Shirley S. Abrahamson: an exemplar of the American Law Institute.

• Jurisdiction: United States
• Author: Perkins, Roswell B.
• Date: 22 March 2004

The authors of this addition to the chorus of voices singing the praises of Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson share a mutual vantage point for viewing her achievements. (1) In view of our common observation platform--the American Law Institute--and our shared enthusiasm for the subject under examination, we have elected to write jointly.

The fact that an extraordinarily busy chief justice of a busy state supreme court, and a leader in a host of important national and international organizations, can find even more "extra-curricular" time to become a pillar of an organization in the legal field is in itself a remarkable achievement. That is precisely what Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson has accomplished in relation to the American Law Institute (hereinafter, "ALI" or "the Institute"). As a member of the Institute since 1977, and an active member of the Council of the Institute since 1985, Chief Justice Abrahamson has earned an honored position among the pantheon of ALI stalwarts.

Chief Justice Abrahamson had an early indoctrination to the kind of work undertaken by the Institute in her service from 1957 to 1960 as Assistant Director of the Legislative Drafting Research Fund at Columbia Law School. This post, assumed almost immediately after her graduation from Indiana University Law School, involved a wide range of activities, including compiling and analyzing all of the state constitutions (as well as the United States Constitution) and drafting statutes. The experience suited...