Professor Cherie Metcalf selected to participate in inaugural Harvard-Stanford forum

photo by: bernard clark

Professor Cherie Metcalf will be presenting a paper at the upcoming Harvard-Stanford International Junior Faculty Forum.

A panel of world-wide senior legal scholars has invited Professor Cherie Metcalf to present her most recent paper at the inaugural Harvard-Stanford International Junior Faculty Forum.  The conference, which will be held from October 16 to 18, 2008, at Stanford Law School, is aimed at identifying and bringing together the next generation of leading legal scholars from across the globe. 

Metcalf is one of only 12 junior law professors whose paper has been selected for presentation by the distinguished panel in a highly rigorous process.  The competition, for academics with less than seven years of teaching experience at a law school outside of the United States, is a new joint venture between the law schools at Harvard and Stanford. 

"We are delighted to be working with our friends at Stanford in fostering the work of the best new scholars from across the world," said Professor Bill Alford, Harvard Law School's Vice Dean for the Graduate Program and International Studies in a press release. "The idea of creating more of a genuine international community of scholars and scholarship, and thereby learning from one another, is enormously appealing. This is a milestone in the further internationalization of U.S. legal education."

At the conference, Metcalf will present her paper titled, "The (Ir)relevance of Constitutional Protection for Property Rights: Compensation for Takings in Canada and the U.S."  In the paper, she examines various interests related to efficiency and fairness that are served by requiring the government to pay for property it takes. She then uses the theoretical framework, based on law and economics analysis, to assess the broader consequences of choosing a constitutional rule to protect property. A close, comparative examination of Canadian and American law serves to test the theory.

"The analysis suggests that rather than enhancing efficiency by tying the hands of government and reassuring investors, the importance of constitutional protection for property rights lies with an emphasis on the distributive aspects of public policy and a role in shaping individual and social preferences," said Metcalf. 

Senior scholars will comment on her paper and lead a general discussion at the conference.  

"I think it is going to be a wonderful opportunity," said Metcalf.  "I certainly look forward to seeing how the commentators and audience respond to the paper. I'm sure there will be many good questions and comments that will help to move the project forward."

Metcalf's work on this project was also recognized earlier this year when she was selected to take part in the BLG Research Fellowship Program.  In September 2008, she also presented the paper to members of the Canadian Law and Economics Association at their annual conference in Toronto. 

Metcalf, who holds a B.A. and LL.B. from Queen's University, also received a M.A. and Ph.D. degree in economics from the University of British Columbia and an LL.M. from Yale.