research and advocacy group of judges, lawyers, and legal scholars limited to 3,000 elected members and established in 1923 to promote the clarification and simplification of United States common law and i ...

(ALI) in 2007 and was elected to a five-year term on the ALI's Council in May 2012. He has worked on several ALI projects, including Principles of the Law of Charitable Nonprofit Organizations;Principles of the Law of Charitable Nonprofit Organizations - List of Project Participants
Restatement Third, Property (Wills and Other Donative Transfers), Restatement Third, Restitution and Unjust Enrichment, and Restatement Third, Trusts.

Personal

Sitkoff's father is a retired trusts and estates lawyer.Additions to the Roster
NYU Law Magazine, 2006.HLS: News: Sitkoff named an up and coming lawyer for 2007
/ref> He married his wife Tamara in 2003 with their rabbi and Judge

jointly officiating. They have three children.

Works

* * *

External links

Harvard Law faculty page

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sitkoff, Robert 1974 births Living people Harvard Law School faculty University of Chicago Law School alumni University of Virginia alumni American lawyers New York University faculty Northwestern University faculty Scholars of property law