R. Lawrence Dessem

R. Lawrence Dessem
  • Federal courts
  • Civil procedure prior to trial
  • Class actions
  • Legal education and law schools
  • "Missouri Plan" for selecting state judges
Dean and Professor of Law

BA summa cum laude (1973), Macalester College
JD cum laude (1976), Harvard Law School

  • Phone Number: (573) 882-3246
  • Room Number: 230 Hulston Hall
  • E-Mail Address:
  • Web Address: http://law.missouri.edu/dessem/
  • Curriculum Vitae (PDF)

After graduation from Harvard Law School, Dean Dessem served as law clerk for Judge William K. Thomas of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. He then served as Assistant General Counsel for the National Education Association (1978-1980) and trial attorney (1980-1984) and senior trial counsel (1984-1985) with the Civil Division of the United States Department of Justice.

In 1985 Dean Dessem joined the faculty of the University of Tennessee College of Law, serving as associate professor, professor, and, from 1993 to 1995, associate dean for academic affairs. From 1995 to 2002, Dean Dessem served as professor and dean of the Mercer University School of Law, becoming dean and professor at the University of Missouri in July 2002.

Dean Dessem is the author of Pretrial Litigation: Law, Policy and Practice (West, 5th ed. 2011), as well as articles in various law journals. He has been elected as a fellow of the American Bar Foundation, as well as to membership in the American Law Institute.

Dean Dessem has served on and chaired the faculty for the ABA New Deans’ Seminar, has chaired the AALS New Teachers’ Workshop, has served as a member of the AALS Executive Committee, and has served on and chaired the AALS Membership Review Committee. He also has served twice as co-chair of the ABA Annual Deans’ Workshop, on the Executive Committee of the AALS Civil Procedure Section, and on the Search Committee for the ABA Consultant on Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. He now serves on the Advisory Committee of the Institute for Law School Teaching, on the Federal Advisory Committee of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, on the Audit and Investment Committee of the AALS, as a member of the Audit Committee of the Law School Admission Council (LSAC), on the LSAC Membership Working Group, and on the Task Force on The ABA Accreditation Process. Since 2006, he has been a trustee of Macalester College.

Since 1996 Dean Dessem has served on and chaired ABA/AALS law school site inspection teams. At the University of Missouri, Dean Dessem teaches Pretrial Litigation and Civil Procedure.

Recent Publications

Books

Pretrial Litigation in a Nutshell 5th ed., (West 2011).
| Catalog |

Pretrial Litigation : Law, Policy and Practice, 5th ed., (West 2011).
| Catalog | Online Brochure |

Academic Journals

Forward: Sandra Day O'Connor, Earl F. Nelson, and State Judicial Selection and Retention Systems, 74 MISSOURI LAW REVIEW 473 (2009).
| Westlaw | Keycite ® | LexisNexis | Shepard's ® | HeinOnline | Missouri Law Review |