Laura N. Beny is the Earl Warren DeLano Professor of Law at the University of Michigan. She  has taught Corporate Finance, Enterprise Organization, International Finance, The Public Corporation, Law and Development, and Law and Finance since joining Michigan Law in 2003.

In fall 2018, Beny taught a custom-developed course titled Africa in the Global Legal System, the first of its kind among US law schools. This novel course integrated her research and teaching interests, which span Africa, law, economics, finance/capital markets, international development, and political economy. The course prepares students to embark upon legal, policy, business, and/or nonprofit careers that engage with the African continent from legal and strategic perspectives.

Beny’s research has been published in the American Economic Review, American Law and Economics Review, Journal of Corporation Law, and Harvard Business Law Review, among others. Additionally, her research has been cited in numerous print and digital media, including The Economist, The Age (Australia), and Global Risk Regulator, and has been referenced in congressional testimony. She is co-editor of the book Sudan’s Killing Fields: Political Violence and Fragmentation (Red Sea Press, 2014). Beny also has published many opinion pieces on Africa, particularly Sudan and South Sudan, in various international media, including Newsweek International, Africa.com, and Al Jazeera.

In 2007–2008, she served as a legal consultant to the Government of Southern Sudan before its independence from Sudan in 2011. In 2015, Beny was elected and served a two-year term on the executive committee of the University of Michigan International Institute’s African Studies Center. Before joining Michigan Law, she practiced at Debevoise & Plimpton, a global law firm based in New York City, where she provided legal counsel to both business and pro bono clients. She currently is serving as associate director of the U-M African Studies Center.

Related Information

Areas of Interest

Education
  • Stanford University, BA, economics
  • Harvard University, MA, economics
  • Harvard University, PhD, economics
  • Harvard University, JD

    • Recent Courses

    Featured Scholarship

    "Decolonization as Dialectic Process in Law and Literature"

    Völkerrechtsblog
    MLaw RepositoryWWW
    • Legal Writing and Research

    Review of South Sudan: A Slow Liberation by Edward Thomas

    The Historian
    MLaw Repository
    • Human Rights

    "A National Adaptation Programme of Action: Ethiopia's Responses to Climate Change"

    World Development Perspectives
    WWW
    • Environmental and Energy Law

    "Introductory Note to United Nations Security Council Resolution on Targeted Sanctions in South Sudan"

    International Legal Materials
    HEIN
    • Human Rights
    See All Scholarship
    Activities
    December 2019
    Participated in the Nobel Symposium at the U-M Center for Complex Systems along with other U-M scholars from various academic departments, University of Michigan.
    December 2018
    Spoke about investment/growth opportunities and legal, economic, and political risks in Africa on the panel, “Opportunities and Challenges for Emerging Markets,” 2018 Emerging Markets Conference, University of Michigan Ross School of Business.
    November 2018
    Ran the U-M African Presidential Scholars (UMAPS) Colloquium, African Studies Center, University of Michigan International Institute.
    November 2018
    Served as a discussant for “Do Legal Remedies Promote Investment? New Evidence from a Natural Experiment in the Investment Treaty Network” (authored by Cree Jones, ‘13), International Law/Law & Development Panel, 2018 Empirical Legal Studies Conference, University of Michigan Law School.
    September 2018
    Presented the article, “Metals or Management? Explaining Africa’s Recent Growth Spurt,” previously published in the American Economic Review, as a mock research presentation to the U-M African Presidential Scholars (UMAPS), African Studies Center, University of Michigan International Institute.
    September 2018
    A previously written article that appeared in the American Economics Review was cited in a Bloomberg article.
    July 2018
    Appointed associate director of the University of Michigan African Studies Center, International Institute.
    July 2017
    Nominated to serve another term as a member of the executive committee of the University of Michigan African Studies Center.
    July 6–12, 2017
    Hosted the 11th Annual Lutie A. Lytle Black Women Law Faculty Workshop and Writing Retreat at the University of Michigan Law School. It involved fundraising from co-sponsoring law schools for participant scholarships and a year of planning and coordination. Keynote speakers included Robert Sellers, U-M vice provost; Michele Coleman Mayes, ‘74, vice president and general counsel of the New York Public Library; and Marcilynn Burke, dean of the University of Oregon School of Law.