August 18, 2008
NEW YORK CITY, August 12, 2008 – Tulane Law Professor Edward Sherman was given the Special Achievement Award at the American Bar Association’s annual meeting in New York City this week.
Professor Sherman was cited for his contribution to the understanding and improvement of class actions. He has been a principal organizer and participant in the ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section’s semi-annual conference on class actions that brings lawyers, judges, and academics together to assess the current use and development of class actions.
Sherman was awarded the ABA’s prestigious McKay Award in 2004 for the law professor who had contributed most to the advancement of justice, scholarship and the legal profession. He is well known for his law reform efforts. He has headed several ABA task forces to study reforms of court procedures and, currently, the task force on disaster insurance coverage. He was a pioneer in the development of alternative dispute resolution, advocating less expensive and more flexible procedures like mediation and arbitration.
Sherman served as the Dean of Tulane Law School from 1996 through 2001 and previously taught for 19 years at the University of Texas School of Law where he was the Edward Clark Centennial Professor of Law. He is the author of numerous texts and articles on civil procedure, complex litigation, and alternative dispute resolution.
Sherman has infused his teaching and research with active participation in law cases. An expert in class actions, he has served as co-counsel, consulting counsel, or expert witness in a number of important class actions.
As General Counsel of the Texas Civil Liberties Union and of the Association of American Law Schools, Sherman served as pro bono counsel in a number of high-profile cases involving free speech, individual rights, and academic freedom. He served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War from 1965 to 1967 and in the U.S. Army Reserve, Judge Advocate General’s Corps, for twenty-two years, attaining the rank of Lt. Colonel.