Steven D. Walt

  • Percy Brown, Jr., Professor of Law

Steven D. Walt joined the faculty after visiting for one year as a professor of law from the University of San Diego. He teaches contracts, sales/commercial paper, legal philosophy, bankruptcy and secured transactions.

A cum laude graduate of Kalamazoo College, Walt holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Chicago. He earned his J.D. from Yale in 1988 and was an associate professor at the University of San Diego for three years. He has received several academic awards, including a Whiting National Fellowship in the Humanities. In addition, he has been a visiting research scholar at Nuffield College, the University of Oxford, and an Amoco Foundation Term Assistant Professor of Legal Studies at the Wharton School. He is a member of the American Society for Political and Legal Philosophy.

Scholarship Profile: Jurisprudence at the Level of Legal Rules (Virginia Journal 2012)

Education

  • J.D.
    Yale Law School
    1988
  • Ph.D.
    University of Chicago
    1984
  • M.A.
    University of Chicago
    1978
  • B.A.
    Kalamazoo College
    1976

Books

The Jurisprudential Foundations of Corporate and Commercial Law (with Jody S. Kraus), Cambridge University Press (2000).

Textbooks

Sales Law: Domestic and International Cases, Problems, and Materials, Foundation Press (3 ed. 2021).
Commercial Law: Selected Statutes (with William D. Warren), Foundation Press (2020 ed. 2020).
Commercial Law (with William D. Warren), Foundation Press (5–10 ed. 2000–2019).
Commercial Law: Selected Statutes (with William D. Warren), Foundation Press (2019-2020 ed. 2019).
Commercial Law: Selected Statutes (with William D. Warren), Foundation Press (2019-2020 ed. 2019).
Payments and Credits (with William D. Warren), Foundation Press (10 ed. 2019).
Secured Transactions in Personal Property (with William D. Warren), Foundation Press (10 ed. 2019).
Commercial Law: Selected Statutes (with William D. Warren), Foundation Press (2018-2019 ed. 2018).
Commercial Law: Selected Statutes (with William D. Warren), Foundation Press (2017-2018 ed. 2017).
Commercial Law: Selected Statutes (with William D. Warren), Foundation Press (2016-2017 ed. 2016).
Sales Law: Domestic and International (with Clayton P. Gillette), Foundation Press (3 ed. 2016).
Sales Law: Domestic and International: Cases, Problems, and Materials, Foundation Press (2 ed. 2016).
Commercial Law: Selected Statutes (with William D. Warren), Foundation Press (2015-2016 ed. 2015).
Commercial Law: Selected Statutes (with William D. Warren), Foundation Press (2014-2015 ed. 2014).
Sales Law: Domestic and International: Cases, Problems, and Materials, Foundation Press (1 ed. 2014).
Commercial Law (with William D. Warren), Foundation Press (5–10 ed. 2000–2019).
Commercial Law: Selected Statutes (with William D. Warren), Foundation Press (2013-2014 ed. 2013).
Payments and Credits (with William D. Warren), Foundation Press (9 ed. 2013).
Secured Transactions in Personal Property (with William D. Warren), Foundation Press (9 ed. 2013).
The UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods: Practice and Theory (with Clayton P. Gillette), LexisNexis (1 ed. 2013).
Commercial Law: Selected Statutes (with William D. Warren), Foundation Press (2012-2013 ed. 2012).
Commercial Law (with William D. Warren), Foundation Press (5–10 ed. 2000–2019).
Commercial Law: Selected Statutes (with William D. Warren), Foundation Press (2011-2012 ed. 2011).
Payments and Credits (with William D. Warren), Foundation Press (8 ed. 2011).
Secured Transactions in Personal Property (with William D. Warren), Foundation Press (8 ed. 2011).
Commercial Law: Selected Statutes (with William D. Warren), Foundation Press (2010-2011 ed. 2010).
Commercial Law: Selected Statutes (with William D. Warren), Foundation Press (2009-2010 ed. 2009).
Sales Law: Domestic and International (with Clayton P. Gillette), Foundation Press (2 ed. 2009).
Commercial Law: Selected Statutes (with William D. Warren), Foundation Press (2008-2009 ed. 2008).
Commercial Law (with William D. Warren), Foundation Press (5–10 ed. 2000–2019).
Commercial Law: Selected Statutes (with William D. Warren), Foundation Press (2007-2008 ed. 2007).
Payments and Credits (with William D. Warren), Foundation Press (7 ed. 2007).
Secured Transactions in Personal Property (with William D. Warren), Foundation Press (7 ed. 2007).
Commercial Law: Selected Statutes (with William D. Warren), Foundation Press (2006 ed. 2006).
Commercial Law: Selected Statutes (with William D. Warren), Foundation Press (2006-2007 ed. 2006).
Commercial Law: Selected Statutes (with William D. Warren), Foundation Press (2005 ed. 2005).
Commercial Law (with William D. Warren), Foundation Press (5–10 ed. 2000–2019).
Payments and Credits (with William D. Warren), Foundation Press (6 ed. 2004).
Secured Transactions in Personal Property (with William D. Warren), Foundation Press (6 ed. 2004).
Sales Law: Domestic and International (with Clayton P. Gillette), Foundation Press (Revised ed. 2002).
Commercial Law (with Robert L. Jordan & William D. Warren), Foundation Press (5–10 ed. 2000–2019).
Negotiable Instruments, Payments, and Credits (with Robert L. Jordan & William D. Warren), Foundation Press (5 ed. 2000).
Secured Transactions in Personal Property (with Robert L. Jordan & William D. Warren), Foundation Press (5 ed. 2000).
Sales Law: Domestic and International (with Clayton P. Gillette), Foundation Press (1 ed. 1999).

Book Chapters

Penalty Clauses and Liquidated Damages, in Contract Law and Economics, Edward Elgar, 178–206 (2 ed. 2011).
In Defense of the Incorporation Strategy (with Jody S. Kraus), in The Jurisprudential Foundations of Corporate and Commercial Law, Cambridge University Press, 193–237 (2000).
Corporate Criminal Liability and the Comparative Mix of Sanctions (with William S. Laufer), in White-Collar Crime Reconsidered, Northeastern University Press, 309–331 (1992).
The Law and Psychology of Precedent (with William S. Laufer), in Handbook of Psychology and Law, Springer-Verlag, 39 (1992).

Articles & Reviews

How Transnational Law Complicates Treaty Interpretation (with Bruno Zeller), 47 North Carolina Journal of International Law 371–416 (2022).
Revitalizing Involuntary Bankruptcy (with Rich Hynes), 105 Iowa Law Review 1127–1185 (2020).
Importing Uniform Sales Law into Article 2, 23 Barry Law Review 179–192 (2018).
Inequality and Equity in Bankruptcy Reorganization (with Rich Hynes), 66 University of Kansas Law Review 875–919 (2018).
The Inappropriate Use of the PICC to Interpret Hardship Under the CISG (with Franco Ferrari, Clayton P. Gillette & Marco Torsello), 17 Internationales Handelrecht 97–102 (2017).
Judicial Refusal to Apply Treaty Law: Domestic Law Limitations on the CISG’s Application (with Clayton P. Gillette), 22 Uniform Law Review 452–491 (2017).
Morality, Ontology, and Corporate Rights (with Micah J. Schwartzman), 11 Law & Ethics of Human Rights 1–29 (2017).
Presumptuous Comments and Their Place in Article 9, 47 Uniform Commercial Code Law Journal 259–270 (2017).
Fair and Unfair Discrimination in Municipal Bankruptcy (with Rich Hynes), 37 Campbell Law Review 25–69 (2015).
Letter of Credit Issuance Fees of Large U.S. Banks, 132 Banking Law Journal 129–138 (2015).
The Modest Role of Good Faith in Uniform Sales Law, 33 Boston University International Law Journal 37–71 (2015).
What Can The History of Jurisprudence Do For Jurisprudence?, 101 Virginia Law Review (2015).
Pensions and Property Rights in Municipal Bankruptcy (with Rich Hynes), 33 Review of Banking & Financial Law 609–661 (2014).
Why Jurisprudence Doesn’t Matter for Customary International Law, 54 William & Mary Law Review 1023–1055 (2013).
Before the Jurisprudential Turn: Corbin and the Mid-Century Opposition to Erie, 2 Washington University Jurisprudence Review 75–137 (2010).
Why Banks Are Not Allowed in Bankruptcy (with Rich Hynes), 67 Washington & Lee Law Review 985–1051 (2010).
After Article 9: Security Interests and Bank Setoffs in Consumer Deposit Accounts, 125 Banking Law Journal 224–239 (2008).
Uniformity and Diversity in Payment Systems, 83 Chicago-Kent Law Review 499–559 (2008).
Underestimation Bias and the Regulation of Secured Consumer Debt, 40 Uniform Commercial Code Law Journal 169–215 (2007).
Article 9's New Threat to Securitization, 2 Journal of Payment Systems Law 418–436 (2006).
Eliminating Corrective Justice, 92 Virginia Law Review 1311–1323 (2006).
The State of Debate over the Incorporation Strategy in Contract Law, 38 Uniform Commercial Code Law Journal 255–280 (2006).
Uncertainty about Free Assignment: Payment and General Intangibles under Article 9, 2 Journal of Payment Systems Law 4–19 (2006).
The CISG’s Expansion Bias: A Comment on Franco Ferrari, 25 International Review of Law & Economics 342–349 (2005).
When Are Insurance Payments Recoverable Proceeds under Revised Article 9?, 38 Uniform Commercial Code Law Journal 159–175 (2005).
Implementing CISG’s Scope Provisions: Validity and Three-Party Cases, Uniform Commercial Code Law Journal 43–62 (2003).
Liquidated Damages after Behavioral Law and Economics, 6 Virginia Journal 98–115 (2003).
Introduction: Privatization and its Prospects, 41 Virginia Journal of International Law 517–529 (2001).
Anthony J. Sebok, "Legal Positivism in American Jurisprudence" (reviewing Sebok, Anthony James, Legal Positivism in American Jurisprudence (1998)) 20 Philosophy in Review 67–71 (2000).
Collective Inaction and Investment: The Political Economy of Delay in Bankruptcy Reform, 49 Emory Law Journal 1211–1260 (2000).
Decision by Division: The Contractarian Structure of Commercial Arbitration, 51 Rutgers University Law Review 369–432 (1999).
Generosity in Bankruptcy: The New Place of Charitable Contributions in Fraudulent Conveyance Law, 32 Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review 1029–1043 (1999).
Novelty and the Risks of Uniform Sales Law, 39 Virginia Journal of International Law 671–705 (1999).
Epstein, Richard A. Simple Rules for a Complex World (reviewing Epstein, Richard A., Simple Rules for a Complex World (1995)) 109 Ethics 193 (1998).
The Risks of Uniform Sales Law, International Contract Adviser 36–49 (1998).
Erie and the Irrelevance of Legal Positivism (with Jack Goldsmith), 84 Virginia Law Review 673–713 (1998).
Review of Epstein, Simple Rules for a Complex World (reviewing Richard A. Epstein, Simple Rules for a Complex World) 109 Ethics 193–198 (1998).
Revisiting Neth’s “The First to File Priority in Article 9: Can You Sell Your Place in Line?” and Shanker’s Response, 31 Uniform Commercial Code Law Journal 217–222 (1998).
Hart and the Claims of Analytic Jurisprudence, 15 Law & Philosophy 387–419 (1996).
Practical Reason and the Ontology of Statutes, 15 Law & Philosophy 227–255 (1996).
The Case for Laundered Security Interests, 63 Tennesee Law Review 369–419 (1996).
Contribution Arguments in Commercial Law (with Emily L. Sherwin), 42 Emory Law Journal 897–966 (1993).
The Relation between Competition and Cooperation, 15 Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy 733–746 (1992).
For Specific Performance under the United Nations Sales Convention, 26 Texas International Law Journal 211–252 (1991).
Some Problems of Pragmatic Jurisprudence, 70 Texas Law Review 317–346 (1991).
Why Personhood Doesn't Matter: Corporate Criminal Liability and Sanctions (with William S. Laufer), 18 American Journal of Criminal Law 263–288 (1991).
Expectations, Loss Distribution and Commercial Impracticability, 24 Indiana Law Journal 65–110 (1990).
Hegel on War: Another Look, 10 History of Political Thought 113–124 (1989).
Historical Materialism, Dispositions, and Functional Explanation, 97 Ethics 196–218 (1986).
Rationality and Explanation (reviewing Elster, Jon, Explaining Technical Change) 94 Ethics 680–700 (1984).
Comment on Steiner's Liberal Theory of Exploitation, 94 Ethics 242–247 (1984).
A Note on Mandelbaum's ‘G. A. Cohen's Defense of Functional Explanation’, 13 Philosophy of the Social Sciences 483–85 (1983).

Op-Eds, Blogs, Shorter Works

Treasury Resolution Plan Solves Nothing (with Paul G. Mahoney), American Banker 8 (November 8, 2009).

Current Courses

Bankruptcy
Secured Transactions

All Courses

Bankruptcy
Contracts
International Sales
Jurisprudence
Sales
Secured Transactions

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03/12/2009
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03/26/2002
Students' $56,000 Remains in Limbo/Agency's Bankruptcy Thwarts Travel Abroad (The Richmond Times-Dispatch)

AT UVA LAW

Faculty on the Vanguard of the First Amendment
"Why Jurisprudence Doesn't Matter for Customary International Law," with Professor Steven Walt

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