Sherman J. Clark

Sherman J. Clark is the Kirkland & Ellis Professor of Law at the University of Michigan. He teaches torts, evidence, legal ethics, and sports law, and his research explores connections between law, ethics, persuasion, character, and thriving.

Clark believes that law and politics, including legal and political persuasion, have an impact on the kind of people we become and that, in turn, has an impact on how well and fully we live—both as individuals and in community. In this vein, drawing on philosophy, psychology, political theory, literature, and law, he has written about institutions and practices ranging from direct democracy to the jury to criminal procedure to legal ethics to marketing.

Before joining the Michigan Law faculty, Clark practiced with Kirkland & Ellis. He also has advised lawyers for the City of Detroit in efforts to hold gun manufacturers liable for negligent distribution practices and served as a member of the American Law Institute and adviser to the Restatement of Torts. Clark’s current research draws on ancient Greek philosophy and literature, and he will teach a new seminar titled Ancient Greek Literature for Modern American Lawyers.