Lawrence Dessem

Title: Dean of the School of Law

Background: Upon graduation from Harvard Law School in 1976, Dessem served for 2 years as law clerk to Judge William K. Thomas of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. He then worked from 1978 to 1980 as assistant general counsel for the National Education Association. From 1980 to 1985, he served as trial attorney and then senior trial counsel for the United States Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. From 1985 to 1995, he was an associate professor, and then professor, of law at the University of Tennessee College of Law (serving as associate dean from 1993 to 1995). From 1995 to 2002, he served as professor and dean of the Mercer University Law School. Since 2002, Dessem has served as professor of law and dean at MU.

Education: JD, Harvard University, 1976

Speaking Topic: Federal courts; judicial independence; civil litigation; and legal education