About R. Lawrence Dessem

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. He served as dean until August 2012.

Dean Dessem is the author of Civil Procedure: Representing Clients in Civil Litigation(Foundation, 2016) and 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 the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) Membership Working Group, and has served on and chaired the AALS Membership Review Committee and the AALS Audit and Investment Committee. He also has served twice as co-chair of the ABA Annual Deans’ Workshop and on the Search Committee for the ABA Consultant on Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. He has served 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, and as chair of the Investment Committee of the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). He also has served as a trustee of Macalester College and the Law School Admission Council, and on the executive committee of the AALS Civil Procedure section.

Since 1996, Dean Dessem has served on and chaired ABA/AALS law school site inspection teams. Before retirement, Dean Dessem taught Civil Procedure, Complex Litigation, Pretrial Litigation, Professional Responsibility, and the Judicial Externship Seminar at Mizzou Law.

Areas of Expertise

• “Missouri Plan” for Selecting State Judges
• Civil Procedure
• Class Actions
• Federal Courts
• Law School Admissions
• Legal Education and Law Schools
• Legal Ethics

Educational Background

• BA, summa cum laude, Macalester College, '73
• JD cum laude, Harvard Law School, '76