Biography
Brian Fitzpatrick is the Milton R. Underwood Chair in Free Enterprise and a Professor of Law. His research at Vanderbilt focuses on class action litigation, federal courts, judicial selection, and constitutional law. Professor Fitzpatrick joined Vanderbilt's law faculty in 2007 after serving as the John M. Olin Fellow at New York University School of Law. He graduated first in his class from Harvard Law School and went on to clerk for Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Justice Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court. After his clerkships, Professor Fitzpatrick practiced commercial and appellate litigation for several years at Sidley Austin in Washington, D.C., and served as Special Counsel for Supreme Court Nominations to U.S. Senator John Cornyn. Before earning his law degree, Fitzpatrick graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's of science in chemical engineering from the University of Notre Dame. He has received the Hall-Hartman Outstanding Professor Award, which recognizes excellence in classroom teaching, for his Civil Procedure and Federal Courts courses.
Programs
Education
J.D., Harvard Law School
B.S., University of Notre Dame
Related Resources
Publications
Climate Change and Class Actions
Climate Change and Class Actions in Climate Liberalism: Perspectives on Liberty, Property and Pollution (Jonathan Adler, ed., Palgrave Macmillan 2023)
FULL TEXT: | WWWThe Cambridge Handbook of Class Actions: An International Survey
The Cambridge Handbook of Class Actions: An International Survey (Cambridge University Press 2021) (ed., with Randall Thomas)
FULL TEXT: | WWWDistributing Attorney Fees in Multidistrict Litigation
Distributing Attorney Fees in Multidistrict Litigation, 13 J. Leg. Anal. 558 (2021) (with Ed Cheng & Paul Edelman)
FULL TEXT: | PDFA Fiduciary Judge’s Guide to Awarding Fees in Class Actions
A Fiduciary Judge’s Guide to Awarding Fees in Class Actions, 89 FORD. L. REV. 1151 (2021) Many Minds, Many MDL Judges, 84 L. & Contemp. Problems 107 (2021)
FULL TEXT: SSRNObjector Blackmail Update: What Have the 2018 Amendments Done?
Objector Blackmail Update: What Have the 2018 Amendments Done?, 89 FORD. L. REV. 437 (2020)
FULL TEXT: SSRNWhy Class Actions are Something both Liberals and Conservatives Can Love
Why Class Actions are Something both Liberals and Conservatives Can Love, 73 VAND. L. REV. 1147 (2020)
FULL TEXT: SSRNDeregulation and Private Enforcement
Deregulation and Private Enforcement, 24 LEWIS & CLARK L. REV. 685 (2020)
FULL TEXT: SSRNThe Indian Securities Fraud Class Action: Is Class Arbitration the Answer?
The Indian Securities Fraud Class Action: Is Class Arbitration the Answer?, 40 NW. J. INT’L L. & BUS. 203 (2020) (with Randall Thomas)
FULL TEXT: SSRNThe Conservative Case for Class Actions
The Conservative Case for Class Actions (University of Chicago Press 2019) (winner of the Pound Institute’s 2022 Civil Justice Scholarship Award)
FULL TEXT: | WWWDo Class Actions Deter Wrongdoing?
Do Class Actions Deter Wrongdoing? in The Class Action Effect (Catherine Piché, ed., Éditions Yvon Blais, Montreal, 2018)
FULL TEXT: SSRNCan the Class Action be Made Business Friendly?
Can the Class Action be Made Business Friendly?, 24 N.Z. BUS. L. & Q. 169 (2018)
FULL TEXT: SSRNDo Class Actions Deter Misconduct?
"Do Class Actions Deter Misconduct?" in The Class Action Effect: From the Legislator’s Imagination to Today’s Uses and Practices, Éditions Yvon Blais, Montreal (2018) (Catherine Piché, editor)
FULL TEXT: SSRNJudicial Selection in Illinois
Judicial Selection in Illinois in An Illinois Constitution for the Twenty-First Century (Joseph E. Tabor, ed., Illinois Policy Institute, 2017)
FULL TEXT: | WWWScalia in the Casebooks
Scalia in the Casebooks, 84 U. CHI. L. REV. 2231 (2017)
FULL TEXT: SSRNThe Ideological Consequences of Judicial Selection
The Ideological Consequences of Judicial Selection, 70 VAND. L. REV. 1729 (2017)
FULL TEXT: SSRNJudicial Selection and Ideology
Judicial Selection and Ideology, 42 OKLAHOMA CITY UNIV. L. REV. 53 (2017)
FULL TEXT: SSRNJustice Scalia and Class Actions: A Loving Critique
Justice Scalia and Class Actions: A Loving Critique, 92 NOTRE DAME L. REV. 1977 (2017)
FULL TEXT: SSRNCivil Procedure in the Roberts Court
Civil Procedure in the Roberts Court in Business and the Roberts Court (Jonathan Adler, ed., Oxford University Press, 2016)
FULL TEXT: | WWWIs the Future of Affirmative Action Race Neutral?
Is the Future of Affirmative Action Race Neutral? in A Nation of Widening Opportunities: The Civil Rights Act at 50 (Ellen Katz & Samuel Bagenstos, eds., Michigan University Press, 2016)
FULL TEXT: | WWWA Tribute to Justice Scalia: Why Bad Cases Make Bad Methodology
A Tribute to Justice Scalia: Why Bad Cases Make Bad Methodology, 69 VAND. L. REV. 991 (2016)
FULL TEXT: SSRNThe Hidden Question in Fisher
The Hidden Question in Fisher, 10 NYU J. L. & LIBERTY 168 (2016)
FULL TEXT: SSRNThe End of Class Actions?
An Empirical Look at Compensation in Consumer Class Actions
"An Empirical Look at Compensation in Consumer Class Actions" 11 New York University Journal of Law and Business 767 (2015) (with Robert C. Gilbert)
FULL TEXT: SSRNThe Constitutionality of Federal Jurisdiction-Stripping Legislation and the History of State Judicial Selection and Tenure
Twombly and Iqbal Reconsidered
An Empirical Study of Class Action Settlements and their Fee Awards
An Empirical Study of Class Action Settlements and their Fee Awards, 7 J. EMPIRICAL L. STUD. 811 (2010) (selected for the 2009 Conference on Empirical Legal Studies)
FULL TEXT: SSRNThe Politics of Merit Selection
The Politics of Merit Selection, 74 MISSOURI L. REV. 675 (2009)
FULL TEXT: SSRNThe Politics of Merit Selection
The Politics of Merit Selection, 74 MISSOURI L. REV. 675 (2009)
FULL TEXT: | PDFDo Class Action Lawyers Make Too Little?
The End of Objector Blackmail?
Errors, Omissions, and the Tennessee Plan
Errors, Omissions, and the Tennessee Plan, 39 U. MEMPHIS L. REV. 85 (2008)
FULL TEXT: | PDFElection by Appointment: The Tennessee Plan Reconsidered
Election by Appointment: The Tennessee Plan Reconsidered, 75 TENN. L. REV. 473 (2008)
FULL TEXT: | PDFCan Michigan Universities Use Proxies for Race After the Ban on Racial Preferences?
Can Michigan Universities Use Proxies for Race After the Ban on Racial Preferences?, 13 MICH. J. RACE & LAW 277 (2007)
FULL TEXT: | PDFStrict Scrutiny of Facially Race-Neutral State Action and the Texas Ten Percent Plan
Strict Scrutiny of Facially Race-Neutral State Action and the Texas Ten Percent Plan, 53 Baylor L. Rev. 289 (2001)
FULL TEXT: SSRN